Canada

            To start off, I"m going to give you a little background information on Canada. By land mass, Canada is the second largest country in the world, although its population is smaller than California's. From east to west, Canada has six time zones. The population is roughly 30 million, and most of them live within a few hundred kilometers of the southern border. Canada is a land that was settled by immigrants from many nations. They brought along their cultures and combined them with the natives. Their food customs were a major influence on Canadian cuisine. .
             Canada's divided into 10 provinces and 2 territories. Canada has a diverse geography, which is what partly accounts for the country's varied climate. Canada has the world's longest coastline. Air currents from the ocean bring high annual levels rain and snow on the Atlantic side. Ocean airstreams give British Columbia the warmest temperatures throughout the year along the pacific coast. Vancouver Island's tremendous annual rainfall combines with the warm air to create a rain forest climate. The Arctic Ocean borders a region with long, dark winters. Temperatures up north stay below freezing all but a few weeks a year. Canada's climate is characterized by its diversity, as temperature and precipitation differ from region to region and from season to season. The seasons dictate the look of the land - Canadians may be alpine skiing or water skiing. .
             There are roughly two million lakes in Canada, covering about 7.6% of the Canadian landmass. The main lakes are Huron, Great Bear, Superior, Great Slave, Winnipeg, Erie, & Ontario. The largest lakes situated entirely in Canada is Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories.
             The St. Lawrence is Canada's most important river, providing a seaway for ships from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The longest Canadian river is the Mackenzie which flows through the Northwest Territories.