The United States of America and Canada are rich and amazing nations and there are numerous interesting aspects associated with them including; their geography, topography, political systems, economic development, culture, animal life and mining industries. The United States and Canada are both very large nations, they share two borders and their bilateral relationship is arguably the most extensive and among the closest in the world. The USA has slightly more land compared to Canada while Canada has a slightly larger territory. As the world’s second largest country and the largest country in the Western Hemisphere, America is composed of the North American continent. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the North by the Arctic Ocean and on the East by the Atlantic Ocean.
Canada covers approximately 10,000 000 km2 and extends 5,500 km between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and 4, 590 km North from the USA border to the Arctic. It contains a mixture of diverse cultural and national groups (Schultz 215). It has different ethnic groups that differ greatly from province to province. It is composed of ten provinces and three territories including; British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its capital city is located in Ottawa, Ontario. It became independent from the union of British North American Colonies on July 1st 1867. A portion of its people claim ancestry from French descent which ranges from a majority in Quebec and the other proportion claims ancestry from the British Isle ranging from about 2/3 in Labrador and Newfoundland. Over 1/3 of Canadians are identified as being ‘multiple’ or ‘mixed’ origins (National 167). America too is naturally and culturally rich. It is the 3rd largest continent and it is also a portion of the 2nd largest supercontinent if South and North America are combined into one.
Canada has a wealth of agricultural and natural resources; from grazing areas of the prairies, the spectacular mountains of the west to the rivers and forests of the Canadian Shield lastly to the eastern Canada’s historic farmlands. Its variable topography, the vegetation, the Great Lakes, demographics and the surrounding ocean influence climate. This topography is dominated by the Canadian Shield, an area surrounding Hudson Bay and covering almost half of the country. This large region with waterpower, store of forests and mineral resources is rapidly growing and developing. Along the US border is home to many Canadians living the bigger part 90% uninhabited. Approximately 60% of Canadians live in Quebec and Ontario. Canada has the world’s longest coastline of 202 080 km and it also contains large expanses of wilderness to the North. Although it is the world’s largest country, it has almost the same population as California in The US. Most of America’s cultures were agriculturally and scientifically advanced; Almanac and Mayan calendars recorded celestial events such as seasonal and eclipse changes. Cultures throughout the US especially in the South harvested corn, beans, corn and squash in regular cycles (Fieldwork 245). This culture greatly enhanced major civilization and development which has resulted in today’s America ‘the land of destination’.
The United States is the 3rd largest continent with an estimated population of 460 million. It has an area of 24,346,000 km2 and it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, the Pacific Ocean on the West, Arctic Ocean on the North, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Caribbean Sea and South America on the South. America is demarcated by numerous geographers at the Darien Watershed which is along the Colombia-Panama border. There are a number of islands associated with the continent including; archipelago island, Greenland which is the world’s largest island and also islands in the Caribbean. Americans have a complex terminology and Latin America comprises the countries of Central America and Caribbean, the entire American continent and Mexico. America’s natural features include; the Northern portion of the American Cordillera which is represented by the Appalachian Mountains in the East and the geologically new Rocky Mountains in the West. Northern America hosts glacial lakes including the Great Lakes and its major continental divide is the Great Divide that runs North and South through the Rocky Mountains. To a large extent, America’s climate is determined by the latitude, ranging from Arctic cold in the North down to tropical heat in the south. The Western side of America has wetter and milder climate as compared to other areas that have equivalent latitude, though deserts in the Southwestern United States of Arizona and steppes which are known as ‘prairies’ in the Western and central portions.
America can be divided into five major physiographic regions; the Canadian Shield which is a geographically stable area of rock that occupies the larger part of the Northern quadrant, the Appalachian Mountains that extend from the Gaspe Peninsula to Alabama, The Atlantic Coastal Plain which is basically a belt of lowlands that extends from the south and widens to Mexico. In addition, there are also the Interior Lowlands which extend down the middle of America of the Mackenzie Valley to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, they include; the agricultural Interior Plains in the East and the Great Plains of the West. The last physiographic region is the North American Cordillera which is basically a belt of mountains and associated basins and plateaus that were formed during the Cretaceous. The biggest section of North America is located on the North American Plate which is centered on the Laurentia craton. The climate in The United States is typically humid and cool.
In regards to governance and politics, Canada and America have different forms of government. Canada for instance is a parliamentary democratic and a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II acts as a ceremonial or symbolic executive head of state. As a multicultural nation, Canada is open to providing citizenship to many individuals from all walks of life. Both French and English are its official languages. The major religion is Christianity, and other regions including Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. Arguably, Canada is the only country that is hardly ever in the news for controversial issues. It is among the most preferred nations to migrate to as it is a peace loving country. Seemingly, 82% of its residents reside in cities and it features the list of top five world’s producers of zinc, gold, aluminium, copper and natural gas. It is the home to the smallest jail in the world at 270 square feet. The Trans-Canada Highway is the longest in the world which is over 7604 km in length. Canada’s largest city Toronto has a population of over 2.7 million people and its dwellers are the most university degree holders in the world.
America is a democratic nation and has a federal government. The federal government is composed of three distinct branches; executive, legislative and judiciary whose powers are vested the president, the federal courts and the U.S Constitution in the Congress. The Congress is made up of the House of Representatives which currently consist of 435 voting members. The president is both the head of government and state and is also the military commander-in-chief and the diplomat (Lyon 445). According to the American constitution, it is the duty of the president to ensure that all the laws are faithfully executed. The president also presides over the executive branch of the federal government that numbers approximately five million people. The second highest executive in America is the Vice President who becomes President upon resignation, death or removal of the president.
Canadian and the US growth rates are fairly comparable. According to statistics, Canada relies more on immigration than the US. Ostensibly, since Canada does not share borders with developing countries, cases and rates of illegal immigration are less of a problem. Linguistically, the US has many more Spanish speakers and Canada has many more French speakers. The US has no official language and officially, Canada is a bilingual country. Due to the French speaking Quebec province, Canada has a smaller English majority. In relation to the US proximity to Latin America, it has much the largest Spanish-speaking population. Over the decade, the percentage of native English speakers have risen while that of the French Speakers has been on the decline. Canada is symbolically connected with 3 key images; the beaver, hockey and the dress uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Core values informing these symbols are industrializing, cooperation, and patience.
In The US, tourism is an important part of the economy especially for nations along the Caribbean Sea. The multicolored coral reefs of these island nations offer pristine tropical environments and they are among the premier diving destinations in the world. Interestingly, Canada’s city of Montreal which is also known as the city of Churches has more churches than houses. Canada has no true desert but a few regions exhibiting desert like terrain. During winter, temperatures fall below freezing point and snow covers nearly 30% of the country for about 6 months. Canada and The USA are two distinct nations of the West, bordering each other to the North. As a united nation, America is physically, agriculturally and economically rich. Canada as well is quite unique going with the fact that it is the largest country and the country with the least controversial issues in the world.
Works Cited
Fieldwork for Human Geography. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012. Print.
Lyon, David. Surveillance Studies: An Overview. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2007. Print.
National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of Canada. Washington, D.C: National Geographic, 2011. Print.
Schultz, Patricia. 1,000 Places to See in the United States & Canada Before You Die. New York: Workman Pub, 2011. Print.
