10 Most Interesting Facts About Ontario
Ontario is a spectacular province consisting of beautiful locations, distinctive landscapes, tranquil parks, and fun excursions that are guaranteed to provide you with a well-rounded experience.
It is home to the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and its most populated city, Toronto, which serves as the provincial capital of Ontario, the financial hub of the nation, and the site of the stock exchange. The name of the province, Ontario, is said to be derived from the Huron (Wyandot) word for “large lake” or from the Iroquoian word skanadario, which means “beautiful water.
With immigrants making up the majority of the population, Ontario is renowned for its cultural diversity, which makes the community cosmopolitan and welcoming. Ontario is home to a lot of parks, lakes, green spaces, wooded areas, and outdoor adventure playgrounds.
Aside from the aforementioned, the city has a lot more to offer and learn about. Let’s look at the top ten interesting facts about Ontario:
1) Ontario Has the World Famous Niagara Falls
The 12,000-year-old-famous Niagara Falls, which spans the international boundary between Ontario and the US state of New York, is located in Ontario.
Niagara Falls State Park, which is open all year round and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week offers nightly lighting of the Falls and seasonal fireworks for an amazing experience. The Niagara Falls State Park includes approximately 400 acres of naturally lush terrain and protected animals and was created by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
A visit to Niagara Falls at night is a breathtaking experience due to the nighttime illumination.
The largest of the three waterfalls that together make up Niagara Falls on the Niagara River, which runs along the border between Canada and the United States, is Horseshoe Falls, also referred to as Canadian Falls.
Horseshoe Falls, the larger of the two falls that account for nearly 90% of the river’s discharge, is 790 meters (2,600 feet) broad, while American Falls is just 320 meters (1,060 feet) wide.
As the “Honeymoon Capital of the World,” Niagara Falls has welcomed many newlyweds every year for the past 200 years, earning the title.
2) Ontario Is Home to Over 250,000 Lakes
The next interesting fact about Ontario is that the whole province of Ontario was covered in ice at one point or another, resulting in several lakes. The province of Ontario is around 85% land and 15% water.
Ontario includes over 250,000 lakes, including five big lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, which comprise approximately one-fifth of the world’s fresh water.
Except for Lake Michigan, Ontario contains a bit of each of the other four Great Lakes.
The largest and deepest of the Great Lakes of North America, Lake Superior is also the one that is located the most north.
Second-largest Lake Huron is renowned for its breathtaking beauty. Lake Huron is home to a variety of marshes, woodlands, beaches, dunes, and huge river systems that support a diverse range of species, serve as a place for people to live, and offer breathtaking vistas and tourist attractions.
Despite being the third-biggest Great Lake, Lake Michigan is one of the largest lakes fully located in the United States. While the Great Lakes normally contact several states in the United States and certain areas of Canada, Lake Michigan is the only all-American Great Lake that does not touch any sections outside the United States.
Lake Erie, which stretches from the American states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and Michigan to the Canadian province of Ontario, is the fourth-largest Great Lake. Its water capacity is the lowest, at approximately 116 cubic miles (480 cubic kilometres).
The smallest lake and most picturesque body of water in North America’s Great Lakes are Lake Ontario. The size of its surface is around 20,000 square kilometres. More than 400 islands make up Lake Ontario, some of which are home to animals like bald eagles, ospreys, and peregrine falcons.
Additionally, the Great Lakes’ total shoreline covers around 45% of the earth’s surface.
3) Ontario Is Larger Than France and Spain Combined
The province of Ontario is one of Canada’s thirteen provinces and territories. It is also Canada’s most populated province, accounting for 38.3% of the nation’s total population. Ontario is a province where English is spoken. When the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are taken into account, Ontario ranks fourth in terms of overall area in Canada.
One of the most interesting facts about Ontario is it is the most populated province in Canada and the second largest by total size (after Quebec), encompassing over 1 million square kilometres (415,000 square miles) – an area greater than France and Spain combined. It is also more than one-tenth the size of Canada.
Not only that, but Ontario province is over a third the size of India, more than three times the size of Germany, more than four times the size of the United Kingdom, and roughly the same size as the US states of Texas and Montana combined.
Another fun fact about Ontario is that the province is so large that it has two time zones. The majority of Ontario is technically in the Eastern Time Zone. Ontario is officially in the Central Time Zone west of 90° west longitude.
4) Ontario Is Home to 5 Canadian National Parks
Canada has 48 national parks, with six of them in Ontario alone, including the country’s sole urban national park. There are also approximately 100 provincial parks in the province.
The following are the six national parks, each with its charm, complete with excellent hiking paths and incredible canoe routes that provide us with quiet nature-filled retreats from our hectic lives:
• Pukaskwa National Park
• Bruce Penninsula National Park
• Georgian Bay Islands National Park
• Thousand Islands National Park
• Point Pelee National Park
Pukaskwa National Park is a national park in northern Ontario, Canada, in the Thunder Bay District, south of the town of Marathon. Pukaskwa, which was founded in 1978, is renowned for its views of Lake Superior and boreal woodlands.
Lake Superior has a significant impact on the park’s humid continental climate. This park is home to black bears, moose, beavers, peregrine falcons, river otters, lynx, and timber wolves.
Algonquin Provincial Park is Canada’s oldest provincial park and one of the most popular in the province of Ontario. It is roughly a fifth the size of Belgium and provides great camping and trekking activities, as well as sports.
Polar Bear Provincial Park is a remote wilderness area that spans a sizable portion of the northern Ontario coastline. With hundreds of bears passing through the area each year, it is the largest park in Ontario solely dedicated to bear migration and is off-limits to tourists. However, you can fly there if you have permission in advance.
5) Ontario Houses One of the Seven Wonders of the World
One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, the CN Tower in Toronto is also the highest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere when the height of its antenna at the top is taken into consideration. The tower is rather tall at 1,814 feet (553.3 meters).
The CN Tower was finished in 1976, and until the Canton Tower exceeded its height in 2007, it was the tallest building in the world. It was overtaken by the Burj Khalifa as the tallest free-standing structure in the world in 2009. Another name for it is “Canadian National Tower.” The railway firm that constructed the tower, Canadian National, was referenced in its name, “CN.”
The CN Tower is struck by lightning about 75 times annually. However, the copper rods that are inserted within it help to prevent electrical damage.
On a clear day, guests may view Niagara Falls and New York State from the SkyPod level of the Tower, where visibility can extend up to 100 miles. It is a recognizable landmark of Toronto’s skyline and is home to three observation decks, an entertainment complex, and a rotating restaurant at a height of around 350 meters (1,150 feet). Over 2 million foreign visitors are thought to visit the CN Tower each year.
6) Ontario Has the Largest Museum in Canada
There are almost 700 museums in Ontario, all different in size and type. The largest museum in Canada and the sixth-largest in North America is the Royal Ontario Museum. With over a million visitors a year, it is also Canada’s most popular museum.
The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada has seen several expansions since it was initially constructed in 1914 in the Italianate Neo-Romanesque style. The main structure and its 1933 eastern wing expansion were classified as historic structures in 1973.
The museum’s extensive collections of natural history and world culture, which total more than 6,000,000 items and 40 halls, help to explain its popularity on a global scale. The ROM is home to top-notch collections of rocks, meteorites, minerals, and gems in addition to a sizable number of type specimens.
The museum’s Cambrian fossil collection from the Burgess Shale in British Columbia is sometimes recognized as the most significant in the world, and its collection of Cretaceous dinosaurs is well-known across the world. The museum, which is connected to the University of Toronto, has a strong emphasis on both research and a public education initiative.
7) The Most Famous Toronto Film Festival Takes Place Annually in Ontario
The oldest film festival in the world is the Toronto Film Festival. It is one of the biggest public film festivals in the world, with over 480,000 visitors yearly. When TIFF first started in 1976 as the “Festival of Festivals,” its primary objective was to showcase the best films from film festivals across the globe. The eleven-day TIFF festival begins the Thursday evening following Labor Day (the first Monday of September in Canada).
TIFF is a nonprofit cultural organization whose mission is to use film to alter people’s perspectives of the world. The annual Toronto International Film Festival is put on by TIFF, a global pioneer in movie culture, each September.
On the northwest intersection of King Street and John Street, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the first five floors of the Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower, lies the TIFF Bell Lightbox, a cultural center. Five movie theatres, two restaurants, important exhibitions and galleries, a gift shop, a rooftop terrace, and learning workshops are all available at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Over 10–11 days, moviegoers, filmmakers, industry insiders, and the media are treated to the best in recent cinema, from renowned auteurs to up-and-coming talent. As one of the most significant cultural events in the world, the festival strives to routinely set the bar for film excellence.
8) Markham in Ontario Has the Highest Minority Population in Canada
With a population of 330,000, Markham is one of just a few “majority-minority” communities in Canada. According to the 2016 census, visible minorities (people who are not white or indigenous) make up 78% of the city’s population. 72.3 percent of the population are members of visible minorities. The majority (52.9%) of the community is made up of Chinese people.
The South Asian population (26.4%) and the black community (4.5%) are two other emerging visible minority groups in Markham. Given the presence of businesses like Apple, IBM, Lucent, Motorola, Toshiba, and Sun Microsystems, the town’s claim to be Canada’s high-technology capital is at least somewhat warranted.
9) Ontario Has the Largest Forest Cover in Canada
Another one of the interesting fact about Ontario is it has the most forest cover in Canada, at 70.5 million hectares. This equates to 66% of Ontario’s woods, 20% of Canada’s forests, and 2% of the world’s forests.
Ontario has four major forest areas, each with its own set of traits and species:
1. The Far North Hudson Bay Lowlands
2. The Boreal forest region of northern Ontario
3. The forest of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence in southern and central Ontario
4. The Southern Ontario deciduous woodland
The second-largest forest region in Ontario is the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest. About 20 million hectares of Ontario are covered by it. This forest stretches west of Lake Superior along the border with Minnesota and along the St. Lawrence River from Lake Huron through central Ontario to Lake. The bulk of people in Ontario resides in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and the deciduous forest regions.
The northernmost wooded region in Ontario is the Hudson Bay Lowlands. One of the largest wetlands in the world is located in this forest. More than two-thirds of its 26 million hectares are made up of open muskeg and woodlands, and there are several small lakes and ponds scattered throughout.
The largest wooded region in both Ontario and Canada is the boreal forest. Two-thirds of Ontario’s forest, or 50 million hectares, is located in the boreal forest. From the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest’s northern boundaries travel to the Hudson Bay Lowlands.
Numerous plant species, including ferns, mosses, fungi, shrubs, and herbs, may be found in the boreal forest. Additionally, it is home to a wide variety of animals, such as predators, many birds, and small mammals.
A forest type known as deciduous woodland sheds its leaves in the fall and winter, producing a vibrant display of changing foliage. Over 1,200 square kilometres of deciduous woods cover Southern Ontario. This is almost 60% of the entire forest area in the province.
10) Ontario Has the Busiest Highway in the World
King’s Highway 401 is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is also sometimes referred to by its official name, Files Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, or colloquially as the “four-oh-one.”
The 401 highway, stretches through the Canadian province of Ontario from Windsor to the Quebec border in the east. In addition to being the busiest in North America, the portion of Highway 401 that passes through Toronto is also one of the widest and busiest in the whole globe. On average, it manages more than 500,000 vehicles each day.
A major thoroughfare in Ontario’s highway system is Highway 401. It facilitates international trade by linking the Greater Toronto Area to southern Ontario and continuing north to the US.
11) Conclusion
Not only that, but Ontario has its provincial bird named the loon, an official mineral called amethyst (which can be found in abundance on Lake Superior’s north coast), a flower called white trillium, and a tree called white pine. Ontario also has an official flag, the Red Ensign. Ontario is one of the world’s coldest capitals. It is also responsible for some of the world’s negative emissions.
In addition, several well-known musicians, actors, singers, and fashion icons were born in Ontario, including Ryan Gosling, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Rachel McAdams, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey, Shania Twain, Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Neve Campbell, and Dan Aykroyd.
We genuinely hope you found these fun facts about Ontario to be fascinating. We hope this article has piqued your interest in learning more about this location and maybe even visiting there.
Don’t forget to check out this article to know about fun things to do in Ontario: Fun things to do in Ontario
I hope you come here soon and enjoy a little bit of your personal experience.
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