标签加拿大下的文章

魁北克老城区的景色，加拿大 View of the Old City in Quebec City, Canada (© RENAULT Philippe/age fotostock)

Frozen fun in the Canadian cold

Not far downriver from Montreal, where the banks of the St. Lawrence River widen as it approaches the Atlantic, lies Quebec's picturesque and often chilly capital. Quebec City, one of the continent's oldest European settlements, is often called the most European city outside Europe. It's the only North American city outside Mexico whose fortified walls still stand, and its winding streets showcase a French-tinged exemplar of old Romantic architecture (typified by the steep-roofed Château Frontenac in the photo's foreground).

The mid-sized metropolis has been central to French Canadian life for over 400 winters, and the annual Quebec Winter Carnival—which kicks off today—is one of the largest and oldest cold-weather celebrations on Earth. Thousands of Quebecers and visitors will spend the next 10 days ice skating, enjoying night parades, exploring the festival's ice palace, and dressing up for the Château's masquerade ball. A few will even perform winter feats like the ice canoe race, where boaters pilot specially-equipped canoes across the freezing St. Lawrence, intermittently stepping out to carry their vessels over huge ice chunks.

亚伯拉罕湖中的冰泡，加拿大艾伯塔省 Bubbles in the ice of Abraham Lake in Alberta, Canada (© robertharding/Alamy)

Frozen beauty

Located on the North Saskatchewan River, Lake Abraham is an artificial lake and Alberta's largest reservoir. Even though it's man-made, it takes on the blue color of other glacial lakes in the Rocky Mountains. In winter, the lake draws nature photographers interested not just in the wildlife and spectacular landscape, but also the lake's odd appearance when it freezes over. Bacteria on the lake bottom feed on dead organic matter and release the methane bubbles you see here. When the surface water freezes, the bubbles get trapped, creating a photographer's dream. They may be beautiful, but these frozen bubbles can be dangerous because they're highly flammable. If you happen to be lighting a match nearby, you'll want to watch out or the released methane could explode. The bubbles aren't so friendly to the environment, either; methane emissions are a major part of global greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change.

安大略省的圣诞树农场，加拿大 Christmas tree farm in Ontario, Canada (© FatCamera/Getty Images Plus)

A growing business

Today we're showing off a serene scene at a Christmas tree farm outside Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. If you were to visit a farm like this, however, it's unlikely you'd find much peace and quiet. Of the 25 million to 30 million natural Christmas trees sold each year in the US alone, 98 percent of them come from farms. 'Tis the season for tree chopping. Oregon, home to the popular noble and Douglas firs, produces the most Christmas trees of all US states, shipping much of the harvest to California. North Carolina, of Fraser fir fame, comes in at No. 2. Canada is the world's largest exporter of Christmas trees, spreading holiday cheer around the world.

Tonight, the National Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC, will be held in President's Park near the White House. President Trump will push a button to illuminate a towering evergreen, just as other presidents have done since the first ceremony in 1923.

蓝莓植物上的霜，加拿大新不伦瑞克 (© Freeman Patterson/Masterfile)

阿尔伯塔的日出，加拿大 Sunrise in Alberta, Canada (© Ambre Haller/Moment/Getty Images)

Canada gives thanks // Canadian Thanksgiving

We're looking at a fall sunrise in Alberta, Canada, in honor (or should we say 'honour’) of Canadian Thanksgiving. The holiday is officially celebrated on the second Monday in October, though many families gather the previous day. The first known Thanksgiving celebration in Canada was organized by English explorer Martin Frobisher in 1578 when he reached Newfoundland. Years later, American loyalists who were faithful to England during the Revolutionary War moved to Canada and brought traditions with them, such as eating turkey on Thanksgiving. A Canadian Thanksgiving table is also likely to have a cornucopia, a ram's horn (or horn-shaped basket) filled with festive-looking fruits and grains. Regional dishes might also include salmon and Nanaimo bars—a layered chocolate dessert.

Until this year, football was also part of the tradition, with the Canadian Football League hosting games every year from 1958 to 2018. For the 2019 season, however, no games were scheduled as the league considers some broader scheduling changes.

鸟瞰生长在森林中的树木，加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华 (© Michael Wu/EyeEm/Getty Images)

马格达伦群岛洞穴内部，加拿大魁北克 (© Virginie Fréchette/Getty Images)

Shining like Klondike gold

On August 16, 1896, two prospectors had their hopes literally pan out when they found a large deposit of gold along the banks of what would soon be known as the Bonanza River in the Klondike. And with that, Skookum Jim Mason (aka Keish) and his American brother-in-law George Carmack set in motion the Klondike Gold Rush—the richest gold strike in North American history. Because of the remoteness of the find, it would be over 11 months before the world found out. And it did so in the most dramatic fashion, when the steamers Portland and Excelsior pulled into Seattle’s harbor carrying over one ton of gold (worth over $1 billion in today's dollars).

The news reached the rest of the United States and Canada during a prolonged economic depression, which may help to explain why over 100,000 people quit their jobs (including the mayor of Seattle) and set out for the Yukon with dreams of striking pay dirt. But the trip was harrowing and arduous, and less than half of those who set out for the Klondike in Canada’s Yukon Territory wound up making it there. But the sudden influx of those who did complete the journey briefly turned Dawson City into the second largest city in Canada...and certainly the most expensive. Eggs cost $3 apiece (the equivalent of $81 today) and salt was literally worth its weight in gold. In the saloons of the boom town, a profit could be made by simply sweeping the floor and collecting spilled gold dust. Most who came lost everything. Today, Dawson City has a population of just under 1,400, making it the second largest city in the Yukon.

It's Canada's national day

For Canada Day, we're dipping our paddles in Still Creek, a long gentle stream in British Columbia. The canoe has long been associated with Canada's national history, linked with early explorers, fur traders, and colonists who ventured out into the wilderness of the great north. An image of a canoe even appeared on early versions of Canada's silver dollar, a coin which was later replaced by the ‘loonie,' so named for the depiction of a common loon on one side.

Canada Day, celebrated on July 1, commemorates the date in 1867 when Canada was recognized as a self-governing country under the British empire. It's a national holiday for Canadians, which makes it a perfect day to take out the canoe. While gliding across the water, consider humming a few bars of the national anthem, ‘O Canada.' Paddle on, Canadians!

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