Tootfinder

Good Morning #Canada
We are almost at the end of our #CanadianCapitals series and today's post is about the sunniest city in Canada. Yellowknife and its surrounding water bodies were named after a local Dene tribe, who were known as the "Copper Indians" or "Yellowknife Indians", because they traded tools made from copper deposits near the Arctic Coast. Yellowknife is a relatively new capital becoming the seat of Government for the Northwest Territories in 1967. The settlement was founded in 1934 with the discovery of gold and became a centre of economic activity in the NWT. As gold production began to decrease, Yellowknife shifted from being a mining town to a centre of government services in the 1980s but a new mining boom started with the discovery of diamonds north of the city in 1991. Established on the shore of the world's 9th largest lake, Yellowknife is a popular tourist destination for watching the Northern Lights.
#CanadaIsAwesome #History #Geography
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/yellowknife-nwt

Good Morning #Canada
It's a brisk -23°C this morning but the infallible #Weather app is telling me that we will be -5°C or warmer over the next few weeks. Break out the shorts, Spring has arrived.
In preparation for the big thaw, I think we need a semi-regular series on the top 25 rivers in Canada. Why top 25? Hey, it's my account, my nonsensical rules. We'll count down to #1 in terms of length because size matters.
Today an honourable mention, the St. Lawrence River, commonly referred to as the St. Lawrence Seaway. Although one of the most recognizable rivers in eastern Canada, and one that drains the largest watershed on the planet, it doesn't make it into the top 50 longest rivers in the country.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography #CanadaRivers
https://youtu.be/IjKoi1_ZCQk

#TIL: Greenland, which is an *island*, shares a *land border* with Canada. 🫨
Yup.
#Greenland #Canada #geography #borders #fact #trivia

Good Morning #Canada
Everyone knows that Canada's 243,000 km of coastline are the longest in the world. At a pace of about 20 km each day, the stroll would take 33 years. Inside of that long shoreline, did you know that Canada is divided into seven physiographic regions? We're not talking mind altering drugs but instead reference the distinct geological formation that defines the landscape. The Canadian Shield, with the oldest exposed rocks on the planet, dominates the centre of the country with stable immovable bedrock. Kinda like Toronto being the centre of the universe. Each physiographic region gives that area of our country unique features and scenery that provides us with a seemingly inexhaustible opportunity to explore. I should be writing travel brochures...
#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/physiographic-regions

Good Morning #Canada
It's probably a good idea to review that "longest undefended border" thingy in light of an increasingly belligerent American government. This delightfully quaint 12-year old video, from when we were still kinda buddies, presents some history and oddities on how the Canadian-USA border was established. The reference to a "no touching zone" is somewhat ironic when you consider that their current president has a reputation for being "hands on", usually without consent. Not sorry...
#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://youtu.be/qMkYlIA7mgw

Good Morning #Canada
We move onto #24 in our countdown of #CanadaRivers with the Koksoak River. At 874 km it is the largest river in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec. The name Koksoak is believed to originate from Moravian missionaries who evangelized among the Inuit of the area at the beginning of British rule and incorrectly spelled the Inuktitut word Kuujjuaq, meaning "great river." It drains a watershed of 133,400 km/2 and because of its volume, 2,800 square metres per second, its waters have been diverted as part of the massive James Bay hydroelectric project. That project drowned 7,000 square miles of Cree hunting land causing decades of conflict between Indigenous peoples and the Quebec government, with major issues resolved by a treaty signed in 2002.
Two rivers into our countdown and I'm sensing a trend: big river -> hydroelectric development -> trampling of Indigenous rights -> treaty to resolve injustices.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koksoak_River

Good Morning #Canada
It's time for our first post in the #CanadaRivers series with #25 in our countdown. The Churchill River, in Atlantic Canada, flows for 856 km from Lake Melville into the Atlantic Ocean. It drains a watershed that covers 79,800 km/2 and has an average volume of 1,580 square metres per second.
The power development at Churchill Falls has backed up the river and created the enormous Smallwood Reservoir. Farther upstream, a hydroelectric plant at the outfall from Menihek Lakes provides power for the former iron-mining town of Schefferville, Québec. With a heavy flow and large drop from the Labrador Plateau, the river has probably the greatest hydroelectric potential of any in North America. The Churchill Falls Generating Station deserves it's own post as it is a massive 5,428 MW underground hydro power plant.
Don't get used to calling it the Churchill River as there are recent campaigns to return to its traditional native name.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/churchill-river-innu-name-change-mishta-shipu-1.6444142

Good Morning #Canada
The Assiniboine River is 1,070 km long and runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The #16 emtry on our #CanadaRivers countdown, the Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in others. It drains a reasonably sized watershed of 182,000 km2 but a weak flow averaging 45 m3/s means it has changed course numerous times over past centuries, following its modern course for approximately 700 years. Flood control dikes and dams have been added to the upper steeper sections of the Assiniboine to reduce damage during spring melt and runoff.
Where the Red & Assiniboine rivers meet, in the heart of Winnipeg, is a area known as The Forks. It has played a complex role in the history of the region, as a meeting place for Indigenous People for 6,000 years and later as the 1st colonial settlement in western Canada.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Geography
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-forks