John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints


Ontario - Introduction

Name

As well as the Canadian province of Ontario, there are at least two towns of the same name in American states, for example in eastern Oregon and in southern California.

This page refers to the Canadian province of Ontario.

Area

412,579 square miles. This figure includes 68,490 square miles of inland freshwater lakes. 4th largest province or territory of Canada.

Furthest North to Furthest South

1050 miles.

Furthest East to Furthest West

1000 miles.

Population Density

24 per square mile.

Licence Plate

Background: White.

Image: A small crown.

Text: "Ontario - Yours to Discover".

Primary Highway Marker Shield Design

A white shield with a black border and a crown above.

As well as the road number, the wording "The King's Highway" and "Ontario" also appear.

Primary Highway Marker Shield Design - Alternate Style

A white square, with a black outline crown containing the road number.

Primary Highway Guide Sign

A green rectangle, with a white crown containing the road number.

Secondary Highway Marker Shield Design

A white trapezium with a black border.

A crown and the word "Ontario" appear above the road number.

Derivation of Name

From an Iroquois Indian word, possibly meaning "beautiful lake" (referring to Lake Ontario) or "rocks standing by water" (referring to Niagara Falls).

Nickname

The Heartland Province.

Climate

Toronto: Jan/Feb high -8C, Mar/Apr high 6C, May/Jun high 18C, Jul/Aug high 25C, Sep/Oct high 18C, Nov/Dec high -4C.

Official Provincial Tourism Office

Tel (Canada): 1-800-ONTARIO (1-800-668-2746)

Ontario Tourism

Checked Feb-99.

Ontario Travel

Checked Jan-01.

Highway Conditions

Tel (Canada): 1-800-ONTARIO (1-800-668-2746).

Ontario Highway Conditions

Checked May-00.

Departments of Transportation etc for each US state and Canadian province

Provincial Parks

Ontario Provincial Parks

Official site with a great deal of information. Checked Jan-97.

Other Comments

Southern Ontario is relatively densely populated farming country, while northern Ontario is part of the Canadian Shield with forests and lakes, a thin topsoil, many rock outcroppings and a much lower population density.

Road maps of Ontario are often in two halves to cover southern and northern Ontario separately. Sometimes different scales are used, making distances in northern Ontario appear to be smaller than they really are.


Ontario

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Most recently modified 16-Jun-04