Photo:1
Photo:2
Photo:3
Photo:4
Photo:1 Photo:2 Photo:3 Photo:4 |
| Geography | |
| 2>
Main article: Geography of Manitoba
See also: List of protected areas of Manitoba
Manitoba is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories to the north, and the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. It adjoins Hudson Bay to the northeast, and is the only prairie province with a coastline.
Map of Manitoba.
[edit] Tags:R,Prairie,Ontario,Saskatchewan,Nunavut,Northwest Territories,North Dakota,Minnesota,Hudson Bay,Red, | |
| Hydrography and terrain | |
| 3>
The province has a saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and contains over 110,000 lakes,[3] covering approximately 15.6% or 101,593 square kilometres (39,225 sq mi) of its surface area.[4] Manitoba's major lakes are Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg, the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world and the largest located entirely within southern Canada.[5] Some traditional Native lands and boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg are a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site.[6]
Major watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill Rivers. Most of Manitoba's inhabited south lies in the prehistoric bed of Glacial Lake Agassiz. This region, particularly the Red River Valley, is flat and fertile; there are hilly and rocky areas throughout the province left behind by receding glaciers.[7]
Baldy Mountain is the highest point in the province at 832 metres (2,730 ft) above sea level,[8] and the Hudson Bay coast is the lowest at sea level. Riding Mountain, the Pembina Hills, Sandilands Provincial Forest, and the Canadian Shield are also upland regions. Much of the province's sparsely inhabited north and east lie on the irregular granite Canadian Shield, including Whiteshell, Atikaki, and Nopiming Provincial Parks.[9]
Extensive agriculture is found only in the southern half of the province, although there is grain farming in the Carrot Valley Region (near The Pas). The most common agricultural activity is cattle farming (34.6%), followed by assorted grains (19.0%) and oilseed (7.9%).[10] Around 12% of Canadian farmland is located in Manitoba.[11]
[edit] Tags:Winnipeg,Canadian,Assiniboine,Lake Winnipegosis,Lake Winnipeg,Tenth-largest Freshwater Lake,Boreal Forest,Unesco,World Heritage Site,Nelson,Hayes,Whiteshell,Glacial Lake Agassiz,Red River Valley,Sea Level,Riding Mountain,Pembina Hills,Sandilands Provincial Forest,Canadian Shield,Atikaki,Nopiming Provincial Parks,The Pas,Oilseed,White,Glaciers, | |
| Climate | |
| 3>
Main article: Climate of Manitoba
Canada's first reported Fujita Scale F5 tornado approaching Elie
Manitoba has an extreme continental climate; temperatures and precipitation generally decrease from south to north, and precipitation decreases from east to west.[12] Manitoba is far removed from the moderating influences of both mountain ranges and large bodies of water, and because of the generally flat landscape, it is exposed to cold Arctic high-pressure air masses from the northwest during January and February. In the summer, air masses sometimes come out of the Southern United States, as warm humid air is drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico.[13]
Southern parts of the province, located just north of Tornado Alley, experience tornadoes each year, with 15 confirmed touchdowns in 2006. In 2007, on June 22 and June 23, numerous tornadoes touched down, the largest of which was an F5 Tornado that devastated parts of Elie (the strongest officially recorded tornado in Canada).[14] Temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) numerous times each summer, and the combination of heat and humidity can bring the humidex value to the mid-40s.[15] Carman, Manitoba holds the record for the highest humidex in Canada, with 53.0.[16]
According to Environment Canada, Manitoba ranked first for clearest skies year round, and ranked second for clearest skies in the summer and for sunniest province in the winter and spring.[17] Portage la Prairie has the most sunny days in summer in Canada; Winnipeg has the second-clearest skies year-round and is the second-sunniest city in Canada in the spring and winter.[18] Southern Manitoba has a long frost-free season of between 125 and 135 days in the Red River Valley,[19] decreasing to the northeast.
The northern sections of the province (including the city of Thompson) fall in the subarctic climate zone (Köppen climate classification Dfc). This region features long and extremely cold winters and brief, warm summers with little precipitation.[20] Overnight temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F) occur on several days each winter.[20]
Southern Manitoba (including the city of Winnipeg), falls into the humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfb). This area is cold and windy in the winter and frequently experiences blizzards because of the openness of the landscape. Summers are warm with a decent length, and this region is the most humid area in the prairie provinces with moderate precipitation.
Southwestern Manitoba, though under the same climate classification as the rest of Southern Manitoba, is closer to the semi-arid interior of Palliser's Triangle. The area is drier and more prone to droughts than other parts of southern Manitoba.[21] This area is cold and windy in the winter and frequently experiences blizzards because of the openness of the landscape.[21] Summers are generally warm to hot, with low to moderate humidity.[21]
Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Manitoba[22]
City
July (°C)
July (°F)
January (°C)
January (°F)
Pierson
27/12
80/54
-11/-21
13/-6
Winnipeg
26/13
79/55
−13/−20
9/−4
Portage la Prairie
25/13
77/55
−12/−23
10/−9
Dauphin
25/12
77/54
−12/−23
10/−9
Brandon
25/11
77/52
−13/−24
9/−11
The Pas
23/12
73/54
−16/−26
3/−15
Thompson
23/9
73/48
−19/−31
−2/−24
Churchill
17/7
63/44
-23/-31
-9/-23
[edit] Tags:/,Fujita Scale,Continental Climate,Arctic High-pressure,Southern United States,Gulf Of Mexico,Tornado Alley,Tornadoes,Humidex,Portage La Prairie,Subarctic Climate,Köppen Climate Classification,Palliser's Triangle,Blizzards, | |
| Flora and fauna | |
| 3>
Polar bears are common in northern Manitoba
The eastern, southeastern, and northern reaches of the province range through boreal coniferous forests, muskeg, Canadian Shield and a small section of tundra bordering Hudson Bay. Forests make up about 263,000 square kilometres (102,000 sq mi), or 48 percent, of the province's land area.[23] The forests consist of pines (mostly Jack Pine, some Red Pine), spruces (white, black), larch, poplars (Trembling Aspen, balsam poplar), birch (white, swamp) and small pockets of Eastern White Cedar.[23] The tallgrass prairie dominates the southern parts of the province, and is notable for its endangered Western Prairie Fringed Orchid.[24][25]
Manitoba is home to a diverse species of animals. The province is especially noted for its polar bear population; Churchill is commonly referred to as the "Polar Bear Capital".[26] Other large animals, such as moose, deer, and wolves, are common throughout the province, especially in the provincial and national parks. There is a large population of garter snakes near Narcisse; the dens there are home to the largest concentration of snakes in the world.[27] Manitoba has over 145 species of birds, including the Great Grey Owl, the province's official bird, and the endangered peregrine falcon.[28] Manitoba's lakes host 18 species of game fish, particularly species of trout, pike, and goldeye, as well as many smaller fish.[29]
[edit] Tags:Coniferous,Muskeg,Pines,Jack Pine,Red Pine,Spruces,Black,Larch,Poplars,Trembling Aspen,Balsam Poplar,Birch,Swamp,Eastern White Cedar,Tallgrass Prairie,Western Prairie Fringed Orchid,Polar Bear,Garter Snakes,Great Grey Owl, | |
| First Nations and European settlement | |
| 3>
The geographical area of modern-day Manitoba was inhabited by the First Nations people shortly after the last ice age glaciers retreated in the southwest approximately 10,000 years ago; the first exposed land was the Turtle Mountain area.[30] The Ojibwe, Cree, Dene, Sioux, Mandan, and Assiniboine peoples founded settlements, and other tribes entered the area to trade. In Northern Manitoba, quartz was mined to make arrowheads. The first farming in Manitoba was along the Red River, where corn and other seed crops were planted before contact with Europeans.[31] The name "Manitoba" is likely derived from the languages of the Cree or Ojibwe, and means "strait of the Manitou (spirit)". It may also be from the Assiniboine for "Lake of the Prairie".[32]
Historical flag of the Hudson's Bay Company from its days as a British trading company
In 1611, Henry Hudson was one of the first Europeans to sail into what is now known as Hudson Bay, where he was abandoned by his crew.[33] The first European to reach present-day central and southern Manitoba was Sir Thomas Button, who travelled upstream along the Nelson River to Lake Winnipeg in 1612 in an unsuccessful attempt to find and rescue Hudson.[34] The Nonsuch, a British ship, sailed into Hudson Bay in 1668–1669, becoming the first trading vessel to reach the area; that voyage led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company, which was given absolute control of the entire Hudson Bay watershed by the British government. This watershed was named Rupert's Land, after Prince Rupert, who helped to subsidize the Hudson's Bay Company.[35] York Factory was founded in 1684 after the original fort of the Hudson's Bay Company, Fort Nelson (built in 1682), was destroyed by rival French traders.[36]
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, visited the Red River Valley in the 1730s to help open the area for French exploration and trade.[37] As French explorers entered the area, a Montreal-based company, the North West Company, began trading with the Métis. Both the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company built fur-trading forts; the two companies competed in southern Manitoba, occasionally resulting in violence, until they merged in 1821 (the Hudson's Bay Company Archives in Winnipeg preserve the history of this era).[35]
Great Britain secured the territory in 1763 as a result of their victory over France in the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War; 1754–1763). The founding of the first agricultural community and settlements in 1812 by Lord Selkirk, north of the area which is now downtown Winnipeg, resulted in conflict between British colonists and the Métis.[38] Twenty colonists, including the governor, and one Métis were killed in the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816.[39]
[edit] Tags:Cree,Ojibwe, | |
| Confederation | |
| 3>
Evolution of Canadian provinces 1867–present.
Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869 and incorporated into the Northwest Territories; a lack of attention to Métis concerns caused Métis leader Louis Riel to establish a local provisional government as part of the Red River Rebellion. In response, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald introduced the Manitoba Act in the Canadian House of Commons, the bill was given Royal Assent and Manitoba was brought into Canada as a province in 1870.[40] Louis Riel was pursued by British army officer Garnet Wolseley because of the rebellion, and Riel fled into exile.[41] The Métis were blocked by the Canadian government in their attempts to obtain land promised to them as part of Manitoba's entry into confederation. Facing racism from the new flood of white settlers from Ontario, large numbers of Métis moved to what would become Saskatchewan and Alberta.[40]
Numbered Treaties were signed in the late 19th century with the chiefs of various First Nations that lived in the area. These treaties made specific promises of land for every family. As a result, a reserve system was established under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.[42] The prescribed amount of land promised to the native peoples was not always given; this led to efforts by aboriginal groups to assert rights to the land through aboriginal land claims, many of which are still ongoing.[43]
The original province of Manitoba was a square 1/18 of its current size, and was known as the "postage stamp province".[44] Its borders were expanded in 1881, but Ontario claimed a large portion of the land; the disputed portion was awarded to Ontario in 1889. Manitoba grew progressively, absorbing land from the Northwest Territories until it attained its current size by reaching 60°N in 1912.[44]
The Manitoba Schools Question showed the deep divergence of cultural values in the territory. The Catholic Franco-Manitobans had been guaranteed a state-supported separate school system in the original constitution of Manitoba, but a grassroots political movement among English Protestants from 1888 to 1890 demanded the end of French schools. In 1890, the Manitoba legislature passed a law removing funding for French Catholic schools.[45] The French Catholic minority asked the federal government for support; however, the Orange Order and other anti-Catholic forces mobilized nationwide to oppose them.[46]
The federal Conservatives proposed remedial legislation to override Manitoba, but they were blocked by the Liberals, led by Wilfrid Laurier, who opposed the remedial legislation because of his belief in provincial rights.[45] Once elected Prime Minister in 1896, Laurier implemented a compromise stating that Catholics in Manitoba could have their own religious instruction for 30 minutes at the end of the day if there were enough students to warrant it, implemented on a school-by-school basis.[45]
[edit] Tags:Red River Rebellion, | |
| Modern times | |
| 3>
Crowd gathered outside the old City Hall during the Winnipeg General Strike, June 21, 1919.
Control gates at the inlet to the Floodway.
By 1911, Winnipeg was the third largest city in Canada, and remained so until overtaken by Vancouver in the 1920s.[47] A boomtown, it grew quickly around the turn of the century, with outside investors and immigrants contributing to its success.[48] The drop in growth in the second half of the decade was a result of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, which reduced reliance on transcontinental railways for trade, as well as a decrease in immigration due to the outbreak of World War I.[49] Over 18,000 Manitoba residents enlisted in the first year of the war; by the end of the war, 14 Manitobans had received the Victoria Cross.[50]
After World War I ended, severe discontent among farmers (over wheat prices) and union members (over wage rates) resulted in an upsurge of radicalism, coupled with a polarization over the rise of Bolshevism in Russia.[51] The most dramatic result was the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. It began May 15 and collapsed on June 25, 1919, as the workers gradually returned to their jobs, and the Central Strike Committee decided to end the movement.[52]
Government efforts to violently crush the strike, including a Royal Northwest Mounted Police charge into a crowd of protesters that resulted in multiple casualties and one death, had led to the arrest of the movement's leaders.[52] In the aftermath, eight leaders went on trial, and most were convicted on charges of seditious conspiracy, illegal combinations, and seditious libel; four were aliens who were deported under the Canadian Immigration Act.[53]
The Great Depression (1929–c.1939) hit especially hard in Western Canada, including Manitoba. The collapse of the world market combined with a steep drop in agricultural production due to drought led to economic diversification, moving away from a reliance on wheat production.[54] The Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, forerunner to the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP), was founded in 1932.[55]
Canada entered World War II in 1939. Winnipeg was one of the major commands for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train fighter pilots, and there were air training schools throughout Manitoba. Several Manitoba-based regiments were deployed overseas, including Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. In an effort to raise money for the war effort, the Victory Loan campaign organised "If Day" in 1942. The event featured a simulated Nazi invasion and occupation of Manitoba, and eventually raised over C$65 million.[56]
Winnipeg was inundated during the 1950 Red River Flood and had to be partially evacuated. In that year, the Red River reached its highest level since 1861 and flooded most of the Red River Valley. The damage caused by the flood led then-Premier Duff Roblin to advocate for the construction of the Red River Floodway; it was completed in 1968 after six years of excavation. Permanent dikes were erected in eight towns south of Winnipeg, and clay dikes and diversion dams were built in the Winnipeg area. In 1997, the "Flood of the Century" caused over C$400 million in damages in Manitoba, but the floodway prevented Winnipeg from flooding.[57]
In 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to pass the Meech Lake Accord, a series of constitutional amendments to persuade Quebec to endorse the Canada Act 1982. Unanimous support in the legislature was needed to bypass public consultation. Tags:Largest City,General Strike,Great Depression, | |
z³ote monety |