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Climate is an integral part of physical geography. You can't say something has everything to do with geography but nothing to do with climate. A location can appear geographically perfect in every other way but if the climate is not amenable to agriculture (growing season too short, too dry, etc.), people did not thrive there until very recent technological advances made it possible to transport large quantities of food and/or water.
Most of northern Canada and large portions of the interior Western US are sparsely populated for geographic reasons including inhospitable climate. There's no point in denying that.
Well, one of the best agricultural regions in Canada is the Peace River region, on the border between Alberta and British Columbia, at the same latitude as the Alaska Panhandle and just 1000 km or 600 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Winters are pretty cold but summers are between 20-35C or roughly 70 to 95F. The growing season is of course short but longer daylight hours make up for that a bit.
The area that is in agricultural production there is about 2 million acres.
Climate is an integral part of physical geography. You can't say something has everything to do with geography but nothing to do with climate. A location can appear geographically perfect in every other way but if the climate is not amenable to agriculture (growing season too short, too dry, etc.), people did not thrive there until very recent technological advances made it possible to transport large quantities of food and/or water.
Most of northern Canada and large portions of the interior Western US are sparsely populated for geographic reasons including inhospitable climate. There's no point in denying that.
Climate anywhere is what it is BECAUSE of geography.
Climate anywhere is what it is BECAUSE of geography..
Of course. But they are linked together; it makes no sense to say "This is a great agricultural area because of its geographical features; climate has NOTHING to do with it!"
A lot of Canadians get very very defensive when climate is mentioned. In a way you can't blame them, as I'm sure it gets annoying when people from other countries ask silly questions about igloos or assume it's cold "all the time."
On the other hand, the things Canadians say in response ("But parts of Canada are farther south than parts of the US!" "But parts of the US have cold winters too!" "But parts of Canada have a 'mild' climate!" "Climate has nothing to do with where Canadians live!") sidestep the clear fact that MOST of Canada does have a long, cold winter, that it generally gets colder the farther north you go, and that there are more Americans who can't fathom such temperatures than there are total Canadians.
Seems like it would just be better to admit it and say, "Yeah, most of Canada does get pretty cold for quite a while in the winter but we cope with it all right."
For instance, this is an informative post that isn't just a knee-jerk reaction:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
Well, one of the best agricultural regions in Canada is the Peace River region, on the border between Alberta and British Columbia, at the same latitude as the Alaska Panhandle and just 1000 km or 600 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Winters are pretty cold but summers are between 20-35C or roughly 70 to 95F. The growing season is of course short but longer daylight hours make up for that a bit.
The area that is in agricultural production there is about 2 million acres.
That is interesting and good to know. The number of people that actually live there is quite small, though, right? (Not a criticism; north-central Washington is also a great agricultural region but few people live there, too).
Well, one of the best agricultural regions in Canada is the Peace River region, on the border between Alberta and British Columbia, at the same latitude as the Alaska Panhandle and just 1000 km or 600 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Winters are pretty cold but summers are between 20-35C or roughly 70 to 95F. The growing season is of course short but longer daylight hours make up for that a bit.
The area that is in agricultural production there is about 2 million acres.
Of course. But they are linked together; it makes no sense to say "This is a great agricultural area because of its geographical features; climate has NOTHING to do with it!"
A lot of Canadians get very very defensive when climate is mentioned. In a way you can't blame them, as I'm sure it gets annoying when people from other countries ask silly questions about igloos or assume it's cold "all the time."
On the other hand, the things Canadians say in response ("But parts of Canada are farther south than parts of the US!" "But parts of the US have cold winters too!" "But parts of Canada have a 'mild' climate!" "Climate has nothing to do with where Canadians live!") sidestep the clear fact that MOST of Canada does have a long, cold winter, that it generally gets colder the farther north you go, and that there are more Americans who can't fathom such temperatures than there are total Canadians.
Seems like it would just be better to admit it and say, "Yeah, most of Canada does get pretty cold for quite a while in the winter but we cope with it all right."
For instance, this is an informative post that isn't just a knee-jerk reaction:
That is interesting and good to know. The number of people that actually live there is quite small, though, right? (Not a criticism; north-central Washington is also a great agricultural region but few people live there, too).
It looks like Canada has more votes for a better quality of life but I don't know...
I was watching this interesting social project documentary series on Netflix, called the Trailer Park Gentlemen or some such. Seemed like a lot of Canadians:
1. Live in their filthy outdated cars;
2. Turn their trailer homes into bars or hydroponic weed farms;
3. Menacingly wave guns around a lot and constantly steal things;
4. Live in actual garbage dumps and pee in jugs;
5. Shower in puddles;
6. Harass shirtless people & drunk trailer park supervisors;
7. Kidnap celebrities;
8. End up in jail on a regular basis;
9. Wear the same track pants for years
I could go on, you get the point. Don't buy the hype about Canada!
We have all that multiplied by a tenfold in the US.
Of course. But they are linked together; it makes no sense to say "This is a great agricultural area because of its geographical features; climate has NOTHING to do with it!"
I think you have gotten side-tracked and hung up about climate and agriculture. My earlier response was to TacoSoup who commented: "..... The fact that 90% of your population lives 100 miles from the US border says a lot too. Why aren’t there any major cities further north? ....." because without him checking the historical facts he erroneously assumed the reason was because of the climate.
Now you can argue about climate until you're blue in the face but it won't change the fact that the reason why so much of Canada's population started out settling close to what is now the Canada/USA border is strictly because of the geography and the placement of water ways and the railroad. The climate was and still is incidental because of the geography and during the winters the climate is not much different two or three hundred miles further north or further south of the border.
Which country has a better quality of life - Canada or the US?
Or is it a tie?
I voted for Canada because Canada is not so heavily populated and crowded, and also because Canada smells better, the air is fresher and cleaner because of being less populated and having less cities and less vehicles. The parts of USA that don't have a lot people don't smell too bad.
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