Country Background
A large country, Canada has a very varied geography. There are mountain ranges, lakes, and rivers as well as fertile plains, wilderness, and Arctic tundra.

The national capital of Canada is Ottawa, which is in the province of Ontario. Canada is made of 10 provinces and three territories.

Canada has two official languages: French and English. The city of Quebec is well known for its French-speaking population. Nearly 75 percent of the inhabitants of Quebec speak French. In other areas, Canadians speak English, a reflection of the historical influence of the United States and Great Britain.

Related Links

There is a lot more to learn about Canada!

Explore these sites for facts and figures about Canada. • ABCNews.com Country Profile: Canada • Ask Jeeves for Kids: Canada • Atlapedia Online: Canada • Canada's Information Office • CIA World Factbook 1999: Canada • Discovery School A-Z Geography: Canada • Discovery School A-Z History: Canada • Made in Canada • Zoom School Canada by Enchanted Learning Software View a map of Canada. Then look at maps of the provinces and territories. Want to learn about the laws of Canada? Check out the Canada Government at a Glance page. Browse the contributions to Canada's Digital Arts Collections and find out what's new this month. Did you know that the tandem cycling competition was cut from the Olympic lineup for the Games in Montreal? Learn more facts about the 1976 Olympics.

More Countries (past hosts of Olympic Games)

Japan United States Norway Spain Canada South Korea Bosnia Russia Austria

Germany France Mexico Italy Finland Switzerland Great Britain Netherlands

Not every participating country has had the honor of hosting the Olympic Games. To learn more about countries represented at the Olympics, browse the following sites.

3-D Atlas Discovery School A-Z Geography National Geographic Sydney 2000: Countries USA TODAY Parade of Nations