Free For All Friday - Canada Is Bloody Massive

As a matter of fact ...

Canada is bloody massive. Back in the UK I think a 2 hour car journey is a long way. In Canada, you can get on a plane for 6 hours and still be in the same country. That is mental. If I get on a plane for 6 hours in the UK I'm not even on the same continent when I get off. So we know Canada is big. But how big really? Here's some facts to help you wrap your head around it ...

The picture above is a NASA image of Canada from space. Sure, it looks big. You can see it stretching from the US east cost in the south-west to Greenland in the north-east. It's the second biggest country in the world by landmass after Russia at 9,984,670 km² - that's 6.7% of the Earth's surface area. It also has the longest coastline in the world. It's even more amazing when you realise that Canada makes up just 0.48% of the world's population. But it's not until you start to compare it to other place that these figures really get put into perspective. Let's make some comparisons using this useful website:




Here is Canada being overlayed onto Europe. You can fit every single European country and its people inside Canada. When you think that at one point, the Roman empire controlled most of Europe and beyond, it makes you wonder why Canada itself shouldn't be called an empire!

Next up: China. It has the most people in the world so it must be big. Not big enough though. Despite having just 2.49% of its population, Canada squares up to and beats China when it comes to landmass.

Here's one for any Americans out there. Although you guys might (wrongly) look at your northern neighbor as somehow lesser than you, there is simply more of it. For a county that likes to go big or go home on everything, the Canadians have out superzied you. Again, although a fraction of the size in population; there is more of Canada from sea to shining sea.

Back to Asia for a last comparison. This is the province of Ontario in Canada over the country of Japan. I know right. Looks to me like you can fit two Japans just in Ontario alone with room to spare. Also just realised that Ontario looks like a beheaded fish. Learn something every day.






I came to Canada for the first time just over a year ago. I flew to British Columbia and traveled around there for a month before coming to Toronto. I've seen a couple of places outside of the city including Niagara falls but I've only scratched the surface. Doing this post made me realise how much is left to see in this country. Luckily, I'm heading into northern Ontario tomorrow to enjoy the wild and sleep beneath the stars. Unless its cold in which case the stars can wait.

I'm determined to save up and see the whole country one day For any Canadians out there, do the same! You've been born into a bloody massive country - get travelling!