Newfoundland and Labrador

Country Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...	Canada
Geographic coordinates	51°00′N 57°00′W
Area Area Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...  - Total  - Water	Ranked 7th 405,720 km2 31,240 km2 (7.7%)
Coastline	17542 km (10,900.1 mi)
Land borders	Quebec Quebec Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.... , Nunavut Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
Highest point	Mount Caubvick, 1652 metres (5,419.9 ft)
Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area... , 0 m
Longest river	Churchill River Churchill River (Atlantic) The Churchill River is a river in Newfoundland and Labrador which flows east from the Smallwood Reservoir in Labrador into the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Melville. The river is long and drains an area of ; it is the longest river in the province...  856 km (531.9 mi)
Largest inland body of water	Smallwood Reservoir Smallwood Reservoir The Smallwood Reservoir is a large reservoir located in the western part of Labrador in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The reservoir is the source of the Churchill River. Unlike other reservoirs, water is contained not by a single large dam, but by a series of 88 dikes that...  31153 km² (12,028.2 sq mi)sq. mi)
Climate Climate Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods... :	Temperate Temperate In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...  to arctic Arctic The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
Terrain Terrain Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used... :	mountain Mountain Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River... s, subarctic Subarctic The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and northern Mongolia... , arctic Arctic The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
Natural resources	iron Iron Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...  ore, nickel Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... , zinc Zinc Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2... , copper Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish... , gold Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a... , silver Silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal... , fish, timber, petroleum Petroleum Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling... , hydropower Hydropower Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

 is the easternmost province in Canada. The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical divisions, Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 and the island of Newfoundland. The province also includes over seven thousand small islands.

Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...

, a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock

Metamorphic rock

Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...

 comprising much of northeastern North America. Colliding tectonic plates have shaped much of the geology of Newfoundland. Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada ....

 has a reputation of being an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

. The Long Range Mountains

Long Range Mountains

The Long Range Mountains are a series of mountains along the west coast of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. They also form the northernmost section of the Appalachian chain on the eastern seaboard of North America...

 on Newfoundland's west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

.

The fauna of Labrador is typical of that of similar areas of North America while the island of Newfoundland has considerably fewer mammals and no native amphibians.

The north-south extent of the province (46°36'N to 60°22'N), prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create the various climates of the province. Northern Labrador is classified as a polar

Polar region

Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. The North Pole and South Pole being the centers, these regions are dominated by the polar ice caps, resting respectively on the Arctic Ocean and the continent of Antarctica...

 tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

 climate, southern Labrador is considered to be a subarctic climate

Subarctic climate

The subarctic climate is a climate characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...

 while most of Newfoundland would be considered to be a cool summer subtype of a humid continental climate

Humid continental climate

A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....

.

The provincial capital is St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

, located at the extreme eastern edge of the island on the Avalon Peninsula

Avalon Peninsula

The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...

. About half of the province's economy is based on its abundant natural resources, notably petroleum, minerals, forestry and the fishery.

Physical geography

Newfoundland is roughly triangular, with each side being approximately 500 kilometres (310.7 mi), and having an area of 108860 square kilometres (42,031.1 sq mi). Newfoundland and its associated small islands have a total area of 111390 square kilometres (43,007.9 sq mi). Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36'N and 51°38'N.

Labrador is an irregular shape: the western part of its border with Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 is the drainage divide for the Labrador Peninsula

Labrador Peninsula

The Labrador Peninsula is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the south-east...

. Lands drained by rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 are part of Labrador, the rest belongs to Quebec. Labrador’s extreme northern tip, at 60°22'N, shares a short border with Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

. Labrador’s area (including associated small islands) is 294330 square kilometres (113,641.4 sq mi). Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06% of Canada’s area.

The island of Newfoundland is separated from Labrador by the Strait of Belle Isle, which is 125 kilometres (77.7 mi) long and from 60 to 15 km (37.3 to 9.3 mi) wide. In addition to the island of Newfoundland, the province is made up of 12 larger islands with a total area of 2505 square kilometres (967.2 sq mi) and 7,170 smaller islands with a total area of 3598 square kilometres (1,389.2 sq mi).

Geology

A large part of the island of Newfoundland is an extension of the Appalachian system

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

. Major bays, peninsulas, river systems and mountain ranges are typically oriented southwest to northeast, parallel to the Appalachians.

The eastern part of the island, (the Avalon Peninsula

Avalon Peninsula

The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...

 and Burin Peninsula

Burin Peninsula

The Burin Peninsula is a Canadian peninsula located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador....

), is mostly folded sedimentary rocks with some intrusions of igneous rock and was part of southwestern Europe or Northern Africa about 250 million years ago. The oldest rocks are Precambrian

Precambrian

The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...

. Small remnants of Cambrian

Cambrian

The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...

 and Ordovician

Ordovician

The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...

 rocks occur along the coast. Bell Island

Bell Island

Bell Island is a Canadian island located off Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula in Conception Bay.Measuring 9 km in length and 3 km in width, Bell Island has an area of 34 km²...

 in Conception Bay

Conception Bay

Conception Bay is a Canadian bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. The bay indents the Avalon Peninsula with the opening of the bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the northeast. It is bounded by Cape St. Francis in the south and Split Point near Bay de Verde in the north...

 is a good example of gently sloping Ordovician sedimentary rock. The plateau in the Avalon Peninsula

Avalon Peninsula

The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...

 averages 250 metres (820.2 ft) above sea level.

The rest of the island is composed of a great variety of Paleozoic

Paleozoic

The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...

 rocks of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic

Metamorphic rock

Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...

 origin. Along the west coast lie the Long Range Mountains

Long Range Mountains

The Long Range Mountains are a series of mountains along the west coast of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. They also form the northernmost section of the Appalachian chain on the eastern seaboard of North America...

, which are formed by an elongated block of the Earth's crust (a horst) which rises to about 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) above sea level. This part of the island was once part of the eastern margin of continental North America. The island's highest points, the Lewis Hills

Lewis Hills

The Lewis Hills is a section of the Long Range Mountains located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland, along the Gulf of St. Lawrence....

 and Gros Morne

Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada ....

 are located within this mountain range. To the east is a depression or graben

Graben

In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....

 about 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) wide, which is occupied by Deer Lake

Deer Lake (Newfoundland)

Deer Lake is a Canadian lake in the western part of the island of Newfoundland.Its name is derived from the nickname European settlers to the Humber River valley gave to the Woodland Caribou, who termed these animals "deer."...

 and Grand Lake

Grand Lake (Newfoundland)

Grand Lake is a large lake in the interior of the island of Newfoundland of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has an area of 534 km², making it the largest lake on the island of Newfoundland. Consequently it is one of, if not the deepest...

. The main plateau of the central part of the island, which was once the sea bottom of the ancient Iapetus Ocean

Iapetus Ocean

The Iapetus Ocean was an ocean that existed in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic eras of the geologic timescale . The Iapetus Ocean was situated in the southern hemisphere, between the paleocontinents of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia...

, has been heavily eroded by water and ice. Steep, solitary rock knobs, called "tolts" in Newfoundland (elsewhere known as inselbergs or monadnock

Monadnock

A monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain...

s), which jut 100 metres (328.1 ft) or more above the generally flat terrain are the remnants of a former higher landscape level. Glaciers which helped shape these tolts left other evidence around Newfoundland. Large blocks of stone called glacial erratic

Glacial erratic

A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. "Erratics" take their name from the Latin word errare, and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres...

s have been left scattered across much of the landscape. The long narrow lakes of the west coast, notably those in Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada ....

 resulted from glacial erosion. The lack of good soil on most parts of the island is a result of the scouring effect of glaciers during the most recent ice age

Last Glacial Maximum

The Last Glacial Maximum refers to a period in the Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, marking the peak of the last glacial period. During this time, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and...

. Newfoundland's nickname, "The Rock", is partially a result of the ice ages.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Newfoundland geology is a result of the constant movement of tectonic plates. Approximately 500 million years ago the action of these plates forced parts of the oceanic crust beneath the Iapetus Ocean up and over the eastern margin of the North American plate. Sections of oceanic crust which overlie continental crust are known as ophiolites

Ophiolites

An ophiolite is a section of the Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks...

. Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park

Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada ....

 was designated a UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 because it is one of the best places in the world to see the effects of plate tectonics and one of the few places where rocks formed at the Mohorovicic Discontinuity

Mohorovicic discontinuity

The Mohorovičić discontinuity , usually referred to as the Moho, is the boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle. Named after the pioneering Croatian seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić, the Moho separates both the oceanic crust and continental crust from underlying mantle...

 between the crust

Crust (geology)

In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle...

 and the upper mantle

Mantle (geology)

The mantle is a part of a terrestrial planet or other rocky body large enough to have differentiation by density. The interior of the Earth, similar to the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers. The mantle is a highly viscous layer between the crust and the outer core....

 of the Earth can be seen.

Another notable geology site is at Mistaken Point, where rocks containing probably the oldest metazoan fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s in North America and the most ancient deep-water marine fossils in the world are found preserved in layers of volcanic ash

Volcanic ash

Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...

.

Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...

 and is composed of ancient Precambrian

Precambrian

The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...

 igneous and metamorphic rocks. The interior is averages about 450 metres (1,476.4 ft) above sea level and is cut by large, east-flowing rivers, such as the Churchill River

Churchill River (Atlantic)

The Churchill River is a river in Newfoundland and Labrador which flows east from the Smallwood Reservoir in Labrador into the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Melville. The river is long and drains an area of ; it is the longest river in the province...

 and its tributaries. The northern coast is largely mountainous. The Torngat Mountains

Torngat Mountains

The Torngat Mountains are a mountain range on the Labrador Peninsula at the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec. They are part of the Arctic Cordillera. This is the peninsula that separates Ungava Bay from the Atlantic Ocean....

, Kaumajet Mountains

Kaumajet Mountains

The Kaumajet Mountains are a dramatic compact mountain range rising directly out of the sea on the northern Labrador coast. The mountain range boasts one peak, the highest island peak on the east coast of North America between the Caribbean and Hudson Strait, and several peaks with very high...

 and Kiglapait Mountains

Kiglapait Mountains

The Kiglapait Mountains lie east of Nain, in northern Labrador, south of the Torngat and Kaumajet Mountains. Not as high as those ranges, they still boast very rugged terrain and many peaks with high prominence values....

 dominate this area with the highest peak being Mount Caubvick at 1652 metres (5,419.9 ft). Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve

Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve

Torngat Mountains National Park is a Canadian national park, located on the Labrador Peninsula at the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador.The park was established on 22 January 2005, making it the first national park to be created in Labrador...

 was created in 2005 to preserve part of this area.

Biosphere

The biosphere

Biosphere

The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed and self-regulating system...

is subdivided into distinct geographical regions called biome

Biome

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...

s. Newfoundland and Labrador are divided into two biomes: tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

  and taiga

Taiga

Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

. Northern Labrador is part of the tundra, while southern Labrador is part of the taiga. Newfoundland is not typical of either biome, as it lacks much of the plant and animal life that are characteristic to these biomes. During the last ice age

Last Glacial Maximum

The Last Glacial Maximum refers to a period in the Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, marking the peak of the last glacial period. During this time, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and...

 the island of Newfoundland was completely covered by glaciers and swept clean of life. Only those species which were able to recolonize the island after the glaciers retreated about 18,000 years ago are considered "native". Similarly, only freshwater-fish capable of surviving seawater

Seawater

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...

 swam to the island. Labrador has 42 native mammals, Newfoundland is home only to 14, with no snakes, raccoons, skunks or porcupines. Large herds of Woodland Caribou

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

 can be found in the barren interior regions of the island. Two animals formerly resident in Newfoundland have been declared extinct: the Great Auk

Great Auk

The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...

, a flightless seabird, and the Newfoundland Wolf

Newfoundland Wolf

The Newfoundland wolf was a subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus, which existed on the island of Newfoundland off the east coast of Canada...

, a subspecies of the Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf

The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

. The Labrador Duck

Labrador Duck

The Labrador Duck was a striking black and white eider-like sea duck that was never common, and is believed to be the first bird to become extinct in North America after 1500. The last Labrador Duck is believed to have been seen at Elmira, New York on December 12, 1878; the last preserved specimen...

, believed to have nested in Labrador, was one of the first North American bird species to be recorded as becoming extinct.
Many rare herbaceous plants and insects occur on the island. The west coast of the island supports over 200 plant species. Rare species such as Long’s Braya (Braya longii) and Fernald’s Braya (B. fernaldii), are endemic to Newfoundland. Brayas are small perennial herbs of the brassicaceae

Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....

 family. They are only found on a narrow strip of land extending approximately 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) on the extreme western portion of the Great Northern Peninsula

Great Northern Peninsula

The Great Northern Peninsula is the largest and longest peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, Canada, approximately 225 km long and 80 km wide at its widest point and encompassing an area of 17,483 km²...

, a limestones barrens habitat. The braya population is low due to habitat loss from gravel quarrying. Researchers have only found three populations of Long's Braya, and 14 or 15 populations of Fernald's brayas. Researchers have focused on how various types of disturbances affect the long-term viability of these populations. The Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, with many partners, is studying the rare plant flora of the island of Newfoundland and in 2002 announced a recovery plan for the braya species.

Many plants and animals have been introduced to Newfoundland, either by chance or deliberately. Moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, Snowshoe Hare

Snowshoe Hare

The Snowshoe Hare , also called the Varying Hare, or Snowshoe Rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet and the marks its tail leaves. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks...

, American Red Squirrel

American Red Squirrel

The American Red Squirrel is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and known as pine squirrels...

, Eastern Chipmunk

Eastern Chipmunk

The eastern chipmunk is a small squirrel-like rodent found in eastern North America, the sole living member of the chipmunk genus and subgenus Tamias....

, and Masked Shrew

Shrew

A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...

, and others, were brought to the island through specific wildlife mandates. Moose were introduced in 1904 and are now the dominant ungulate

Ungulate

Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive...

 on the island. An unusual experiment conducted in 1964 involved relocating a small herd of bison

Bison

Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

 onto Brunette Island

Brunette Island

Brunette Island is an island in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the largest island in the Fortune Bay.In 1964, buffalo were introduced to the island as an economic development experiment....

 in Fortune Bay

Fortune Bay

Fortune Bay is a fairly large natural bay located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. The Bay is bounded by Point Crewe on the Burin Peninsula and Pass Island at the entrance to Hermitage Bay to the northwest for a distance of 56 kilometers...

. The last of these animals is thought to have died by 1994. Rats and mice were unintentionally introduced while mink

Mink

There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...

 escaped from fur farms. Coyotes are a very recent addition to the fauna of Newfoundland. How coyotes got onto the island is still debated by wildlife officials, but it is probable that they crossed the ice from Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

 in the 1980s. Newfoundland has no native amphibians, but frogs were introduced onto the island in the 1860s and toads almost a century later.

The marine waters around the province are considered boreal, or sub-Arctic, in nature. A great deal of the coastline is rock-strewn, allowing an extensive variety of plant and animal life to thrive. The leading plants of the shoreline are the large brown seaweeds, such as Bladder, Forked and Knotted Wracks

Wrack (science)

Wrack is the common name for several species of seaweed in the family Fucaceae. Pelvetia canaliculata Dcne. et Thur., Fucus spiralis L., Fucus vesiculosus L., Ascophyllum nodosum Le Jol. and Fucus serratus L. are the most common examples to be found in the British Isles...

, and Winged and Sugar Kelp

Kelp

Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....

s, though there are also a number of red and green seaweeds present. Common animals of the seashore region include barnacle

Barnacle

A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. They are sessile suspension feeders, and have...

s, Tortoiseshell Limpet

Limpet

Limpet is a common name for a number of different kinds of saltwater and freshwater snails ; it is applied to those snails that have a simple shell which is more or less conical in shape, and either is not spirally coiled, or appears not to be coiled in the adult snails.The name limpet is most...

, Common Periwinkle

Common Periwinkle

The common periwinkle or winkle, scientific name Littorina littorea, is a species of small edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk which has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles....

, Blue Mussels

Mussel

The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...

, sea anemones, sea slugs

Opisthobranchia

Opisthobranchs are a large and diverse group of specialized complex marine gastropods previously united under Opisthobranchia within the Heterobranchia, but no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping...

, sea urchin

Sea urchin

Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...

s, starfish, and rock crabs. The deeper waters are home to a variety of fish, such as Atlantic Cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

, sculpins and Cunners

Bergall

A bergall or cunner or conner, Tautogolabrus adspersus, is a saltwater fish found in the western Atlantic. It is edible and its musky taste is considered a delicacy by some. Specimens may grow to 12 inches though most range from 4-10. Often bergalls are found mixed in with black fish , living...

, Halibut

Halibut

Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...

, Haddock

Haddock

The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....

, shark

Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....

s, and marine mammals, such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales. Whales seen off Newfoundland include Pilot Whales, Minkes, Sei Whale

Sei Whale

The sei whale , Balaenoptera borealis, is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water...

s, Fin Whale

Fin Whale

The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...

s and Humpbacks

Humpback Whale

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...

. Harp

Harp Seal

The harp seal or saddleback seal is a species of earless seal native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean. It now belongs to the monotypic genus Pagophilus. Its scientific name, Pagophilus groenlandicus, means "ice-lover from Greenland", and its synonym, Phoca...

 and Hooded Seal

Hooded Seal

The hooded seal is an arctic pinniped found only in the central and western North Atlantic ranging from Svalbard in the east to the Gulf of St...

s are usually found in the spring, giving birth to their young on coastal ice floes.

The tundra is a sub-Arctic zone with long, cold winters and short, warm summers. Precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 is low. Soil a meter below ground and deeper is permanently frozen (permafrost

Permafrost

In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...

), which does not allow water to drain easily through the soil, so it collects in shallow pools. Trees and shrubs are stunted since their roots cannot grow into the permafrost. Low shrubs, lichens, mosses, and small herbaceous plants are found instead. The most common animals on the tundra are the Barren-ground Caribou

Barren-ground Caribou

Barren-ground Caribou is a subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the Canadian territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and western Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou also is found in Alaska...

, Arctic Wolf

Arctic Wolf

The Arctic Wolf , also called Polar Wolf or White Wolf, is a subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a mammal of the family Canidae. Arctic Wolves inhabit the Canadian Arctic, Alaska and the northern parts of Greenland....

, Arctic Fox

Arctic fox

The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...

, Arctic Hare

Arctic Hare

The arctic hare , or polar rabbit is a species of hare which is adapted largely to polar and mountainous habitats. The arctic hare survives with a thick coat of fur and usually digs holes under the ground or snow to keep warm and sleep...

, lemming

Lemming

Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...

s, and vole

Vole

A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...

s. Occasional sightings of Musk Ox

Musk Ox

The muskox is an Arctic mammal of the family Bovidae, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males, from which its name derives. This musky odor is used to attract females during mating season...

en have been made near Cape Chidley

Cape Chidley

Cape Chidley is a headland located on the eastern shore of Killiniq Island, Canada at the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula.-Cape Chidley:...

, Labrador's most northerly point. The Polar Bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

 is the dominant carnivore of the tundra, but is an occasional visitor to coastal Newfoundland, especially in the spring. Many birds migrate to Labrador in spring to lay their eggs and raise their young before returning south for the winter, including the Common Eider

Common Eider

The Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on...

, Harlequin Duck

Harlequin Duck

The Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies...

, Common Redpoll

Common Redpoll

The Common Redpoll is a species in the finch family. It breeds somewhat further south than the Arctic Redpoll, also in habitats with thickets or shrubs. Nominate C. f. flammea breeds across the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. There is also an Icelandic subspecies, Icelandic Redpoll...

and American Pipit. The Labrador tundra is also permanent home to Ptarmigan.

Southern Labrador is mostly taiga. It is characterized by low winter temperatures, a longer growing season, and more precipitation than the tundra. Soils are typically lacking important nutrients such as nitrogen

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...

 and phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

. The taiga is dominated by coniferous trees, notably Balsam Fir

Balsam Fir

The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...

 and Black Spruce

Black Spruce

Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...

, though the deciduous White Birch

White Birch

White Birch may refer to:* Betula papyrifera* Betula pendula* Shirakabaha, Japanese literary group* The White Birch , Norwegian recording artists...

, Trembling Aspen

Populus tremuloides

Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, and Quakies,. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden...

 and Mountain Ash

Sorbus

Sorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...

 are also present. The most common animals are the Moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, American Black Bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

, Canada Lynx

Canada Lynx

The Canada lynx or Canadian lynx is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. It is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx . Some authorities regard both as conspecific. However, in some characteristics the Canada lynx is more like the bobcat than the Eurasian Lynx...

, Red Fox

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

, Pine Marten

Pine Marten

The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...

, Short-tailed Weasel, and American Mink

Mink

There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...

. Beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

s, Muskrat

Muskrat

The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...

s, and River Otter

River Otter

    Not to be confused with the animal Otter or the River Ottery in CornwallThe River Otter rises in the Blackdown Hills just inside the county of Somerset, near Otterford, then flows south for some 32 km through East Devon to the English Channel at the western end of Lyme Bay, part of...

s thrive in the many rivers, streams, and wetlands. Willow Ptarmigan, Common Raven

Common Raven

The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...

, and Blackpoll Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

The Blackpoll Warbler, Dendroica striata , is a New World warbler. Breeding males are mostly black and white. They have a prominent black cap, white cheeks and white wing bars. The Blackpoll breeds in northern North America, from Alaska, through most of Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and...

 inhabit the forests of southern Labrador while Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

s, Rough-legged Hawks and Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

s nest on steep cliffs.

Climate

The province has been divided into six climate types, but in broader terms Newfoundland is considered to be a cool summer subtype of a humid continental climate

Humid continental climate

A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....

, which is greatly influenced by the sea since no part of the island is more than 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) from the ocean. Northern Labrador is classified as a polar

Polar region

Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. The North Pole and South Pole being the centers, these regions are dominated by the polar ice caps, resting respectively on the Arctic Ocean and the continent of Antarctica...

 tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

 climate, southern Labrador is considered to have a subarctic climate

Subarctic climate

The subarctic climate is a climate characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...

.

Monthly average temperatures, rainfall and snowfall for four communities are shown in the attached graphs. St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

 represents the east coast, Gander

Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador

Gander is a Canadian town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, south of Twillingate and east of Grand Falls-Windsor...

 the interior of the island, Corner Brook

Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador

Corner Brook is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....

 the west coast of the island and Wabush

Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador

Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, known for transportation and iron ore operations for over three decades ....

 the interior of Labrador. The detailed information and information for 73 communities in the province is available from a government website. The data used in making the graphs is the average taken over thirty years. Error bars on the temperature graph indicate the range of daytime highs and night time lows. Snowfall is the total amount which fell during the month, not the amount accumulated on the ground. This distinction is particularly important for St. John's where a heavy snowfall can be followed by rain so that no snow remains on the ground.
Surface water temperatures on the Atlantic side reaches a summer average of 12 °C (53.6 °F) inshore and 9 °C (48.2 °F) offshore to winter lows of -1 °C inshore and 2 °C (35.6 °F) offshore. Sea temperatures on the west coast are warmer than Atlantic side by 1 to 3 °C (approximately 2 to 5 °F). The sea keeps winter temperatures slightly higher and summer temperatures a little lower on the coast than at places inland. The maritime climate produces more variable weather, ample precipitation in a variety of forms, greater humidity

Humidity

Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...

, lower visibility, more clouds, less sunshine, and higher winds than a continental climate. Some of these effects can be seen in the graphs. Labrador's climate differs from that of the island not only because it is further north, but also because the interior does not see the moderating effects of the ocean.

Weather systems affecting Newfoundland usually originate from the west, over mainland Canada, or from the southwest, from the east coast of the United States. Cyclonic storms

Cyclone

In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...

 consist of an area of low atmospheric pressure

Low pressure area

A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...

 characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. Such storms passing to the south of the island bring strong northeasterly winds sweeping in off the open North Atlantic Ocean. These storms are sometimes referred to as Nor'easter

Nor'easter

A nor'easter is a type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the storm travels to the northeast from the south and the winds come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada...

s and are responsible for the worst of Newfoundland's weather. High winds sweeping over a large surface

Fetch (geography)

The fetch, often called the fetch length, is the length of water over which a given wind has blown. It is used in geography and meteorology and is usually associated with coastal erosion. It plays a large part in longshore drift as well....

 of ocean can build up very large waves. The frequency and severity of storms is greatest between November and March, although they may occur at any time of the year.

One of these storms was the "Independence Hurricane" ,which struck eastern Newfoundland on September 9, 1775. About 4000 sailors, mostly from the British Isles, were reported to have been drowned.

During a violent storm on February 15, 1982, the drilling rig Ocean Ranger

Ocean Ranger

Ocean Ranger was a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit that sank in Canadian waters on 15 February 1982. It was drilling an exploration well in the Grand Banks area, east of St. John's, Newfoundland, for Mobil Oil of Canada, Ltd. with 84 crew members on board when it sank...

 capsized and sank on the Grand Banks, 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) east of St. John's.
The entire 84-man crew perished, making it the worst Canadian marine disaster in decades.

Newfoundland and Labrador has the strongest winds of any of the provinces, with most places having average annual wind speeds over 20 kilometers per hour (12 mph).

Freezing rain is common in Newfoundland where it is known as "silver thaw". Freezing drizzle or freezing rain occurs on average of 150 hours each winter, most commonly in March. One such storm struck St. John's on April 11, 1984 and lasted three days. Ice almost 15 centimeters (5.9 in) thick disrupted electrical power to 200,000 people on the Avalon Peninsula for days.

Newfoundland receives less than 1600 hours of sunshine per year, much lower than the Canadian average of 1925 hours. Summer months average 187 hours of sun while the December average is 60 hours.

Newfoundland is also known for its fog which occurs most often in the spring and early summer because of the contrast between sea and air temperatures. Argentia

Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador

Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...

 has 206 days of fog per year. Fog in Newfoundland is frequently accompanied by strong onshore winds; while usually winds disperse fog, here the fog is too widespread for this to occur.

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected locations in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

Location	July (°C)	July (°F)	January (°C)	January (°F)
St. John’s	21/13	68/52	1/−6	30/16
Gander Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador Gander is a Canadian town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, south of Twillingate and east of Grand Falls-Windsor...	24/11 °C	71/51	−3/−12	26/11
Corner Brook	22/13	71/55	−3/−10	28/15
Stephenville Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador Stephenville is a Canadian town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland....	20/11	75/59	−1/−9	30/17
Happy Valley-Goose Bay	20/10 °C	68/49	−13/−23	9/−9
Nain Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador Nain or Naina is the northernmost town of any size in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located about 370 kilometres by air from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The town was established as a Moravian mission in 1771 by Jens Haven and other missionaries...	15/5	59/41	-14/-23	7/−10

St. John's weather extremes

Of all the major Canadian cities, St. John's is the foggiest (124 days, next to Halifax's

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 122), snowiest (359 centimeters (141 in), next to Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

's 343 centimeters (135 in)), wettest (1514 millimeters (59.6 in), next to Halifax's 1491 millimeters (58.7 in)), windiest (24.3 km/h (15.1 mph) average speed, next to Regina's

Regina, Saskatchewan

Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...

 20.7 km/h (12.9 mph)), and cloudiest (1,497 hours of sunshine, next to Charlottetown

Charlottetown

Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...

's 1,818 hours). St. John's has one of the mildest winters in Canada (third mildest city next to Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 and Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

), yet has the most freezing rain days of any major Canadian city.

Fresh water

Shallow soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

 and bedrock

Bedrock

In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

 deeply scored by glaciers are responsible for the numerous lakes and ponds, and short, swift flowing rivers scattered across Newfoundland and Labrador. The area of freshwater in Newfoundland and Labrador is 31340 square kilometres (12,100.4 sq mi), covering 7.7% of the total surface of area of the province and accounting for 3.5% of the freshwater area of Canada.

Ocean

The west coast of Newfoundland borders on the Gulf of St. Lawrence while all other coasts face the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. Labrador's coast borders the Labrador Sea

Labrador Sea

The Labrador Sea is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait...

, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Strait of Belle Isle connects the Gulf of St. Lawrence with the Labrador Sea and is the narrowest channel separating Newfoundland from mainland Canada. The Cabot Strait

Cabot Strait

Cabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...

 separates Newfoundland from Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

.

The continental shelf

Continental shelf

The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...

 off Newfoundland is known as the Grand Banks

Grand Banks

The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...

. The cold Labrador Current

Labrador Current

The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia...

 and the warm Gulf Stream

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...

 meet on the Grand Banks, making the area not only one of the richest fishing grounds in the world, but also one of the foggiest areas. The Grand Banks are an area of significant petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 production with Hibernia

Hibernia (oil field)

Hibernia is an oil field in the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.The production platform Hibernia is the world's largest oil platform and consists of a 37,000-tonne integrated topsides facility mounted on a 600,000-tonne gravity base structure...

, White Rose

White Rose (oil field)

White Rose is an oil field development project 350 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. Husky Energy is the operator and 72.5 per cent interest holder in the White Rose oil fields....

 and Terra Nova

Terra Nova (oil field)

Terra Nova is an oil field development project 350 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. Discovered in 1984 by Petro-Canada, the field is the second largest off Canada's East Coast. Terra Nova is the first harsh environment development in North America to use a Floating Production Storage and...

 oil fields all located there.

Icebergs and pack ice

Approximately 90% of icebergs in the North Atlantic come from about 100 iceberg-producing glaciers on the Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

 coast. Once detached from the glaciers, icebergs are transported southward through the Davis Strait

Davis Strait

Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada's Baffin Island. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis , who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage....

 by the Labrador Current.

Approximately 40,000 medium to large icebergs annually calve

Ice calving

Ice calving, also known as glacier calving or iceberg calving, is a form of ice ablation or ice disruption. It is the sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier, iceberg, ice front, ice shelf, or crevasse...

 from Greenland glaciers, and depending on wind, and air and water temperature, between 400 and 800 of these go as far south as 48° north latitude (St. John's). Icebergs are most commonly seen in the waters off Newfoundland in the spring and early summer.
Despite their size, the icebergs of Newfoundland move an average of 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) a day. The average mass of icebergs in the Grand Banks area is between one and two hundred thousand tonnes. These icebergs represent a significant threat to shipping

Shipping

Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...

 and off-shore oil platforms and the hazard is aggravated by dense fog in this area.

During the first half of each year the waters off Newfoundland may become covered with floes of sea ice

Sea ice

Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....

 or "pack ice". While icebergs are composed of fresh water, pack ice is frozen sea water. The severity of ice varies considerably, depending on the strength and direction of the wind and air temperature. Most of the pack ice off Newfoundland's northern and eastern shores originates off Labrador. While some of the pack ice off the west coast also comes from the sea off Labrador via the Strait of Belle Isle, most of it originates in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Beginning in January the pack ice begins to advance south, borne by the Labrador Current until (usually) in April the rate of melting overtakes the rate of advance and the ice retreats northward. The leading edge of the pack ice is known as "The Front" and is important to the annual seal hunt

Seal hunting

Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...

 off Newfoundland's north coast.

Time zones

Newfoundland is located in a unique time zone

Newfoundland Standard Time Zone

Newfoundland Standard Time ' is a geographic region that keeps time by subtracting 3½ hours from Coordinated Universal Time , resulting in UTC−3:30, or 2½ hours during daylight saving time...

 in North America. It is a half an hour ahead of Atlantic Time, one and a half hours ahead of Central Canada and 4 ½ hours ahead of the west coast of the country. Labrador operates on Atlantic Time, except for the coast between L'Anse au Clair and Norman's Bay

Norman's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Norman's Bay is a settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador, situated at the head of Norman Bay, an extension of Martin Bay. The unofficial population is 52.Norman Bay was a winter settlement for the fishing stations of Snug Harbour and Venison Tickle...

, which is on Newfoundland time.

Natural resources

All currency is in Canadian dollars.

Exploitation of natural resources is a major part of the economic geography

Economic geography

Economic geography is the study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the world. The subject matter investigated is strongly influenced by the researcher's methodological approach. Neoclassical location theorists, following in the tradition of Alfred...

 of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2005 the gross domestic product

Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

 (GDP) of Newfoundland and Labrador was approximately fourteen billion dollars. Service industries accounted for over $8 billion and resource-based activities such as mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

, oil production

Extraction of petroleum

The extraction of petroleum is the process by which usable petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth.-Locating the oil field:Geologists use seismic surveys to search for geological structures that may form oil reservoirs...

, fishery

Fishery

Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...

 and forest-based industries (sawmills

Sawmills

Sawmills may refer to:* A sawmill, a facility where logs are cut to length* Sawmills Studio, a famous UK music recording studio* Sawmills, North Carolina...

 and paper mills) accounted for the remainder.

Minerals and petroleum

Mines in Labrador, the iron ore mine at Wabush/Labrador City

Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador

Labrador City is a town in western Labrador , near the Quebec border. As of 2006, its population is 7,240...

, and the new nickel

Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

 mine in Voisey's Bay

Voisey's Bay

Voisey's Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Labrador, Canada. The bay is located south of the community of Nain. The bay is heavily indented with numerous inlets and islands and is extremely rocky and is the site of the Voisey's Bay Mine....

 produced a total of $2.5 billion worth of ore in 2006. A new mine at Duck Pond (30 kilometers (18 mi) south of the now-closed mine at Buchans

Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador

Buchans is a Canadian town located in the central part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the northwest shore of Red Indian Lake on the Buchans River....

), started producing copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

, zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

, silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 and gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 in 2007 and prospecting for new ore bodies continues. Mining accounted for 3.5% of the provincial GDP in 2006. The province produces 55% of Canada’s total iron ore. Quarries

Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...

 producing dimension stone

Dimension stone

Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements...

 such as slate

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...

 and granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

, account for less than $10 million worth of material per year.

Oil production

Extraction of petroleum

The extraction of petroleum is the process by which usable petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth.-Locating the oil field:Geologists use seismic surveys to search for geological structures that may form oil reservoirs...

 from offshore oil platforms on Hibernia

Hibernia (oil field)

Hibernia is an oil field in the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.The production platform Hibernia is the world's largest oil platform and consists of a 37,000-tonne integrated topsides facility mounted on a 600,000-tonne gravity base structure...

, White Rose

White Rose (oil field)

White Rose is an oil field development project 350 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. Husky Energy is the operator and 72.5 per cent interest holder in the White Rose oil fields....

 and Terra Nova

Terra Nova (oil field)

Terra Nova is an oil field development project 350 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. Discovered in 1984 by Petro-Canada, the field is the second largest off Canada's East Coast. Terra Nova is the first harsh environment development in North America to use a Floating Production Storage and...

 oil fields on the Grand Banks

Grand Banks

The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...

 was 110 Moilbbl which contributed 15% of the provinces GDP in 2006. Total production from the Hibernia field from 1997 to 2006 was 733 Moilbbl with an estimated value of $36 billion. Remaining reserves are estimated at almost 2 Goilbbl as of December 31, 2006. Exploration for new reserves is ongoing.

Fishing and aquaculture

The fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 industry remains an important part of the provincial economy, employing 26,000 and contributing over $440 million to the GDP. The combined harvest of fish such as cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

, haddock

Haddock

The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....

, halibut

Halibut

Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...

, herring

Herring

Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

 and mackerel

Mackerel

Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...

 was 150,000 tonnes (165,000 tons) valued at about $130 million in 2006. Shellfish

Shellfish

Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...

, such as crab

Crab

True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...

, shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

 and clams

CLaMS

CLaMS is a modular chemistry transport model system developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. CLaMS was first described by McKenna et al. and was expanded into three dimensions by Konopka et al....

, accounted for 195,000 tonnes (215,000 tons) with a value of $316 million in the same year. The value of products from the seal hunt

Seal hunting

Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...

 was $55 million.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

 is a new industry for the province, which in 2006 produced over 10,000 tonnes of Atlantic Salmon

Atlantic salmon

The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....

, mussels and Steelhead Trout worth over $50 million.

Forestry

Newsprint

Newsprint

Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper most commonly used to print newspapers, and other publications and advertising material. It usually has an off-white cast and distinctive feel. It is designed for use in printing presses that employ a long web of paper rather than individual sheets of...

 is produced by the paper mill

Paper mill

A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...

 in Corner Brook

Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador

Corner Brook is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....

, (capacity of 420,000 tonnes (462,000 tons) per year). Until March 31, 2009 there was a second papermill located in Grand Falls

Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador

Grand Falls-Windsor is a town of 13,558 people located in the central region of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is the largest in the central region, the fifth largest in the province, and is home to the annual Exploits Valley Salmon Festival...

, but due to the 2008/2009 economic crisis the mill shut down. The value of newsprint exports varies greatly from year to year, depending on the global market price. Lumber is produced by numerous mills in Newfoundland.

Agriculture

Agriculture in Newfoundland in limited to areas south of St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

, near Deer Lake

Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador

-External links:*...

 and in the Codroy Valley

Codroy Valley

The Codroy Valley is a valley in the southwestern part of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.The Codroy Valley is a glacial valley formed in the Anguille Mountains, a sub-range of the Long Range Mountains which run along Newfoundland's west coast...

. Elsewhere the soil is mostly unsuitable for farming. Potatoes, rutabaga

Rutabaga

The rutabaga, swede , turnip or yellow turnip is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip; see Triangle of U...

s, known locally as "turnips", carrots and cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

 are grown for local consumption. Wild blueberries, partridge berries

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible sour fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. In the past it was seldom cultivated, but fruit was commonly collected in the wild. ...

 and bakeapples

Cloudberry

Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...

 are harvested commercially and used in jams

Fruit preserves

Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits and sugar, often canned or sealed for long-term storage. The preparation of fruit preserves today often involves adding commercial or natural pectin as a gelling agent, although sugar or honey may be used, as well. Prior to World War II, fruit preserve...

 and wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 making.

Human geography

Newfoundland and Labrador had a population of 505,469 (2005 estimate) and a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 1.27 per km² (3.1 per sq mi). The provincial capital is St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

, which had a population of 181,113 in 2005). St John's is located at the extreme eastern edge of the island on the Avalon Peninsula

Avalon Peninsula

The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...

. The other cities are Mount Pearl and Corner Brook

Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador

Corner Brook is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....

.
Human inhabitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back over 9,000 years to the people of the Maritime Archaic Tradition. They were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset Culture

Dorset culture

The Dorset culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. It has been defined as having four phases, with distinct technology related to the people's hunting and tool making...

 and finally by the Innu

Innu

The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...

 and Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 in Labrador and the Beothuks on the island. The oldest known European contact was made over a thousand years ago when the Vikings briefly settled in L'Anse aux Meadows

L'Anse aux Meadows

L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse or Viking village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland...

. Five hundred years later, European explorers (John Cabot

John Cabot

John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...

, Gaspar Corte-Real

Gaspar Corte-Real

Gaspar Corte-Real was a Portuguese explorer.He was the youngest of three sons of João Vaz Corte-Real, also a Portuguese explorer, and had accompanied his father on his expeditions to North America...

, Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...

 and others), fishermen from England, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, France and Spain and Basque

Basque people

The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...

 whalers

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 (the remains of several whaling stations have been found at Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Red Bay is a fishing village and former site of several Basque whaling stations on the southern coast of Labrador in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Between 1550 and the early 17th century, Red Bay was a major Basque whaling area. The site is home to three Basque whaling galleons...

) began exploration and exploitation of the area.

Early European (primarily from England, Ireland and France) settlement in Newfoundland was confined to the coast. The rich cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

 fishery on the Grand Banks

Grand Banks

The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...

 and along the shore of the island was the primary reason for these settlements. The rugged shoreline provided many small, but isolated, harbors (outports

Newfoundland outport

An outport is the term given for a small isolated coastal community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Originally the term was just used for coastal communities on the island of Newfoundland but the term has also been adopted for those on the mainland area of Labrador as...

) from which to conduct the fishery. The Avalon Peninsula

Avalon Peninsula

The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...

 was, and is, the most populous part of the island, and as such had the best developed system of early roads and trails. Transportation between communities on other parts of the coast, especially the south coast between Fortune Bay

Fortune Bay

Fortune Bay is a fairly large natural bay located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. The Bay is bounded by Point Crewe on the Burin Peninsula and Pass Island at the entrance to Hermitage Bay to the northwest for a distance of 56 kilometers...

 and Port aux Basques

Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador

Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of the island of Newfoundland fronting on the eastern end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of...

, was exclusively by boat. Almost all communities are now accessible by roads which are part of the provincial road system. The now-defunct Newfoundland Railway

Newfoundland Railway

The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow gauge railway system in North America.-Early construction:...

, built in the latter part of the 19th century, and the development of the lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

, zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

 and copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mine at Buchans

Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador

Buchans is a Canadian town located in the central part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the northwest shore of Red Indian Lake on the Buchans River....

 and the paper mill

Paper mill

A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...

 in Grand Falls

Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador

Grand Falls-Windsor is a town of 13,558 people located in the central region of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is the largest in the central region, the fifth largest in the province, and is home to the annual Exploits Valley Salmon Festival...

 in the early 20th century marked the beginning of the settlement of the interior of the island. Despite these developments the majority of the population is still found along the coast.

Settlement of Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 followed a similar pattern, with the interior being settled only in the latter part of the 20th century with the development of the iron ore mines at Wabush, hydroelectric generation at Churchill Falls

Churchill Falls

Churchill Falls are waterfalls named after former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. They are high, located on the Churchill River in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....

 and the military base at Goose Bay

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Happy Valley – Goose Bay is a Canadian town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.Located in the central part of Labrador, the town is the largest population centre in that region. Incorporated in 1973, the town composes the former town of Happy Valley and the Local Improvement District of...

.

Aboriginal

Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....

 peoples include the Innu

Innu

The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...

, Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 and Métis

Métis people (Canada)

The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...

 of Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 and the Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland. One aboriginal group, the Beothuks became extinct in the early 19th century.

See also

• Newfoundland
• Labrador
  Labrador
  Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
  
  
• Geography of Canada
  Geography of Canada
  The geography of Canada is vast and diverse. Occupying most of the northern portion of North America , Canada is the world's second largest country in total area....
  
  
• Islands of Newfoundland and Labrador
  Islands of Newfoundland and Labrador
  This is a list of islands of Newfoundland and Labrador. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is composed of mainland Labrador and the large island of Newfoundland. The coast of both the island and the Labrador peninsula are lined with islands of various magnitudes.-List of islands:-External...
  
  

External links

• Newfoundland General Information
• Welcome to Newfoundland and Labrador
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Maps, statistics and descriptive text from Natural Resources Canada (Federal Government of Canada)
• Demographics and other information from Stats Canada