This land we live in is big and has many amazing things. It has mountains, forests, and cities. Here are 10 things about the land that are special:

1. Canada has the longest coast in the world

   It is 243,000 km long and goes around 52,455 islands. Canada’s coast is very long. If you walk 20 km every day, it would take 33 years to walk all of Canada’s coast!

2. Canada has many lakes

   It has more lakes than all other countries put together. There might be two million lakes. Some of the biggest lakes are in Ontario and the Northwestern Territories. Manitoba also has big lakes.

3. The oldest rocks are in Canada

   The Canadian Shield is a big area of old rocks. It goes from Lake Superior to the Arctic islands. It also goes from west Canada to Greenland. There is a rock that is 4.28 billion years old. It was found in 2001 near Hudson Bay in Quebec.

4. Canada has a lake like the Dead Sea

   The Dead Sea is famous because you can’t sink in it. This is because it has a lot of salt. Canada has a lake like this too. It is called Little Manitou Lake in Saskatchewan. The lake has a lot of salt and makes you float.

5. Regina is in the middle of North America

   Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan. It is near the middle of the continent. There is also a place in Manitoba that is the middle of Canada. You can take a picture there with a sign.
    
   

   

   
   A view of Mount Logan from Diablo Lake by Ron Clausen. CC-BY-SA

6. Six cities in Canada have more than 1 million people

   These cities are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa. Canada has few people for its size. It has 3.9 people for every square kilometre. About 40.5 million people live in Canada as of October 2023. It grew to 41 million in the first quarter of 2024. This growth is because of international migration.

7. Quebec is the biggest province

   Prince Edward Island is the smallest. Nunavut is the biggest territory. It is one-fifth of Canada’s land. But only 38,000 people live there because it is very cold and far away.

8. Canada has a lot of fresh water

   It has many lakes and rivers. The Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence is very big and deep. It gets water from the Great Lakes. The water mixes with the ocean near Ile d’Orléans.

9. There is a small island inside a big island in Canada

   It is in the Arctic and is hard to get to. It is 75 miles inside Victoria Island. Victoria Island is the eighth biggest island in the world.

10. The tallest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan

    It is in Yukon and is 5,995 metres high. You can find it in Kluane National Park and Reserve. It is named after William Edmond Logan. He was a geologist and helped start the Geological Survey of Canada.

 
Sources: 10 surprising facts about Canada’s geography, Aaron Kylie, Canadian Geographic; 10 interesting facts about the geography of Canada, Manminder Kaur, Geomatics Canada; Great Lakes, P.g. Sly, The Canadian Encyclopedia; The largest and smallest Canadian provinces/territories by area, World Atlas; and Canada at a glance 2018 – Population, Statistics Canada. Retrieved on January 18, 2019.