II.

Land and Resources

Ontario is the second-largest province in Canada; only Quebec is larger. Ontario covers 1,068,580 sq km (412,579 sq mi), of which 177,390 sq km (68,490 sq mi) are inland water surface. The extreme dimensions of Ontario are about 1,610 km (1,000 mi) from east to west and about 1,690 km (1,050 mi) from north to south. The highest elevation in the province is 693 m (2,275 ft), at Ishpatina Ridge, near Haileybury; the lowest elevation, sea level, occurs at James Bay and at Hudson Bay. Ontario has a shoreline of some 7,600 km (4,725 mi) along four of the five Great Lakes and of some 1,210 km (752 mi) along Hudson and James bays.

A.

Physical Geography

Ontario can be divided into four geographic regions that are of unequal size—the Canadian Shield, the Hudson Bay Lowland, the Great Lakes Lowland, and the St Lawrence Lowland. The Canadian Shield region covers about two-thirds of the province. It is underlain by ancient Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks, which are the source of most of the mineral wealth of Ontario. The average elevation in the Canadian Shield region is about 305 m (1,000 ft), but peaks reach above 660 m (2,165 ft) in the rugged area north and east of Sault Sainte Marie. The region slopes gently to the north, where it is overlain by flat-lying sedimentary rocks of the Hudson Bay Lowland.

A south-eastern extension of the Canadian Shield separates the St Lawrence and the Great Lakes lowlands, both of which are underlain by flat sedimentary Palaeozoic limestones, shales, and sandstones. The St Lawrence Lowland is less than 91 m (300 ft) high and is part of the sand and clay plains that extend along the St Lawrence River into Quebec. The most dramatic features of the Great Lakes Lowland are the east-facing cliffs of the Niagara escarpment, which extends from Niagara Falls through the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin Island.

The rivers and lakes of Ontario form two large drainage systems—one trending north to Hudson and James bays and one south to the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence River. The province’s principal rivers include the Severn, Winisk, Attawapiskat, Albany, Abitibi, Ottawa, French, Grand, and Thames. The Niagara River, between Lakes Erie and Ontario, flows over the Niagara Falls. The Rideau Canal connects Lake Ottawa at Kingston to the Ottawa River at Ottawa. Parts of four of the Great Lakes are located within Ontario’s borders.

B.

Climate

Ontario covers a large area and has a wide range of climates, which can be grouped into two main regions—an arctic and subarctic climate area in the north and a humid continental zone in the south. Trout Lake, in the north, has a mean January temperature of -24.1° C (-11.4° F) and a mean July temperature of 15.9° C (60.6° F), and Toronto, in the south-east, has a mean January temperature of -4.4° C (24° F) and a mean July temperature of 21.8° C (71.2° F). The south-eastern part of Ontario gets about 915 mm (36 in) of precipitation per year, and the remainder of the province gets up to about 635 mm (25 in) annually.

C.

Plants and Animals

The vegetation of Ontario may be grouped into five main areas. Along the shore of Hudson Bay is a narrow strip of arctic tundra, made up of low shrubs, mosses, and lichens underlain by permafrost. A wide subarctic transitional zone covers most of the Hudson Bay Lowland and the northern half of the Canadian Shield region. Black spruce is the dominant tree species here. Drainage is poor, and swamps and muskegs are widespread. A third area, part of the boreal forest, covers the central section of the Shield and is the main resource area for pulpwood. Black spruce abounds, and white spruce, jack pine, and balsam fir occur on drier sites. The Great Lakes and St Lawrence forests extend from the southern part of the Shield, where the boreal softwoods as well as red spruce and hemlock occur, to south-eastern Ontario between Lakes Huron and Ontario, where hardwoods dominate. Along the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario is the fifth area, made up mainly of southern broadleaf forest. Altogether, forest covers nearly 70 per cent of the land area of Ontario.

The animal life of Ontario is rich and varied. Polar bear, white whale, seal, walrus, and caribou are common in the arctic area along Hudson Bay. The swampy northern areas and the countless lakes of the Canadian Shield region provide ideal habitats for many fur-bearing animals. In the boreal and Great Lakes forests are black bear, skunk, deer, moose, and wolf, as well as a number of smaller mammals. Ontario supports a wide variety of bird life, including herons, divers, woodpeckers, warblers, and finches.

D.

Resources, Products, and Industries

While the economy of Ontario was traditionally dominated by agriculture, forestry, mining, and trapping, manufacturing has become a leading economic sector. Commerce, banking, insurance, tourism, and government operations are other major aspects of the Ontario economy. Ontario has great mineral resources, with vast deposits of nickel, copper, and iron ore as well as substantial resources of gold, silver, platinum metals, colbalt, lead, and zinc.

Ontario is the leading agricultural province of Canada. The major crops include corn, potatoes, and other vegetables, soya beans, tobacco, wheat, barley, and hay. Large quantities of apples, cherries, grapes, peaches, and other fruit are grown in the Niagara Peninsula. Softwoods harvested in the northern part of the province are used primarily for furniture making. Commercial fishing is limited; harvested species include yellow perch, lake whitefish, smelt, pickerel, and bass.

Ontario dominates manufacturing in Canada, accounting for more than half of all the country's shipments of fabricated goods. The most important manufactured items include transport equipment, especially motor vehicles, packed meat and other processed food, beverages, primary metals and metal products, rubber and leather goods, textiles, clothing, furniture, paper and paper items, refined petroleum, and printed materials.