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Canada is a
country in North America consisting of 10 provinces and 3 territories. Located
in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic to the
Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. At 9.98 million square kilometres
in total, Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its
common border with the United States is the world's longest land border shared
by the same two countries.
Did you know that:
1. At 9 984 670 sqare km and comprised of 6 time zones, Canada is huge! Canada
has been invaded by the USA twice.
2. Canada is also home to the longest street in the world. Yonge Street in
Ontario starts at Lake Ontario, and runs north through Ontario to the Minnesota
border, a distance of almost 2000 kilometres.
3. Toronto’s Rogers Centre (formerly known as the SkyDome) is home to the
largest Sony big screen in the world, measuring 10 m x 33.6 m.
4. The Blackberry Smartphone was developed in Ontario, at Research In Motion’s
Waterloo offices.
5. The Big Nickel in Sudbury, Ontario is the world’s largest coin. It is a huge
reproduction of a 1951 Canadian nickel and measures 9 meters in diameter.
6. The Mounted Police were formed in 1873, with nine officers and in 1920
merged with the Dominion Police to become the famous Royal Canadian Mounted
Police, which today has close to 30 000 members.
7. Canada is home to about 55 000 different species of insects.
8. Montreal is home to many beautiful churches and is often called The City of
Saints or City of a hundred bell towers
9. Ontario is believed to be home to the world’s smallest jail, which measures
only 24.3 sq metres.
10. The Hotel de Glace in Quebec is built every year using 400 tons of ice and
12 000 tons of snow. Every summer it melts away and every winter it is rebuilt.
Saint
Pierre and Miquelon is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of
France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near Canada. It is the only
remnant of the former colonial empire of New France that remains under French
control, with a population of 6,080 at the January 2011 census. The islands are
situated at the entrance of Fortune Bay, which extends into the southern coast
of Newfoundland, near the Grand Banks. They are 3,819 kilometres from Brest,
the nearest point in Metropolitan France, but just 20 kilometres off the Burin
Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada.
Did you know that:
1. The flag contains a yellow ship on a blue background with three squares
along the left side.. The yellow ship likely represents the Grande Hermine
which is the ship that Jacques Cartier landed on the island of Saint Pierre
with on June 15, 1536. The three squares on the left of the flag represent the
Basque, Breton, and Norman ethnic groups. André Paturel is widely believed to
have been the designer of the flag.
2. A six kilometer strait separates the islands of Miquelon and Saint Pierre. Fisherman
named this waterway “The Mouth of Hell”. There have been more than 600
documented shipwrecks within the waters of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Strong
currents are the main reason for this waterway being so dangerous for
fisherman.
3. Every year in the summer there is a Basque Festival, with demonstrations of
harrijasotzaile (stone heaving), aizkolari (lumberjack skills), and pelota.
4. Street names are not commonly used on the islands. Directions and locations
are commonly given using nicknames and the names of nearby residents.
Cameroon is
a country in the west Central Africa region. It is bordered by Nigeria to the
west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south.
Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and
the Atlantic Ocean.
Did you know that:
1. Really, really rich hunters from all over the world fly to Cameroon, risking
malaria, fularia and any other tropical disease you can contemplate just to
shoot a Bongo!
2. People living in the bush need to take Bactrim and other drugs to combat the
possibility of contracting filaria.
3. Cameroon uses as currency the Central African CFA Franc, as does the Central
African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
4. The Cameroon flag has a star and three colours; green for vegetation, red
for independence and yellow for sunshine.
5. Cameroon is a Portuguese word meaning River of Pawn.
6. More than 30% of the total population lives at less than $1.25 per day.
Mozambique is
a country in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east,
Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the
west, and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. It is separated from
Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city
is Maputo (previously called Lourenço Marques before independence).
Did you know that:
1. The country of Mozambique, in terms of geographical area occupied, is only
smaller than twice the size of the state of California in the United States of
America.
2. Portuguese is the official language in the country of Mozambique. However,
Swahili, Sena and Makhuwa are spoken commonly across the length and breadth of
the country.
3. Lake Niassa in Mozambique makes for one of the largest lakes in the
continent of Africa.
4. Although Lake Niassa is a part of the country of Mozambique, the country
still shares it with the countries of Tanzania and Malawi.
5. The Mozambican metical is the currency used in Mozambique.
6. The Vumba Rock Paintings are thought to be around 8,000 years old. They
depict hunters and other human figures and animals.
Grenada is a tri-island state, consisting of Grenada, Carriacou and
Petite Martinique. However, Grenada is divided into 6 different
parishes (or districts).
Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela,
and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Did you
know that:
1. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" because of the
production of nutmeg and mace crops of which Grenada is one of the world's
largest exporters.
2. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.
3. The original inhabitants of Grenada known as the Carib Indians or Kalinago’s
called it Camahogne.
4. The oldest record of the history of Grenada dates back to 1498, the year
Columbus discovered the islands. It was he who named the islands 'Concepcion'.
5. The name 'Concepcion' was changed by the sailors of his fleet, to 'Granada'
after they fell in love with the beauty of the place.
6. Since Grenada lies on the edge of the hurricane belt, the hurricane season
there lasts from June to September.