Of all the world’s maple syrup, 71% comes from Canada, which probably isn’t that surprising when we think about it. But what is fascinating is that 91% of maple syrup production occurs in Quebec alone, according to Pure Canada Maple.
Canada also makes up 80% of global green lentil exports, with 95% produced in Saskatchewan.
Alert
In Nunavut Territory, Alert is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world and is only 817 kilometers from the North Pole. Being so far north, Nunavut's weather conditions usually fall somewhere between cold and freezing, with some parts of this large territory are vastly colder than others.
Their summer temperatures can rise as high as 86°F, but their winter temperatures can still be almost as cold as those in the High Arctic.
Nakwakto Rapids
The infamous Nakwakto rapids are one of the top cold water dives that you can do in Canada. The Guinness Book of World records lists the Nakwakto rapids as having the fastest navigable tidal rapids in the world, up to 16 knots (30 km/h). There you can also find the beautiful, and unique Nakwakto Goose-neck barnacle found nowhere else in the world.
The rapids are powered by the changing tides, which forces huge amounts of water through this relatively narrow bottleneck. So intense is the tidal flow here that Turret Rock has also been called “Tremble Island” because it’s reputed to shake from the ripping water.
Quebec is a First in More Ways than One
Quebec was builtin 1695, with this city's fortifications reach nearly 4.6 kilometers, which is almost three miles. Québec City sits on the Saint Lawrence River in Canada's mostly French-speaking Québec province.
This means that Quebec is the only walled city north of Mexico. As if that wasn't enough, Quebec was also the first city in North America to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Canada’s Name
The name Canada likely comes from the Huron-Iroquois Indian word Kanata, which means village or settlement and it was actually named through a misunderstanding. In 1535, when French explorer Jacques Cartier traveled with Indian youths, they used the word for Stadacona, a village where Quebec City is located today.
Cartier then used the word Canada to refer to the entire surrounding area, and in 1547, Canada appeared on maps pertaining to land north of the St. Lawrence River.