Canadian Geography Trivia Flashcards
True or False?
Nova Scotia is made up of at least four ancient continents.
True.
The “sea bound coast,” as the song goes, is thought to have formed from at least four ancient continents. Southern Nova Scotia is split between the Meguma and Avalon terranes. And while much of Cape Breton is underlain by Ganderia, the very northern tip belongs to the larger continent of Laurentia. These masses collided and fused together as the supercontinent of Pangea began to form, more than 350 million years ago.
Canada has the world’s longest coastline. In fact, it has about 25 per cent of all coastline on Earth. How long is it in kilometres?
- 40,075
- 54,716
- 243,792
- 384,403
243,792.
This, thanks in large part to the Arctic Islands, which also happen to make up the largest archipelago in the world.
What is the largest freshwater island in the world?
Manitoulin Island, Ont. Located on the Ontario side of Lake Huron, Manitoulin is 2,766 square kilometres in size (a bit smaller than Samoa). The island also features Lake Manitou, which at 104 square kilometres is the world’s largest lake on a freshwater island.
About 85 per cent of Canada’s population lives within 300 kilometres of its southern border. Roughly how much of the country’s freshwater is available to this vast majority of Canadians?
- 40 per cent
- 60 per cent
- 80 per cent
- 22 per cent
40 per cent. The other 60 per cent flows into the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay, potentially available to just 15 per cent of Canadians.
Name the only Canadian province or territory with no natural features defining its borders.
- Saskatchewan
- Manitoba
- Prince Edward Island
- The Yukon
Saskatchewan
Is Hamilton, Ont., closer to the North Pole or the equator?
The equator. But only by roughly 215 kilometres.
How much of Canada do lakes cover?
- About 5 per cent
- About 8 per cent
- About 12 per cent
- More than 15 per cent
About 8 per cent. No other country has a greater total lake area.
What is the official latitude of the Arctic Circle?
- 60°00’ N
- 66°33’ N
- 70°66’ N
- 78°00’ N
66 ͦ 33’ N. That makes the hamlet of Repulse Bay, Nunavut, at 66 ͦ 52’ N, the incorporated Canadian community nearest the Arctic Circle.
A massive asteroid struck Canada more than 200 million years ago and caused this huge impact crater. The resulting moat, 70 kilometres across, is sometimes called the “eye” of its province or territory. What is its present-day name?
- Hudson Bay
- Lake Nipigon, Ont.
- Mistastin Lake, N.L.
- Réservoir Manicouagan, Que.
Réservoir Manicouagan. About 140 kilometres from the Labrador border in northern Quebec, it is the result of one of the largest asteroid impacts in Earth’s history.
The world’s longest covered bridge is in Canada. Where?
- North Vancouver, B.C.
- West Montrose, Ont.
- Wakefield, Que.
- Hartland, N.B.
Hartland, N.B. At just under 391 metres, the Hartland Covered Bridge was a feat of engineering when it was built in 1901 and covered in 1922. It’s a National Historic Site, and has the distinction of being featured on bags of Covered Bridge potato chips.
Called “Turcott’s folly” by some, this roughly nine-metre-tall northern Ontario roadside attraction cost $4,000 when it was created in 1960. What is it?
- Chimo the Polar Bear, Cochrane, Ont.
- Wawa Goose, Wawa, Ont.
- World’s Largest Baseball, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
- Big Nickel, Sudbury, Ont.
The Wawa Goose. Local businessperson Al Turcott came up with the idea for the colossal fowl to stop tourists on their way down the new Trans-Canada Highway.
Name the only species of the deer family (Cervidae) in which the females have antlers.
- Caribou
- Moose
- Elk
- White-tailed deer
Caribou. A recent theory suggests this relates to the fact that caribou, unlike moose and deer, tend to live in open habitats that make hiding difficult. Antlers, therefore, are a conspicuous defence, a warning to predators.
What bird makes the longest animal migration in the world?
- Short-tailed shearwater
- Canada goose
- Arctic tern
- Northern wheatear
The Arctic tern. It migrates between the Arctic — as far north as Ellesmere Island and Greenland — to the shores of Antarctica. This annual journey averages more than 70,000 kilometres, and in its lifetime the bird flies a distance equivalent to three round trips to the moon.
Where in Canada is the oldest exposed rock on Earth found?
- North of Lake Athabasca, Sask.
- Porpoise Cove, on the east shore of Hudson Bay, in Que.
- On the banks of the Acasta River, N.W.T.
- In the Bay of Fundy, N.B.
Porpoise Cove, on the east shore of Hudson Bay, in Que. Deposits of amphibolite, a metamorphic rock, in this area are thought to be 4.28 billion years old.
Name the place where the “living fossils” known as thrombolites are observed.
- Flowers Cove, N.L.
- Midland Provincial Park, Alta.
- Sand Cove, N.S.
- Kluane Lake, Yukon
Flowers Cove, N.L., is one of the very few places in the world where these exist; the other prominent spot is Lake Clifton, Western Australia. Thrombolites are clotted calcium structures shaped like huge Kaiser rolls, built up by a film of bacteria — the only life form on the planet around 3.5 billion years ago, and still going strong.
