Few but Interesting Facts about Canada

Interesting Facts About Canada
Canada perhaps is the only country in the world that is rarely in the news for any controversial issues. It is known to be a peace loving and one of the most preferred countries to migrate to. Following are a few fun facts about Canada, that make this country stand apart from the rest.

• An unusual fact about Canada is its name origin, it comes from a St. Lawrence Iroquoian word, kanata, which means village or settlement.
• An interesting fact about Canada is that it's the world's second largest country area wise (including its waters), and fourth largest in land area.
• It also has the longest coastline in the world, about 243,000 kms in length.
• The country shares the world's longest common border with the United States of America, which is also the only unprotected border in the world
• An interesting fact for kids, is that Canada is widely believed to be the home of Santa Claus.
• The belief that the North Pole is owned by Canada is false. No country owns the North Pole.
• Canada is also the largest producer of a refreshingly sweet dessert wine called Icewine.
• It features in the list of top five world's producers of gold, copper, zinc, nickel, aluminum, and natural gas.
• A funny fact about Canada's city of Montreal, sometimes called The City of Churches, is that it has more churches than houses!
• Canada is also home to the world's smallest jail, located in Ontario. It is only 270 square feet.
• It also has the highest tertiary education enrollment in the world, which includes locals as well as international students.
• Toronto is the largest city of Canada, with a population of more than 5 million people. Toronto dwellers hold more university degrees than any other big city in the world.
• Despite being a really big country, it has the fourth lowest population density in the world, with only three people living per square kilometer! Almost half of the population in Canada were born in other countries.
• Here's a weird fact about Canada, it produces so much energy, that it provides it to the US too!
• The Ice Hotel in Quebec, known as Hotel de Glace is created every year using 400 tons of ice and 12,000 tons of snow. It melts away every summer and is recreated every winter.
• Canada has just one desert in British Columbia, towards the southernmost corner of the Okanagan Valley in Osoyoos.
• The desert is only 15 miles long, with over 100 rare plants, and over 300 rare animals. It is also the only desert in the world that has a long boardwalk, for people to walk on!
• Canadian winter temperatures fall below freezing point, with snow covering some parts of the country for nearly six months!
• In 1883, the baseball glove was invented in Canada.
• Many inventions including basketball, the electric light bulb, the electric range, the electron microscope, the telephone, standard time, the television, and the zipper, and the first snowmobile were invented in this remarkable country.
• The Niagara Falls, one of the largest and most popular waterfalls is in Ontario.
• Half of Canada is covered with forests, which should not be surprising, considering one-tenth of the world's forests are here. It is also home to the polar and the grizzly bear.
• Canada has two national sports; Lacrosse as the country's national summer sport, and Ice Hockey as the national winter sport. Its citizens invented the game of Lacrosse.
• Canada is also known to have the highest quality of life in the world, according to the United Nations Human Development Index.

Canada is high on tourist preferred destination itineraries, as it offers a unique peek into its multi-cultural and bio-geographical diversity. It is relatively free from all sorts of discrimination and divide, a fact most Canadians are proud about.

Source: Buzzle