*Canada And The United States

Major Physical Features

• Canada• The United States has all of

the physical features Canada has.

• United States• The physical features that

the US has that Canada doesn’t are the interior highlands, piedmont, and gulf- Atlantic costal plain.

Both: Canada and the US both have the Appalachian highlands, interior plains, Canadian shield, Arctic costal plain, great plains, rock mountains, intermountain basins and plateaus, and pacific mountains and valleys.

United States:

The eastern lowlands runs along the Atlantic ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It includes the Atlantic costal plain. This area is great for harbors. There are some fish, timber, and lead as resources in this area. People here live is houses and apartments. Unlike Montreal, people don’t move underground when it gets cold. This area barely gets cold so there is no need to. Movement here is mostly by cars and airplanes.

Canada:

The Canadian Shield Covers 2 million square miles around the Hudson bay. It is around 1,500- 5,000 ft above sea level. The Canadian Shield is rocky and flat. Some parts reach into the US but most is in Canada. In Montreal, the temperature is below freezing 100+ days a year. People would live underground to stay out of the cold. There are many places for hydroelectric power, with areas where you can find iron, lumber, copper, lead, and nickel. Movement is either by dogsled, railroads, cars and airplanes.

Impact of Physical Features

Both: The great plains are in both Canada and the US. It comes from south of the US to Alberta, Canada. The Canadian people aren’t that different from us. The northern part of the great plains would dress heavier than the southern great plain. Resources here are coal, petroleum, hydroelectric power, and natural gas. Movement here is mostly the same: cars, airplanes and railroads.

The Montreal Underground City

CLIMATECanada: The only climate Canada has that the United States doesn’t have is icecap.

United States: United States has humid subtropical, tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, desert, Mediterranean.

Both: Both Canada and the US has semiarid, highland, marine west coast, humid continental, subarctic, and tundra.

Impact of Climate Zones

Canada: Because Canada is so cold, they resort to living underground. They live within 200 miles of the US border. They have to go through permafrost in some areas, which is permanently frozen ground.

United States: In the Contiguous US, people wear shorts and T-shirts in the summer and coats and long pants in the winter. Not many people live in the desert climate because there isn’t enough water and the soil isn’t good for farming.

Population

Canada: Most Canadians live 200 miles from the US border. They do this because every climate north of the 200 miles is subarctic, tundra, and icecap, which are all to cold to live in. they also live here because there are more resources here than up north.

United States: Most of the US’s population is in the humid subtropical, Mediterranean, and humid continental climates. They are in the Appalachian highlands, piedmont, Gulf Atlantic plain, interior plains, and pacific mountains and valleys. People live in these areas because its not to hot, cold, wet, or dry. The major populations are located on coasts near the oceans. People live near water so that they use it for power, fishing, bathing, ect.

CANADA’S CULTURAL MARKERS

Quebec's official language is French. New Brunswick is the only Canadian province that has both English and French as its official languages. The largest non official language is Chinese. 6% of Canadians are Asian, African, and Arab. 26% are mixed. 15% are European. 23% of Canadians are French. 28% are partial British.

Some the major religions in Canada are Christianity, Islam Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Christianity is large in Newfoundland and Labrador with 97.1%. Islam is big in Ontario with 3.1%. Judaism is also large in Ontario with 1.7%. Buddhism is also large in Ontario. Sikhism is big in British Columbia with about 135,310 Sikhs.

Customs: French Canadian friends may greet each other by lightly kissing on the cheeks. In Quebec, if you give wine, try to buy the highest quality you can afford. Do not give white lilies because they are used at funerals.

Holidays: Canada day is on July 1. It is a celebration of Canada's 1867 Confederation and establishment of dominion status. Victoria Day is on a Monday before or on May 24. It is the birthday of Queen Victoria.

English is the official language of the US with 80%. Spanish is also widely spoken with 12.3%. Chinese is the next largest language with 2.3%. 75.1% of Americans are white. 12.5% of Americans are Hispanic. 12.3% of Americans are African American. 3.7% of Americans are Asian. 0.9% of Americans are Native American. Christianity in America is the largest religion with 78.5%. 16.1% of Americans don’t have a religion. 1.7% of Americans are Jewish. 1.7% of Americans are Jewish. 0.7% of Americans are Buddhist. 0.6% of Americans are Muslims. 0.4% of Americans are Hindu. And 2% of Americans are other religions.

Customs: Tipping waiters at a restaurant is very polite and help out the waiter a lot because they get very low salaries. You must be 21 years old to drink alcohol. Americans generally do not discuss how much money they make or how much they paid for pricy items. It is very rude if you ask. A handshake is the best greeting for an American.

Holidays: Memorial Day is on the last Monday of May. It honors the nation's war dead. Labor Day is on the first Monday in September. It celebrates the achievements of workers. Veterans Day is on November 11. It honors all veterans of the United States armed forces.

UNITED STATES’ CULTURAL MARKERS

Both Canada’s And US’ Cultural Markers

Both Canada and the US has English as an official language.They both have Christianity as the largest religious group.Customs are mostly the same for Canada and the US. They both have to be polite and generous. Like tipping or giving gifts, and not being rude.Canada and the United States both celebrate New Years, Labor day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Transportation in the US and Canada

Canada:Canada has about 560,000 miles of roads.

Canada uses cars, airplanes, and railroads most of the year. Once winter comes, they may resort to using dogsleds for travel.

United States:US has about 4 million miles of road.

US uses cars, airplanes, railroads, and boats the whole year. The United States doesn’t snow as much as Canada so sleds aren’t necessary.

(except in Alaska)

SUBREGIONS

Canada: Canada also has 4 sub regions: Atlantic provinces, core provinces, prairie provinces, and pacific province and territories. The Atlantic provinces has 8% of Canada’s population and 5% of the land. The Core provinces is Canada’s heartland with 62% of Canada’s population and 20% of the land. The prairie provinces is also called Canada’s breadbasket, has 17% of Canada’s population with 24% of the land. The pacific province and territories has 13% of Canada’s population with 51% of the land.

United States: There are 4 sub regions in the US: Northeast, South, Midwest, West. The Northeast covers 5% of the nation’s land, with 20% of population living there. Nation’s first megalopolis was in this region. The Midwest or America’s heartland, takes up 1/5 of nation’s land, with 1/4 of the population. Midwest is also called the Breadbasket because it produces a lot of food. The south takes ¼ of the nation’s land, with 1/3 of the population. The west takes ½ of the nation’s land, with 1/5 of the population. It is the most rapidly growing region in the US.

Both Canada and the US has a region called a Breadbasket. Also both countries have 4 sub regions.

GOVERNMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY

Canada: Canada’s government is a constitutional monarchy. It is a government where a king or queen acts as the Head of State. Queen Elizabeth II in this case. The prime minister is the head of government. The prime minister of Canada is Stephen Joseph Harper.

The first people of Canada were native Indian peoples or the Inuit. The Vikings first discovered Canada.

United States: US’ government is a Federal republic. In a Federal Republic, there are Division of Powers between the Central Government and the States. The president is the head of state and head of government. The president is Barack Obama.

Native Americans were the first to live in the US. Christopher Columbus was the one who found the US.

URBAN SPRAWL AND INDUSTRY

Urban sprawl is the same for both Canada and the US. People move farther from the city so have open space, better schools, better housing, to have neighbors, or even a backyard to play in. You can’t have any of this if you live in the city. Like Las Vegas use to be a small city. Now it is the fastest growing city in the country. The bad thing about urban sprawl is that you have to drive to work further than if you lived in the city, pollution to the air, and traffic. Pollution to the air destroys out ozone layer and the pollution gets into the fresh water in the clouds. Then when it rains that water isn’t fresh anymore but it is acid rain. This could be a big problem in Canada because it snows down the pollution and it stays on the ground. There has been a growth in industry so it can meet the demands of the people. Also the industries will produce a certain number of goods or services to meet the demands that when urban sprawl hits, they have to much or don’t have enough goods or services.

My Impressions on the Similarities and Differences of the US and Canada

•

Canada has a constitutional monarchy and we have a federal republic government. I like Canada’s government better than the US’ because the idea of having a King or Queen somehow seems to be better.

Canada has freezing temperatures while the Contiguous US has a variety of climates and temperatures. I find it amazing how Canadians can put up with such cold environments and carry on with daily routines. In Montreal, people live underground to escape from the harsh climates. It would be great if the US had underground malls and restaurants.

Canada and the US both have a variety of cultures, religion, and ethnicities. It is amazing that both Canada and the US are so diverse and that everyone can fit in easily. Like the largest religion for both Canada and the US is Christianity but there are many other religions, just not as big.