Canadas name comes from the Huron-Iroquois word kanata, which means village or settlement. The first French settlers used the Indian name for the colony but the official name was New France. The first use of Canada as an official name came in 1791 when the Province of Quebec was divided into the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada. When the area came under the British rule in 1897, the new country was called the Dominion of Canada or simply Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world. It occupies the northern part of North America and a number of islands.

Its total area is about 10 mln.km². It stretches from the Great Lakes in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north.

Canada is bordered in the north by the Arctic Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south by the USA and in the west by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska.

Ottawa Ottawa is the federal capital of Canada. It is the seat of the federal Parliament and government.

Canada is a federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories.

Being such a large country, it comes as no surprise that Canada has six time zones. The decision on whether to have daylight savings time is delegated down to the provincial governments so there is also a great variety in whether places choose to follow daylight saving or not

The Appalachians extend from the New England states in the U.S. up through parts of the Canadian provinces of The Appalachians New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Quebec. In Canada, they're mostly rolling hills.

The maple leaf is the official emblem of Canada. The official ceremony inaugurating the new Canadian flag was held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on February 15, The national flag consists of a white field, flanked by a red vertical field on either end, with a red maple leaf on the white field.

Early settlers are represented by the three royal lions of England, the royal lion of Scotland, the harp of Ireland and the fleur-de-lis of France. The lion of England holds the British flag. The unicorn of Scotland holds the flag of Royal France. The bottom has the fleur-de-lis (France), the shamrock (Ireland), the thistle (Scotland), and the rose (England). The motto of Canada is A Mari Usque Ad Mare (From Sea to Sea)

The beaver attained official status as an emblem of Canada March 24, The maple leaf began to serve as a Canadian symbol as early as The colour of the maple leaves on the arms of Canada was changed from green to red in 1957.

The official languages of Canada are English and French.

The population of Canada is over 33 mln. people. Most of the inhabitants are of British and French origin. Indigenous people make up 3 per cent of the population. They include North American Indians, Metis and Inuit.

Canada is a federal state within the Commonwealth of Nations. Formally the head of the state is the Queen of the UK. Although the Queen holds this high position, she doesnt rule. She serves as a symbol of British tradition. Her representative in Canada is the Governor General, whom she appoints on the advice of the Canadian Prime Minister. The Governors duties are limited to symbolic, mostly ceremonial acts.

If long walks on the beach are your thing, Canadas the place to be. The countrys 243,000 km of coastline are the longest in the world. At a pace of about 20 km each day, the stroll would take 33 years. The shores of 52,455 islands are a big part of what makes the coastline so long.

With water flowing out from the Great Lakes, the largest source of freshwater in the world, its little wonder the St. Lawrence maritime estuary (a place where fresh and saltwater mix) is one of the largest and deepest estuaries in the world.

The largest known impact crater in Canada (and the second-largest on Earth) is found near Sudbury, Ontario. Known as the Sudbury Basin, the crater is 130 km in diameter. It is believed that the impact of a 10 km meteorite created the Sudbury Basin in just seconds about 1.85 million years ago.

There are millions of lakes in Canada, so its hardly surprising that our nation has more lake area than any other country. Theyre often big, too, with 563 lakes larger than 100 square km.

Ontarios Wasaga Beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world. It stretches 14 km along the shore of Lake Hurons Georgian Bay.