Page 7 of Canada Alaska and The Arctic by Audley Travel

québec the province of québec is proudly francophone with very gallic traditions of fine restaurants and pavement cafés this is strongest in the southern cities the arty and refined montréal and the atmospherically walled city of québec head out from the urban centres and the province changes in character to the west vast unvisited tracts of tundra reach out to the distant shores of hudson bay the st lawrence river was the original lifeline that allowed travel into the québec hinterland and this mighty river is home to migrating whales during the summer including the world s largest the blue whale on the south bank of the river exquisite forests drop down to the water s edge on the gaspésie peninsula while the north shore is home to the thriving arts of the charlevoix region and the beautiful natural landscapes of the saguenay fjord bears wolves and moose vastly outnumber the population with trappers log cabins forming toehold settlements in a truly wild environment this is a great place to encounter first nations cultures and this is where you ll find canada s only road that crosses the arctic circle the unsealed dempster highway the prairies of saskatchewan and manitoba custer later the town of moose jaw grew rich smuggling alcohol into prohibition america and the royal canadian mounties were established to calm a lawless region their training centre is at regina across the border in manitoba the provincial capital is winnipeg a friendly and approachable city that takes great pride in its independent refinement while to the north the province reaches up to the great canadian shield ice-scraped rock that leads onto the hudson bay where beluga whales frolic in the chilly waters and polar bears pace the shore iceberg alley newfoundland nunavut nunavut is an immense territory of tundra plateaux and mountains that includes the arctic archipelago a hidden world until the age of air travel this beautiful land is canada s newest territory splitting from the northwest territories in 1999 to provide self-rule for the inuit nunavut covers about one fifth of canada s land mass and stretches from hudson bay in the south to the arctic islands in the north the famed northwest passage wends its way through the northern islands making it the theatre for many historic arctic voyages nunavut meaning `our land in the inuktitut language is home to 28 inuit communities the largest of which is iqaluit with a population of 6,500 accessible only by air and sea this region is a cradle of inuit cultures the flowers of the arctic tundra and the dancing celestial phenomenon of the aurora borealis a plethora of wildlife inhabits these desolate lands with polar bears arctic foxes whales narwhals walrus musk oxen and herds of caribou often seen to visit in the summer is to discover a unique mix of culture wilderness and wildlife ontario niagara falls are unquestionably ontario s bestknown attraction a post-card perfect image of canada to send back home but this is just a foretaste of the province s many attractions ontario is home to canada s capital city ottawa and its largest metropolis toronto a cultural melting pot alive with the dynamism of this young nation one sixth of the province is covered with water and the great lakes dominate the southern lowlands including the largest freshwater surface area in the world lake superior this is a beautiful region for exploring by car from the pretty town of goderich on the shores of lake huron to algonquin provincial park with its canoeing hiking and wolves in this province the first nations culture lives on on manitoulin island the local tribes hold pow-wows every summer and in the northern regions visitors can explore with cree guides although part of canada s most populous province the shores of hudson bay can even now rarely be reached by road sea and air are still your only travel options enabling you to discover a whole new world yukon delphiniums in bloom the maritime provinces the seaboard provinces of nova scotia prince edward island new brunswick newfoundland and labrador make up canada s eastern seaboard mighty cliffs descend from the torngat mountains in labrador and the precipitous fjords of newfoundland s gros morne national park while in iceberg season huge white leviathans drift slowly along the shoreline in the direction of warmer waters the bay of fundy experiences the world s highest tidal range creating raging torrents and tidal bores the salmon-rich rivers of new brunswick lie alongside the pastoral idyll of historic acadia while the strong celtic heritage of nova scotia is home to ceilidhs sea-shanties quaint fishing villages and a rich maritime culture beautiful scenery combined with abundant marine and terrestrial wildlife makes the maritime provinces an excellent region for exploring by road alaska crossing over the border from british colombia or the yukon alaska is a vast outpost of the usa in the arctic world an astounding region of untouched natural beauty and hidden mineral wealth along the coast some of north america s highest mountains feed more than half the world s glaciers an epic sight as they calve icebergs into chill waters expedition cruises operate in these waters using zodiacs to discover breathtaking coastlines and the plethora of wildlife the interior is just as beautiful ideal for discovering by car or train with good road and rail systems linking canada s yukon to make circular round-trip routes possible and rewarding yukon rich with the romance of the klondike gold rush the yukon presents the classic face of canada a wilderness region where narrow ribbons of civilisation have been laid down by pioneers but much of the country still awaits exploration many of the gold rush towns are still largely unchanged step into dawson for streets lined with wooden clapperboard houses evoking the ghosts of a bygone age most of the land is made up of forested mountains riven by rivers and scattered with lakes niagara falls ontario 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