Interesting facts about Newfoundland and
Labrador
New facts added on
February 24, 2009
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The Hibernia, Terra Nova, and White Rose oil fields off eastern
Newfoundland contain about 28% (178 million cubic metres) of Canada's conventional established oil
reserves.
99% of the world's
population of the critically endangered Boreal Felt Lichen (Erioderma
pedicellatum)
is found on the island of Newfoundland: Boreal
Felt Lichen.
How to identify Boreal Felt Lichen (.pdf download): Boreal
Felt Lichen
Newfoundland is
home to wave forests. A wave forest is a rare type
of forest
characterized by alternating bands of living and dead trees that slowly
move
(in profile) across the landscape, typically at a rate of 50-100 metres
per century. In cross-section, a wave forest might remind the observer
of a line of dominoes tipping over and knocking each other down. In a
wave forest, the taller trees fall over (slowly - years) as a
result of the force of
strong winds acting on them. This, coupled with small tree root plate
development, opens an area in the forest which allows in sunlight that
helps new forest seedling growth. As the seedlings
grow, mature trees grow taller, and they in turn tip over and open new
areas in the forest for new seedlings to grow. This process continues
over decades, and the living areas of new trees and the dead areas of
fallen trees appear to move in a wave-like fashion across the
countryside. Wave
forests are found in high alpine areas of Japan, mountainous area of
New Hampshire, and in some coastal areas of Newfoundland.
The
wave forest at Bear Cove Brook, Big Pond, southwestern Newfoundland
Showy
Lady's
Slipper orchid (Cypripedium reginae) , the largest and
most beautiful northern orchid in North America is found in western
Newfoundland.
Because of its rarity, this orchid is imperiled in the wild.
The ocean around
Newfoundland is home to
more than 20 species of whales at one time of the year or another,
making Newfoundland one of the best whale viewing locations in the
world. Humpback whales,
Fin whales, Minke whales, and Sperm whales, are some the common whales
around Newfoundland.
Here is a link to more information about the whales in
Newfoundland waters: Whale
watching in Newfoundland and Labrador
Contrary to much
popular opinion, Newfoundland is not a part of northern Canada.
Corner Brook, Newfoundland, in terms of latitude, is a little distance
south of Vancouver,
British Columbia.
Corner Brook is on the same latitude as Paris, France. St. Anthony, on
the northern
tip of Newfoundland, is on the same latitude as London, England.
The
first known
St. John's Regatta was held on September 22, 1818 to
celebrate the coronation of King George III in 1761. Mention of the
race was made in the 'Mercantile Journal.' The Custom House won the
race of 2 miles in 25 minutes.
The
producing oil
fields off eastern
Newfoundland are so profitable that the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador is now off of the Canadian equalization plan (the
equalization plan, made possible by the Canadian
Constitution, allows the Federal Government to send money from
financially richer provinces to financially poorer provinces)
.
The MV
Caribou,
which
plies the waters between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, is named in
honour of the S.S. Caribou which was torpedoed and
sunk by a Nazi
submarine on
October 14, 1942. An account of the sinking of the S.S.Caribou can be
found at this link:
The
Last Voyage of the S.S. Caribou
Shortly
after the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001, air traffic
controllers at Gander airport, Newfoundland, used their
emergency Y2K plans to help safely land dozens of transatlantic
aircraft that were headed toward North America. The Y2K emergency plans
had been
ridiculed as unnecessary when no major problem occurred after clocks
changed from 1999 to 2000 (midnight, December 31, 1999), but the Y2K
plans may
have saved lives at Gander on September 11, 2001.
The
population of
Newfoundland in 1800
was approximately 10,000 (ten thousand) people.
Shannon
Tweed,
Playboy's Playmate of the Year for 1982,
was born in Newfoundland, in 1957. Since 1983, Shannon
Tweed has lived with Gene Simmons, former lead performer with the rock
band
KISS.
The
ceilings of
the Council Chamber and the Assembly Room in the Colonial Building in
St. John's were painted by Polish fresco painter Alexander Pindikowski
in 1880. Mr. Pindikowski had been serving a 15 month prison sentence
for passing forged cheques - his sentence was reduced by 1 month for
his work. In
1940, the ceiling work was restored by local painter Clem Murphy.
The Black Spruce
(Picea mariana) was proclaimed
the Provincial Tree of Newfoundland in May, 1991.
The Black Spruce has had a significant social and economic
impact on the provincial economy: it is the favoured tree of
the pulp and paper industry, it has played a prominent role
in the lives of aboriginal people and in local folk medicine, and it is
very hardy and grows well throughout the province.
The Pitcher Plant
(Sarracenis purpurea) is the official
flower of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was chosen as the provincial
flower in 1954 by the Newfoundland Cabinet. Queen Victoria
chose
the Pitcher Plant to be engraved on the Newfoundland penny in
the
late 1800s.
In terms of
phonetic differences (spoken
accents), with the exception of Newfoundland, the English speaking
regions of Canada have much more in common than the English speaking
regions of the United States (see The Atlas of North American
English).
During the War of 1812, at the naval Battle of
Lake Erie (September 10, 1813), 28% of British
casualties (39 men) were suffered by Newfoundlanders (Google
'Newfoundland Regiment of Fencible Infantry').
Newfoundlanders
received a special commendation
from Major-General Issac Brock on the fall of
Detroit during the War of 1812 (Google 'Newfoundland Regiment of
Fencible Infantry').
The Long Range Mountains in southwestern
Newfoundland are part of the Appalachian Mountains. They are now eroded
down to the root of the original mountains which were as high as the
Himalayan
Mountains in their day.
There isn't one homeless person, or one person
living on the streets, in Newfoundland and Labrador. This is likely
because of strong social ties (people generally know each other),
strong community churches, provincial government programs to help the
disadvantaged, and ages old respect among people (it's shameful to have
homeless people in a community, so something is done about it).
Newfoundland
forms an almost perfect
equilateral triangle on a map. Port aux Basques to L'Anse aux Meadows
to St. John's are all nearly the same distance apart.
Prince
Charles and Princess Diana visited
Newfoundland in 1983. Princess Diana planted a tree
on Government House grounds in St. John's.
About
4000 years ago, people of the Maritime
Archaic Tradition
occupied the entire coastline of Newfoundland and Labrador. A cemetery
of these people has been excavated by archaeologists at Port aux Choix
on the Great Northern Peninsula. In this cemetery have been found a
wealth of artifacts including more than 100 human skeletons, domestic
dog skeletons, great auk (Pinguinus impennis)
remains, wolf
remains, musical instruments, a specimen of native copper, fire-making
sets, hunting equipment, artifact manufacturing equipment, religious
objects, etc.
The
first train from St. John's to Port aux
Basques
arrived on June 30, 1898. Railroading ended in Newfoundland on October
1, 1988.
Bonfire
Night (or Guy Fawkes Night), the
evening of November
5, is still celebrated in many parts of Newfoundland. The bonfires are
generally lit as part of a community event to mark the escape
(deliverance) of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland)
from a plot to kill him, his family, most of the British aristocracy,
and both Houses of Parliament (King and company) in November 1605. Guy
Fawkes was discovered with explosives (red handed) in the basement of
the
Houses of Parliament before the explosives could be detonated. He was
later executed.
It
has been illegal to hunt Pine Marten (Martes
americana atrata)
on the
island of
Newfoundland since 1934 because of low population numbers. The total
population is approximately 300 animals. A synopsis of the Newfoundland
regulations for fishing and shooting in 1925 can be found at this link:
Fishing
and Shooting Regulations
There
are 18 trees that are native to
Newfoundland: Red Pine, White Pine, Black Spruce, White Spruce, Balsam
Fir, Tamarack/Larch, Trembling Aspen, Balsam Popular, Showy Mountain
Ash, American Mountain Ash, Mountain Maple, Red Maple, Pin Cherry,
Choke Cherry,
Speckled Alder, Yellow Birch, White Birch, and Black Ash (rare).
Many non-native (exotic) trees also grow in
Newfoundland. These exotic trees are mostly found in private
collections. Among the exotic trees growing in Newfoundland are Douglas
Fir, Korean Fir, Siberian Fir, Nordmann Fir, Black Locust, Ponderosa
Pine,
Sitka Spruce, and Garry Oak.
Arctic
Hares are native to Newfoundland, but
Snowshoe
Hares were introduced from Nova Scotia in 1864 and 1876. They were
released at the same time
by local Magistrates. Hares are often erroneously called rabbits.
The Newfoundland Timber or Grey Wolf became
extinct on the island of Newfoundland in the 1930s.
The coyote arrived in Newfoundland during the
winter of 1985, when heavy ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence allowed
passage from Nova Scotia.
There are no snakes, skunks, deer, porcupines
or
groundhogs on the island of Newfoundland. Chipmunks were introduced to
Newfoundland
from Nova Scotia in 1962 and 1964, and today they are plentiful in the
Codroy Valley of southwestern Newfoundland where cultivated (farm) oats
are a favourite treat. There is no ragweed pollen on the island either
(a very common allergen).
The motto of Newfoundland and Labrador is "Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God" from Matthew 6:33 in the Holy Bible.
Newfoundland is actually 3.5 hours west of
Greenwich, and
hence has its own proper time zone. The Newfoundland Standard Time Act
of 1935 enshrined this time zone before Newfoundland joined Canada in
1949.
Newfoundland routinely has one of the lowest
crime rates in Canada.
44 species of orchids are native to
Newfoundland.
Traditionally, Newfoundlanders watched the
black bear on February 2 since there are no groundhogs on the island.
The only authenticated Viking site in North
America is
located at L'Anse aux Meadows, north of St. Anthony, on Newfoundland's
Great Northern Peninsula. The remains of the sod houses used by the
Vikings can still be seen there, along with some of their artifacts.
Newfoundland is the 16th largest island in the
world. Visitors
should keep this in mind when planning a visit; it is not possible
to see the whole island in just a few days and at least 10 days are
needed for even a brief look around.
Squirrels were introduced to Newfoundland in
1963
(The Canadian Field Naturalist, Volume 90, pp.
60-64)
and they have now colonised the whole island.
Moose are not native to Newfoundland, but today
there are
more than 100,000 on the island. 1 pair was introduced in 1878 from
Nova Scotia (not thought to have survived). 2 pairs of moose were
introduced on May 14, 1904 from New Brunswick. All
of the moose in Newfoundland today are descended from the 1904 moose
and possibly also from the 1878 moose.
For bird-watchers, the Piping Plover
(Charadrius
melodus)
can be seen along the coast from Port aux Basques to Cape Ray during
the summer months (until August). Dozens were seen in 1997. Nesting
areas are marked.
Between 1857 and 1949 Newfoundland issued its
own postage
stamps. They are still valid for mail posted anywhere in Canada.
Not all of Newfoundland was covered with
glaciers during the last
ice age. Parts of the Codroy Valley in southwestern Newfoundland were
largely ice free.
The ski resort at Marble Mountain, near Corner
Brook, has
nearly 30 ski runs; the highest run has a vertical drop of almost 1600
feet (485 metres). Corner Brook hosted the Canada Winter Games between
February 20 and March 6, 1999.
The Hibernia oilfield, off the east coast of
Newfoundland,
contains more oil than 40 of the 44 oilfields in the North Sea.
Combined, the Hibernia and Terra Nova oilfields contain more than 1
billion barrels of recoverable oil. In 1999, the Hibernia oilfield was
the most profitable oilfield in Canada.
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