WESTERN CANADA

A WEALTH OF NATURAL RESOURCES first attracted European settlers to the wilds of western Canada. Fur trappers, gold prospectors, and loggers all hoped to make their fortune from the land. Today, natural resources are still the basis of the economy. The fertile soils of the prairie provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan make up four-fifths of Canada's farmland. Fishing is a major industry along the Pacific coast, where the main catch is salmon, most of which is canned for export. By contrast, the remote Yukon, Northwest, and Nunavut territories have important reserves of gold, zinc, and lead. These territories are also the only part of Canada where the native peoples form the majority of the population.

LUMBER INDUSTRY

Moist winds from the Pacific Ocean deposit rain on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, making conditions ideal for trees to grow to enormous sizes. Canada is the world's largest exporter of forest products, and the province of British Columbia produces almost half of Canada's lumber. Some logs are still floated to the sawmills, but today logs are often transported by road or  helicopter. Most of  the lumber is softwood, used for building materials as well as for chopsticks for Japan.

LIVING IN THE WILD

Large parts of the extreme north of Canada are home to more animals than people. Although part of the area is forested most of it is icy wilderness known as tundra. Animals that live here are adapted to the very cold conditions, and waterproof fur helps them to survive the snow and ice. Caribou, or reindeer, live on the tundra but migrate to the forests farther south in winter to escape the cold. Grizzly bears are found in the Rocky Mountains and can be dangerous.