What Ontario is known for

Ontario is the second-largest province in Canada.[1] The province borders the United States and the Great Lakes. Ontario sits directly beneath the Hudson Bay and in between the other Canadian provinces of Quebec and Manitoba.[7] The capital of Canada, Ottawa, is located in Ontario. Ottawa is known for being home to Parliament Hill's Victorian architecture and the National Gallery.[4] The province's name, Ontario, comes from the Iroquois word "beautiful water."[8] The Iroquois language was the primary language spoken among Ontario's native tribes. Ontario is known for being Canada's main economic hub with significant natural diversity between its two geographical regions.[3] Ontario is home to Toronto, Canada's largest city, with over 2.7 million residents. Other major cities within the province include Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Marham, and Vaughan.[4] 

Over nine million people visit the province annually. The tourism industry collects around 34 billion dollars in revenue each year, supporting about 75,000 tourism-related jobs. The summer months of June, July, and August are the most popular times for tourist visits due to the warm weather and clear skies. Most who visit the land will spend time visiting Niagara Falls, the Great Lakes, and various attractions within Toronto. The multicultural hub of Toronto is filled with several different ethnic groups and various cultures. Due to this, tourists also come from all around the world, most often from Europe, parts of Asia, and the United States.[5] 

Ontario not only has large cities but also hosts vast wildernesses and pristine lakes.[1] During the summer, most people participate in outdoor activities such as visiting lakeside resorts, camping, and playing at amusement parks. In the winter, most outdoor activities revolve around ample snowfall throughout the region. Visitors can go to skating rinks, winter festivals, and ski resorts, as well as go snowmobile. Indoor activities during the winter season include hockey games, shopping at Toronto's numerous shopping plazas, and watching Broadway shows.[2]

In specific, Niagara Falls is Canada's most internationally recognized attraction. There are three sets of falls along a great wall reaching across the border of Canada and the United States. The falls are famous for the volume of water that flows through them. Visitors can watch the falls from several lookout points as well as take a boat tour near the falls. Toronto's CN Tower stands 553 meters tall with an observation deck and a restaurant at its top.[8] The tower has 360 views of the surrounding city and Lake Ontario. On clear days Niagara Falls can be seen from the top of the tower. At the provincial capital Ottawa, Parliament Hill is a popular tourist attraction, where guests can tour the large government building and its surrounding gardens.[2]

Other attractions within the major cities of Ontario include the National Gallery of Canada, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. There are many provincial and national parks throughout Ontario. Within these parks, there are freshwater lakes where guests can fish, swim, and go boating. Algonquin Provincial Park and Killarney Provincial Park have extensive networks of hiking trails, campgrounds, and waterways. Bruce Peninsula National Park, Georgian Bay Islands National Park, and the Fathom Five National Marine Park are all located within Ontario. Some of the nation's oldest and most popular holiday areas are located in Ontario, the Thousand Islands, and throughout Muskoka's cottage country. Blue Mountain Resort is a popular ski resort with its own small village.[2]

Ontario is part of the North American manufacturing heartland as manufacturing is one of its most profitable industries. The province manufactures communications technologies, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Ontario has over half of the highest quality farmland in Canada, and there are over 51,950 farms in the province. The agricultural industry produces fruit crops, vegetables, soybeans, corn, mixed grains, forage crops, wheat, and barely. Several variations of flowers and ornamental plants are produced within the region as well. Most farms within the province raise poultry, hog, beef, and dairy cattle. Other major industries within the province include forestry and mining. Mineral production makes billions of dollars a year for the province. Gold, copper, zinc, cobalt, and silver are commonly mined elements.[9]

Geography

Two geographical regions compose the land of Ontario. These regions are opposites in not only geography but also in weather, plant and animal life, and population. Northern Ontario is the first of these regions. Sitting north of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers along the Quebec border, the Northern Ontario region covers around 350,000 square miles and is part of the Canadian Shield. Characteristically marked with lakes, rivers, bogs, dense forests, and rock-covered terrain, the area is less populated.[7] The highest point in Ontario is located in the Northern Ontario region at Ishpatina Ridge near Lake Temagami.[1] The Northern Ontario region has rich mineral deposits, large forest reserves, and its many rivers provide the more populous areas of the province with hydroelectric power.[9] The majority of the soil in the Northern Ontario Region is mineral-covered and therefore unsuitable for agriculture.[11] 

The second of the geographical regions is the Southern Ontario region. The land follows along the southern side of the Ottawa River. The southern borders of the region are covered in a series of lakes, including the Muskoka Lakes, the lakes of the Haliburton Highlands, and the Rideau Lake Chain. Several roads and rail lines pass through the region's notched valleys, rolling plains, and marshlands. Most of the land inside the Southern Ontario region was created through glacial erosion, so the land is primarily flat. The Canadian side of Niagara Falls is also located within this geographical region.[7] A fertile podzolic soil covers most of the region along with some sand plains. Farms and other agriculture cover the region.[11] Around 20% of the world's freshwater stores are located in Ontario's 250,000 freshwater lakes and additional rivers and waterways.[8]

The vegetation throughout Ontario changes drastically between its geographical regions. In Northern Ontario, the land is covered in thick forests of black and white spruce, tamarack, poplar, balsam, jack pine, and white birch. Along the Hudson Bay, there is a band of tundra land with frozen soil and frosted wetlands with little to no vegetation. In Southern Ontario, the land is covered in white and red pines, prairie grasses.[11] Fertile soil for agriculture such as fruit crops, soybean, corn, and wheat crops, flowers, and other ornamental plants covers the region.[9] 

Animal life within the region varies depending on the climate and geography. In the more mountainous and forested areas, there are large mammals such as moose, woodland caribou, black bears, and wolves. Small mammals in these areas are porcupines, skunks, muskrats, rabbits, foxes, and beavers. In the northern areas of the province near the tundra, there are polar bears, otters, and rabbits. Ducks, geese, grouse, owls, hawks, and finches are located throughout the province.[10]

In Northern Ontario, the climate varies drastically from those near the Great Lakes. Near the Hudson Bay, the weather is harsh, with only 40 days reaching temperatures above freezing a year. The average temperature in the north is around 5 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. The area receives around 28 inches of rainfall annually and 85 inches of snow. Southern Ontario has less intense weather patterns with high humidity due to its many lakes. The southern area receives around 35 inches of rain and 85 inches of snow. The average temperature during the winter is 25 degrees Fahrenheit and 72 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. The province as a whole is partly cloudy year-round.[6]

History

The Canadian Province of Ontario’s first known inhabitants are members of the Iroquoian-speaking Huron, Tionontati, and Erie of the south, as well as the Algonquian-speaking Algonquin, Ojibwa, and Cree to the north. The southern areas of the province were used by these natives for agriculture, while most of those living up north spent their time hunting. Etienne Brule, a French explorer, was the first known European to reach the land and meet these people during an expedition along the Ottawa River in 1610. Samuel de Champlain came soon after. Champlain was a French colonist, navigator, draftsman, cartographer, and diplomat. He discovered most of New France, including Quebec in 1608, the Ottawa River, northern New York, and the eastern Great Lakes. The explorer brought groups of other French explorers, fur traders, and missionaries into the province.[12] 

Fort Frontenac was the first French military protection base brought to the land in 1673. The fort was created to protect the growing fur empire of the area. In 1763, the fort proved itself when New France and Great Britain fought for the land, stopping the British from reaching into the Ontario region.[1] After the Quebec Act of 1774, Ontario was established as an extended colony of Quebec. During the American Revolution, the area was used as a base for loyalists. After over a century since its official discovery, Ontario was settled by 10,000 loyalists and the Iroquois who fought for the British. The Constitutional Act, also known as the Canada Bill, was passed in 1791. This act divided Quebec and Ontario into distinct provinces. Ontario then received its own representative government. John Graves Simcoe was the first lieutenant governor of Ontario.[12] 

York was the name of Upper Canada or Ontario’s first major city. The city played host government meetings and large construction projects. Thousands of immigrants from the United States established themselves in York. Over the next century, the city of York grew considerably as more immigrants came from Ireland, Great Britain, and Scotland.[1] The growth of the region expanded the city of York, and it was eventually renamed Toronto and became a commercial rival for the large city of Montreal in Quebec.[4] In northern Ontario, the Hudson’s Bay Company was established, and later the harnessing of Niagara Falls took place in 1882. These monumental achievements created an energy revolution for the province with hydroelectric power production. With this energy, factories were built in Toronto, and railways were created to transport goods.[9] Ontario went on to be the second-largest province with multiple major cities and industries that still provide resources for all of Canada.[8]