Реферат «Англомовні країни»

Prairie Provinces Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is located in the Prairie region of Canada. Half of it consists of forests, one-third of cultivated lands, and one-eighth is covered with water. In the north there are numerous (over 100,000) lakes, rivers, bogs and rocky outcroppings. The southern part of the province is relatively flat. Camel caravans might not seem out of place in certain parts of Saskatchewan. Athabasca Provincial Park has sand dunes 30 metres high and semiarid vegetation. Nowhere else in the world are dunes found this far north. The whole province enjoys a hot, dry summer but the town of Estevan is the undisputed “sunshine capital” of Canada with 2,540 hours of sunshine per year.

Land is the main resource. Today, Saskatchewan supplies 28 per cent of Canada`s grain production. Saskatchewan is also a major producer of cattle and hogs. Oil and natural gas are the leading mineral resources. Saskatchewan`s 14,000-oil wells produce about 12 per cent of Canada`s total oil output. In addition, with an estimated two-thirds of the world`s reserves, Saskatchewan is the leading exporter of potash. The foundation of many present-day settlements and towns were the trading posts of the first European trappers. For 200 years the Hudson`s Bay Company owned and administered this area. Realising its agricultural potential and the opportunities for colonisation, the Government of Canada purchased the land in 1870 and encouraged immigration. The new railway began bringing settlers in to farm these rich lands.
Saskatchewan entered Confederation in 1905. Regina became the provincial capital.
Today, Saskatchewan`s population stands at approximately 1.1 million. It is Canada`s only province where neither the majority of the population is of British or French background. It has a variety of ethnic inheritances – German, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, Dutch, Polish, Russian. Regina and Saskatoon are the two main cities and together have about one-third of the total population.