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Nestled into the northeast corner of North America, facing the North
Atlantic, is Newfoundland, Canada's most easterly province. Lying between
the 46th and 61st parallels, the province consists of two distinct
geographical entities: Newfoundland and Labrador.
The island of Newfoundland, which forms the southern and eastern portion
of the province, is a large triangular-shaped area of some 112 000 km2,
while the province's total area is 405 720 km2. Located at the mouth of
the St. Lawrence River, the island is about halfway between the centre of
North America and the coast of western Europe. The island of Newfoundland
is separated from the Canadian mainland by the Strait of Belle Isle in the
north and by the wider Cabot Strait in the south. The mainland, Labrador,
is bordered by northeastern Quebec. Approximately two and a half times as
large as the island, it remains a vast, pristine wilderness, where the
northern lights, or aurora borealis, flicker over the largest caribou herd
in the world.
 The
province's coastline, stretching over more than 17 000 km, is varied and
scenic with its bold headlands, deep fiords and countless small coves and
offshore islands. The interiors of both Labrador and Newfoundland have a
rolling, rugged topography, deeply etched by glacial activity and broken
by lakes and swift-flowing rivers. Much of the island and southern and
central Labrador is covered by a thick boreal forest of black spruce and
balsam fir mixed with birch, tamarack and balsam poplar. Northern Labrador
is largely devoid of forest and is marked by the spectacular Torngat
Mountains, which rise abruptly from the sea to heights of up to 1676 m.
Newfoundland's climate can best be described as moderate and maritime. The
island enjoys winters that are surprisingly mild by Canadian standards,
though with a high rate of precipitation. Labrador, by comparison, has the
cold winters and brief summers characteristic of the Canadian mid-North.
 The
History
The central region of the island of Newfoundland was once the home of
the now extinct Beothuk Indians. The first Europeans to visit Newfoundland
were Norsemen, who arrived in the late 10th century. (The Norse settlement
at l'Anse aux Meadows was the world's first cultural discovery location to
receive recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.) Other early
visitors, the Basques, Portuguese, Spanish, British and French, staged
fishing expeditions in the 16th century and probably even earlier.
 In
1497, the Italian seafarer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) went to
investigate what lay in the northern section of the western Atlantic. John
Cabot landed on the island on June 24, 1497, on the feast of St. John the
Baptist. Cabot called the new land "St. John's Isle" in honour
of the saint and claimed it for Henry VII of England, his patron and
employer.
Anglo-French colonial warfare shaped the history of Newfoundland during
the 1600s and 1700s. France, already well-established on the mainland of
Eastern Canada, began to make claims to parts of Newfoundland. In 1662,
France established a fort and colony at Placentia, despite protests from
British merchants and fishermen. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ended a
long period of raids and skirmishes by both nations and reconfirmed
British sovereignty over Newfoundland and the fishing banks.
The people of Newfoundland were granted the right to vote for an elected
assembly in 1832 and, after much debate, Newfoundland was given
responsible government in 1855. In 1865, Newfoundland postponed the
decision on whether to join the Dominion of Canada. Following World War
II, the question of Newfoundland's future status became an issue once
again. A public referendum was held on the subject in 1948;
Newfoundlanders voted in favour of joining the Canadian Confederation.
Newfoundland became Canada's newest province on March 31, 1949.
 The
People
The province's present population of approximately 574 000 is largely
descended from settlers from southwestern England and southern Ireland who
immigrated to Newfoundland in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The pattern
of settlement was mainly determined by the fishing industry, a population
distribution that has persisted to this day. The Avalon Peninsula and
northeastern Newfoundland, the traditional base for the fisheries,
continue to be the most heavily populated areas.
St. John's, the historic commercial centre and capital of the island, is
the province's largest city, with a population of approximately 172 000.
Other major centres are Grand Falls, Windsor and Corner Brook. The smaller
communities - called outports - remain, nevertheless, a major element in
Newfoundland society. The twin towns of Labrador City and Wabush, which
together form the largest urban community of Labrador, are based on the
iron-ore mining industries of the area.
In the early 1800s, disease and conflicts with settlers reduced the
Beothuk Indians to extinction. There were, and still are, a relatively
large number of Inuit concentrated in the coastal communities of northern
Labrador.
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