a comparison of canada and sweden

8/13/2019 A Comparison of Canada and Sweden

1/7

CGC1D3-03

Ms. Fraser

Due: Thursday May 23, 2013


2/7

PART 1: Intro and General Info

The two countries that I will be comparing in this activity are Sweden and Canada, which are located in

Europe and North America, respectively.

The first country that I will discuss will be Sweden. The capital city

of Sweden is Stockholm, which is located in two provinces (namely

Sdermanland and Uppland). The geographic coordinates of Stockholm

are 59.2N, 18.0E. As a tourist, one might want to know how to say

"Hall" (pronounced ha-lo-uh), as it means "Hello!" in Swedish, the

official language of Sweden.

The second and final country that I will discuss is

Canada. The capital city of Canada is Ottawa, which is

located in the province of Ontario; the geographic

coordinates of Ottawa are 45.3N, 75.41W. The country of

Canada has two official languages, English and French;

although English is spoken much more frequently in Canada

than French. As this assignment is written in English, it is assumed that the reader is able to greet others in

English. In French, one can say "Hello!" in a variety of ways, with the most commonly occurring kinds being

"Salut!" or "Bonjour!"

This blue and yellow flag has been the official flag of

Sweden since June 22, 1906

This red and white flag is based off of Canada itself. The maple leaf

represents the land of Canada, and the two red bars on either side of

it represent the two oceans that surround the land. It has been the

official flag of Canada since February 15, 1965.


3/7

PART 2: Physical Geography

Canada is a very large country. The largest, in fact, in North America with a total area of 9 984 670 km2;

it is the second largest country in the world, after Russia. The extremely large amount of land that this country

has allowed the formation of seven relatively large landforms; which are the Appalachians, the Arctic and

Hudson Bay lowlands, the Canadian Shield, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Innuitian

Mountains, the Interior Plains and the Western Cordillera.

The Western Cordillera is a landform on the western side of Canada,

bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and having the Rocky Mountains to the

east. It was formed with the erosion and weather of the Canadian Shield, in

addition to folding/faulting, so it makes sense that it is composed of

sedimentary rock. The majority of the landscape in the Western Cordillera as we

see it today was altered and molded with the help of glaciers during several ice

ages, giving it valleys and rivers.

Covering over half of Canada's landmass, the Canadian Shield

is easily the largest landform in Canada with an area of

approximately 4 800 000 km2. In addition to being the largest

landform, it is also the oldest landform to exist in Canada. Located in

the centre of Canada, it was formed 4.5 billion years ago due to

volcanic activity. Over the course of 4.5 billion years, many natural forces such as erosion, wind, and glaciers

have flattened the once great volcano to a relatively flat area of igneous rock with worn down hills which were

once tall mountains. In addition to the mainly igneous rock in the Canadian shield, it also contains large

coniferous forests at the southern part of the Shield.

The above photo is of the Western

Cordillera in the summer. One can clearly

see the Rocky Mountains in the

background in addition to the diverse

greenery

Exposed Precambrian igneous rock in the Canadian Shield


4/7

PART 2: Physical Geography (cont.)

Sweden, while its size pales in comparison to Canada at a mere 450 295 km2, it is the sixth largest

country in Europe, while ranking 56th

worldwide. Despite its relatively small size, Sweden still has a few

landforms; although the majority of them are not significant enough to be named.

The Scandinavian Mountains make up what is perhaps the

most distinct landform in Sweden. Extending across the north-

western border it shares with Norway, as the name suggests,

there are several mountains, with 12 mountains peaking at over

2 000 m high. Through the course of several ice ages, many

glaciers have eroded the mountains, in addition to other

naturally occurring destructive forces. The fact that the mountains are located rather high north in addition to

high levels of elevation leads to the mountains remaining snow cropped all year round.

To the south of Sweden, we can find the Stenshuvud National

Park, and although it is not a landform, it represents the

southernmost area of Sweden. Spanning an area of 3.9 km2, it is

relatively flat, with a hill that stands 97 m high. Deciduous forests

cover the majority of this park, mainly consisting of beech and

hornbeam trees. The large amount of forestry in addition to a warm

climate allow for many different species of plants and animals.

The Kebnekaise mountain, a part of the Scandinavian Mountain

Range

A deciduous forest in Stenshuvud National Park.


5/7

PART 3: Climate

Canada is a very large country, as previously mentioned; rather than describing the climate of it as a

whole, it would be a much better idea to select a well populated area to compare with Sweden. Similarly,

Sweden is also quite big, spanning 2 405 km from its northernmost point to its southernmost point, so it

would also be a better idea to select a well populated area in Sweden to compare with Canada.

The cities that I have selected to compare from Canada

and Sweden are Ottawa and Stockholm, respectively.

Throughout the year, the average high temperature of the two

cities are around the same in value; although Stockholm's

temperature has a lower range (20C), possibly due to the fact

that it is near a large body of water which moderates it. The

average low temperature of the two cities differ quite a bit in the winter months, while still being relatively

the same during the spring, summer and autumn months. Once again, Ottawa has a larger temperature range,

with an average low temperature of -17C in January, fluctuating all the way to 16C in July, giving it a large

temperature range of 33C. Overall, both countries have a relatively cool temperature.

The amount of precipitation that occurs in Ottawa is

significantly greater than that in Stockholm (up to four times

the amount of rain at times), even though Stockholm is close

to a large body of water. The higher amounts of precipitation

in Ottawa are due to Ottawa's location in relation to air masses

The boundary between two air masses causes a type of rainfall

called cyclonic precipitation to occur. Ottawa just so happens to be located at the boundary between two air

masses, causing a higher amount of precipitation. With the fact that both countries can reach temperatures in

the negatives during the winter season, one can conclude that it does snow in both cities.

A large snow storm that hit Ottawa in March of 2008.

A typical cool spring day in Sweden.


6/7

PART 4: Environmental Impact

Any country that has been industrialized will have environmental problems, and Canada and Sweden

are no exception. Although the two countries contribute to negatively affecting the environment in similar

ways, there are certain problems that are more evident according to the country's most prevalent industries.

In Sweden, a major environmental problem is the rate at

which harvest lumber. Although the rate of deforestation in

Sweden has decreased dramatically, the amount of damage still

persists in the form of animals lacking habitats. As one might

know, deforestation destroys the home of many species of

animals, which then leads to being threatened, and possibly endangered. Despite the fact that this is quite a

serious problem, it can be fixed, slowed down, or even reversed. Running petitions and sending e-mails or

letters can help encourage the government or other environment groups implement stricter tree cutting

policies in addition to planting new trees to replace those that have been cut down.

Producing 734 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in one year alone ranks Canada at eighth place

globally for amount of greenhouse gases produced annually. This

hastens global warming, while also proving to be bad for our health

While it is impossible to stop this problem or reverse it as of now,

there are several ways in which we can slow down the process.

Travelling via cars, using plastic water bottles or leaving on

electronic appliances while not using them all contribute to excess CO2emissions, so one can do the opposite

to lower the amount of greenhouse gases that emitted per year. Walking, biking, using public transportation,

using reusable water bottles and shutting off electronics all help to reduce the amount of CO2that gets

released into the air, therefore lowering the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced each year.

Deforestation patterns in Sweden.

Clouds of toxic gases released into the air from a factory in

Hamilton, Ontario.


7/7

PART 5: Human Geography

Simply looking at the size of the countries makes you think that Canada must have a larger population

than Sweden, although size rarely has to do with population. However, Canada does have a higher population

of approximately 34.6 million people, albeit a lower population density of 3.46 people/km2when compared to

Sweden, which has a lower population of approximately 9.1 million people and a higher population density of

20.25 people/km2. (Population pyramids on attached sheet).

In terms of migration, Canada and Sweden are similar in the sense that they have many pull factors

and very few push factors. A few pull factors that Sweden and Canada share are their high levels of health care

(although this may be a stronger pull factor for Canada, as the healthcare is free), high standards of living,

greater education and low crime rates.

As previously mentioned, there are very few push factors for the countries of Canada and Sweden. A

push factor that they share in common is the climate. During the winter season, temperatures can be very

cold in both Canada and Sweden; during the summer, Canada is tolerably hot, while Sweden stays cool. A push

factor that also applies to both countries are high taxes. Other than the previously mentioned push factors,

there are very few others that apply to Canada and Sweden.

A crowd of Swedish people cheering for their country during the UEFA Euro

2012 Championship for soccer

Prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper shaking hands with employees of

Vector Aerospace Engine Services.

a comparison of canada and sweden

Documents