History of Canada: When was Canada Founded

History of Canada is rich in British and French Culture. This article gives a brief description of when Canada was formed. Read on.
Canada is the land of immigrants. History of Canada reveals, the first inhabitants of Canada were aborigines. During the 16th century, many European explorers including the French and the British settled in Canada.

Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, named this country "Canada" in the year 1535. Canada is derived from Iroquois term "Kanata" which means "village".

Do you know part of Niagara Falls lies in Canada?

When was Canada Founded

Canada was founded in 1867 as a union of the British colonies. Canada gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1982.

Canada is located on the continent of North America. This beautiful country nestles between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. On the north, Canada has the Arctic Ocean and the United States on the south.

Are you aware of the fact Canada is the second-largest country in the world? Another interesting fact about Canada is, it has the world’s largest coastline. The three oceans of the world surround Canada - the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.

History of Canada - Historical Places to Visit

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. Canada comprises of ten provinces and three territories. Some of the historical places in Canada worth visiting are Victoria (capital of British Columbia), Quebec City (capital of Quebec) and so on. The Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta have many natural parks and lakes where the visitors flock. If you are visiting Quebec anytime between January and April, remember to visit the Ice Hotel of Quebec.

Victoria, British Columbia, is rich in history of British culture and worth a visit. Quebec is the province where most French Canadians reside. French Canadians are also known as Acadians. French was declared the official language of Quebec in 1974. Montreal is the center of French Canadian culture. English and French are the official languages of Canada.

By Maya Pillai

The Great Lakes Hurricane of 1996

I have lived in the Great Lakes region of the United States my entire life. I am a frequent visitor to three of the lakes and have seen all five. Bad weather is a fact of life sometimes on the Lakes and hurricane strength winds happen.

However, I would have never believed an actual hurricane had ever formed over the Great Lakes. But apparently, it happened. In 1996, the "Hurroncane" appeared in September.

Here is what the National Weather Service said about it:

The first likeness was its timing, forming over the Great Lakes right at the height of the typical hurricane season, September 11-15th, 1996. What started as a typical core-cold 500 MB low pressure system evolved into a warm-core system as it settled over the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, in particular, Lake Huron. The low pressure system actually had moved past Lake Huron but then retrograded, or was "drawn back", to the relatively warm waters of Lake Huron. (Similar to the tropics, the Great Lakes usually reach their warmest water temperatures late August into mid September.) The storm then deepened and intensified at the lower levels of the atmosphere compared to aloft, typical of a warm-core low. It is believed that the warm waters of Lake Huron and associated low level instability over the lake were, to a large extent, the major contributing factors in this storm's evolution. The storm went on to form a broad cyclonic circulation, including the "spiral bands and eye", typically seen in hurricanes! At one point, the cyclone produced tropical storm force winds (39 - 73 mph) and some of the spiral bands even had rainfall exceeding 10 cm (better than four inches), causing some flooding.

So I guess hurricanes are possible in the Great lakes and one may form again. I am sure if another one appears it will be pointed to as proof of global warming even though this has happened before. I hope my home is insured for hurricanes. I am not sure if our Great Lakes insurance policies include a clause for hurricanes.