The Annapolis Valley near Kentville, Nova Scotia (photo by Bill Brooks/Masterfile).

1. The Annapolis Valley near Kentville, Nova Scotia (photo by Bill Brooks/Masterfile). Annapolis Lowlands

2. John Foster/Masterfile • Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories • The Mackenzie River, in the Northwest Territories, is Canada’s largest river system. This photo shows the delta region, where oil and natural gas deposits are located.

3. Robin Smith/FPG International, LLC • Butchart Gardens near Victoria • World-famous Butchart Gardens is in Central Saanich municipality in the metropolitan area of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. A former limestone quarry with 50 acres of plants and blooms, it draws half a million visitors a year.

4. Brian Vikander/Corbis • Great Slave Lake, Canada • Great Slave Lake is the largest lake in Canada and the deepest lake in North America. As the source of the Mackenzie River, it lies at the head of one of the world’s great waterways.

6. The arboretum at Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, is maintained by the University of British Columbia (courtesy Canadian Tourism Commission). • Arboretum

7. Werner J. Bertsch/Bruce Coleman, Inc. • Horseshoe Falls • As the water plunges 57 m (187 ft) from the horseshoe-shaped lip of Canada’s Horseshoe Falls, a dense spray rises high into the air. Also known as the Canadian Falls, this cataract is the Canadian component of Niagara Falls, a set of waterfalls on the Niagara River on the border between Canada and the United States. The city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, overlooks Horseshoe Falls and is a popular tourist destination.

8. Quill Creek, Yukon Territory Quill Creek flows from the Saint Elias Mountains in the southwestern part of the Yukon Territory. The Saint Elias range contains the highest peaks in Canada and is the source of many of the headwaters that feed the Yukon’s extensive system of creeks, rivers, and lakes.

10. Andre Gallant/New Brunswick Department of Tourism • Drummond, New Brunswick • New Brunswick is one of Canada’s least populated provinces. Almost half of New Brunswick’s inhabitants live in rural areas, such as Drummond, shown here, where residents rely mainly on farming and natural resources for their livelihood.

11. G.R. Roberts/Photo Researchers, Inc. • Winter Wheat Harvest, Ontario • Ontario is Canada’s leading agricultural province, with crops and livestock accounting for most of the province’s annual farm production. Wheat, a major crop grown in Ontario, is shown here being harvested. A threshing machine separates the seeds of the wheat plants from the husks and stems by mechanically beating the stalks.

12. National Library of Canada • Immigrant Cultivates Land in Saskatchewan • Large numbers of Eastern Europeans immigrated to Canada early in the 20th century to farm in the Prairie provinces. Karl Huget, an ethnic German from Russia, leads a team of horses plowing his field in the Lemberg area of Saskatchewan in 1927. Huget had moved from the Volhynia region of Russia (now in Ukraine) in 1914.

13. Art Twomey/Photo Researchers, Inc. • Cattle Ranch, Alberta • This rancher ropes calves at a cattle ranch in Alberta. Alberta is the leading producer of cattle in Canada, and the livestock industry accounts for more than half of the province’s yearly farm income.

14. Judy Ledgerwood • Water Wheel • A farmer operates a water wheel, which is used to bring water from a nearby stream to his fields. Rice, the most important crop in Cambodia, requires fields to be flooded with a few inches of water. Farmers plant about four-fifths of their cultivated land in rice.

15. Ray Richardson/Animals Animals Wood Duck The wood duck, Aix sponsa, lives in a variety of freshwater habitats in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It often swims in shallow water, foraging for the seeds of aquatic plants. Like other ducks, the wood duck has webbed toes that function as paddles.

16. Sinielsen/Bruce Coleman, Inc. • Canada Goose • The Canada goose, Branta canadensis, is North America’s most common goose. Naturally migrating as far north as arctic Canada and as far south as central Mexico, it is gradually becoming a year-round resident in grassy suburbs throughout much of Canada and the United States. It grazes on the stems and shoots of grasses and can reach weights of 11 kg (24 lb)

17. Burrowing Owl The burrowing owl, Speotyto cunicularia, lives in the open grasslands and farmlands of eastern Canada and the United States. This brown and white owl hunts for small mammals, birds, and reptiles for most of the year, but switches to insects during the summer. Burrowing owls typically nest in burrows that have been abandoned by prairie dogs and other animals.

18. Animals Animals • Sphynx • The first Sphynx cat, a mostly hairless breed, was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1966. It was the result of natural mutation rather than a selective process by cat breeders. Preceding the Sphynx, the New Mexican hairless had appeared in exhibitions early in the 20th century, but efforts to develop the hairless cat as a breed did not begin until after this Canadian cat was born. The lack of a coat means the Sphynx can not tolerate extreme temperatures.

19. Black bears, the most common and widespread in Canada, may also be brown or cinnamon (Corel Professional Photos). • Bear (Animal)

20. North American Mink • Luxurious, durable mink fur is a valuable commodity; to satisfy the fur industry, the animals are bred for specific color varieties and raised on large farms. The North American mink, shown here, averages about 60 cm (about 24 in) in length, including the tail.