OntarioSasquatch

Geography of Ontario

  Facts:Size:  1 million sq. kilometers (415,000 sq. miles)Population: 12 millionOfficial Bird:  Common Loon (Gavia immer)Official Tree of Ontario:  Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus Linnaeus)Official Plant:  White Trillium (trillium grandiflorum)Official Mineral:  Amethyst, a semi-precious purple stone found in areas around Bancroft, North Bay and Thunder BayNumber of Lakes:  Over 250,000, about 1/3 of the world’s fresh water.Temperatures:  Summer highs, above 30°C (86°F), Winter lows, below -40°C (-40°F)

It’s a Big Place

Even people who live in Ontario can have trouble appreciating the sheer size of this province. Ontario is Canada’s second largest province, covering more than one million square kilometers (415,000 square miles) – an area larger than France and Spain combined. More than 12 million people live in Ontario. If you look at a map of Ontario you will notice that the province is bounded by Quebec on the east, Manitoba on the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay on the north, and the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes on the south.

Ontario’s most northerly communities are close to the same latitude as London, England and Warsaw, Poland. Ontario’s southernmost point of land is Middle Island, in Lake Erie south of Point Pelee, roughly parallel to Barcelona, Spain or Rome, Italy.

© Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2006
Reprinted from the Government of Ontario, Canada website, for non-commercial purposes only.