Geography
Main article: Geography of Canada
A satellite composite image of Canada. Boreal forests prevail on the rocky Canadian Shield. Ice and tundra are prominent in the Arctic. Glaciers are visible in the Canadian Rockies and Coast Mountains. Flat and fertile prairies facilitate agriculture. The Great Lakes feed the Saint Lawrence River (in the southeast), where lowlands host much of Canada's population.
Canada occupies a major northern portion of North America, sharing the land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and the US state of Alaska
to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the
Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean.[73][74] By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. By land area, Canada ranks fourth.[74]
The country lies between latitudes 41° and 84°N, and longitudes 52° and 141°W. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141°W longitude,[75] but this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island – latitude 82.5°N – 817 kilometres (450 nautical miles, 508 miles) from the North Pole.[76] Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost. Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of 202,080 kilometres (125,570 mi);[74]
additionally, its border with the United States is the world's longest
land border, stretching over 8,890 kilometres (5,520 mi).[77]
The Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is one of the world's most voluminous waterfalls,[78] renowned both for its beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power.
Since the last glacial period Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield.[79] Canada has more lakes than any other country, containing much of the world's fresh water.[80] There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and the Coast Mountains. Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes, notably Mount Meager, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley, and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.[81] The volcanic eruption of Tseax Cone in 1775 caused a catastrophic disaster, killing 2,000 Nisga'a people and destroying their village in the Nass River
valley of northern British Columbia; the eruption produced a
22.5-kilometre (14.0 mi) lava flow, and according to legend of the
Nisga'a people, it blocked the flow of the Nass River.[82]
The population density,
3.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.5 /sq mi), is among the lowest
in the world. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, situated in Southern Quebec and Southern Ontario along the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River.[83]
Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada
vary according to the location. Winters can be harsh in many regions of
the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which
experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F) but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills.[84]
In noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground almost six months of
the year (more in the north). Coastal British Columbia has a temperate
climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts,
average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F),
while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges
from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with occasional extreme heat in some
interior locations exceeding 40 °C (104 °F).[85]
| 
