Canada Fun Fact #1 – The southernmost point of Canada is south of the northern Californian border…and Rome, Italy!

It’s true! Everyone thinks of Canada as a northern country, but Canada extends so far north and so far south that we cover more lines of latitude than any other country on earth!

On the eastern side of Canada, the provinces of Ontario and Quebec are separated from the United States by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. One of the Great Lakes is Lake Erie, and the US/Canada border runs through the lake.

Point Pelee National Park, a small piece of Canada’s giant landmass, juts out into Lake Erie. The southernmost point of Point Pelee National Park is south of the 42nd parallel (42° N line of latitude). The 42nd parallel is also the northern Californian border!

The southernmost inhabited place in Canada is Pelee Island in Lake Erie.

The southernmost land in Canada is Middle Island, also in Lake Erie. (Nobody lives on the island. It’s just one big park.)

The southernmost point of Middle Island is at a latitude of 41°41’17″N. According to Wikipedia, twenty-seven U.S. states lie all or partly north of this point, as does Rome, Italy (Rome, Italy is at 41°54’0”N)

Vocabulary:
to cover
= to spread out over the surface of something or over an area

lines of latitude
=the imaginary lines that circle the earth parallel to the equator that are used to measure location and distance

to jut (out)
= to stick out, to go beyond the border, the edge, or the surface of something

the 42nd parallel
= a line of latitude, an imaginary line that goes around the earth, parallel to the equator
42° N = 42 lines of latitude north of the equator

inhabited
= people live there

southernmost
= as far south as you can go, the furthest to the south

Sources:
Parks Canada website
Municipality of Pelee Island
Pelee,Ontario (Wikipedia)
Middle Island, Lake Erie (Wikipedia)