Otázka: Canada and Ireland
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Kateřina
CANADA
Location, geography, climate
- The capital- Ottawa, the biggest city is Toronto
- Currency- Canadian dollar [kenejdi,en] known for it is unusual form (plastic)
- Population- 37,5 million
- Languages- French, English
- Head of state- It is an independent federal parliamentary system with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state
- National symbols are:
- The National flag consisting of a red field with a white square at its centre with a big red maple leaf
- The national anthem (O Canada)
- The National animal (beaver)
- The Coat of Arms
- Maple leaf
- Canada is the second largest country in the world
- It is located in North America – south of the Arctic and north of the United States
- The border between Canada and USA is the longest in the world at 8,891km
- Canada has one of the world’s biggest islands – Baffin Island, which is twice the size of the UK
- Canada also has the world’s longest coastline (POBŘEŽÍ)
- The country also has two of the biggest lakes in the world – Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake
- The Great lakes: Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Erie (the largest body of fresh water on Earth)
- The climate varies from Arctic climate in the North to moderate climate in the east and west
- The north of the country near the Arctic is a cold tundra with large and beautiful forests to the south
- Canada has large mountain areas – the Rocky Mountains, the Mackenzie Mountains and the Melville Hills
- The highest mountain is Logan in the Alaska Region
- The longest river is the Mackenzie
- It´s a federation of 10 provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Alberta etc.) and 3 territories (Yukon, Nunawut and Northwest territories)
People, religions
- ‘Kanata’ meaning ‘village’ or ‘settlement’ was the original name for the country
- The French and British conquered the country, and now Canada is both French 30% and English 60% speaking
- Despite the amount of space, most people live close to the US border where the climate is milder
- The main religion is Christianity 67%
Fauna, flora
- There are many special animals in Canada
- Beaver, wolverine, opossum, Canada lynx, but also the reindeer and the moose
- Flora is quite diverse due to the wide range in Canada
- Canada is known for its forests
- Typical symbol is maple or sequoia
Places of interest, biggest cities
- The city of Toronto is known for its CN Tower, which used to be the highest tower in the world
- Vancouver is famous for its outdoor sports and the 2010 winter Olympics took place here
- Montreal in French-speaking Canada is a culturally interesting city (jazz festival, film festival…)
- Other popular tourist attractions include the spectacular Niagara Falls and the Canadian Rockies (Rocky Mountains)
National parks
- Yoho national park
- Waterton Lakes National Park
- Nahanni National Park
- Banff National Park
Sport
- The most popular sport is definitely ice hockey
- Some others are lacrosse, baseball, football or curling
History
- 1497 – Italian-born navigator John Cabot reaches the coasts of Newfoundland and Cape Breton.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier explores the St. Lawrence river, claims the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence for France.
- 1756 – Seven Years' War begins, between New France and the larger and economically stronger British
- After early French successes, the settlement of Quebec falls in 1759 and the British advance on Montreal
- 1763 – Under the Treaty of Paris, Britain acquires all French colonies east of the Mississippi including New France, which becomes the colony of Quebec.
- 1774 – The Quebec Act recognizes the French language and the Roman Catholic religion in the colony.
- 1812-14 – War of 1812 between the US and Britain, largely over the effects on the US of British blockades of French ports. Action includes naval battles in the Great Lakes and a US attack on York (present-day Toronto).
- But the US fails to realize its plans to invade Canada. (settled, not fought over)
- The end of the colonial period – Union of Canada
- 1867 – British North America Act unites Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the Dominion of Canada
Economy
- Canada has mainly coal, metal, oil and gas, machine-building and chemical industries. Motorcar industry has its works in Chatham and Oshawa, ship are built on the banks of Great Lakes.
- Hydroelectric industry is highly developed in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec
- Almost half the land area of Canada is covered by forests. Only about 7 per cent of land is suitable for farming (wheat).
- Other important agriculture items oats, vegetables, fruits and leather. Natural resources: gold, uranium, other metal ores, oil and gas. Most people work in services, the rest work in manufacturing, agriculture, finance, fishing etc.
Ireland
Geography
- Ireland is part of British Isles
- To west of Ireland there is the Atlantic Ocean, to the east, across the Irish Sea, GB.
- Capital city is Dublin
- Dublin is know because of strong history of writers and poems like Oskar Wilde and James Joyce
- The highest mountain is
- The longest river is the
Climate
- Ireland has a mild, changeable oceanic climate and lots of rain
Animals
- It is the only country in Europe with no snakes – according to the legend St. Patrick drove them out into the sea.
- The largest wild mammal in Ireland is DEER.
- Thanks to the Irish mythological stories there is SWANS considered sacred (labutě považované za posvátné)
- Similarly, on the Wolfhounds who are even one of the animal symbols representing Ireland
Population
- 3,5 million inhabitants (50% of the population is under 25)
- The population is of Celtic origin.
- One of the last densely populated countries.
History
- In the fifth century before Christ Ireland was invaded by the Gaels and the Celts.
- In the fifth century after Christ St. Patrick and other monks brought christianity to Ireland and now it is big holiday for Irish.
- For several hundred years the British ruled Ireland and the Irish worked on their land. In the sixteenth century, Britain became Protestant.
- The settlers brought their own customes and traditions with them and Irish had to kept new rules and religion.
- In the nineteenth century many people dependent on simple potato farming for survival. These years are known as the “Great Femine“ as one million people died and milions more fled.
- Stuggling to gain independence from the UK and in 1921 has been divided politically into two parts.
Political system
- Ireland is divided into 26 countries.
- Is a parliamenty democracy.
- It has a Parliament cosisting of an upper house (Senate) and lower house (House of Representative)
- The head of the goverment is the prime minister, the head of state is the president Michael D. Higgins.
- President is elected for 7 years term by direct vote of the people.
Economy
- For Ireland, geography is a serious barrier to prosperity.
- Located on the periphery of Europe, the island is isolated from main markets.
- The economy still depends heavily on argiculture (there are more cattle than people on the island.)
- Race horses, whiskey, hand-woven tweed and hand cut crystal glass are Ireland‘s world-famous exports.
