Canada - Landmarks and Points of Interest
- By Smithsonian.com
- Smithsonian.com, November 06, 2007, Subscribe
Alberta
The name alone makes people curious about Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump and a visit to this United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site outside of Fort Macleod teaches visitors about the ingenuity of local hunters, who used the site as a hunting ground for thousands of years.
Not too far from Fort Macleod is the Waterton Lakes National Park. Home to the oldest rock in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (at 1.5 billion years old), Cameron Falls in Waterton Village is a draw for both its geological interest and sheer beauty.
Alberta has a number of wildlife conservation and rehabilitation facilities, such as the Birds of Prey Centre, which houses the hawks, falcons, eagles and owls of the province on a 70-acre portion of wetlands. Open May to September, the centre offers flying demonstrations, allows visitors to handle the birds and builds back populations through captive breeding of species like the endangered burrowing owl. Other options include the Calgary or Valley Zoos, Sea Life Caverns, Reptile World, Discovery Wildlife Park, Ellis Bird Farm and the Medicine River Wildlife Centre.
If your tastes tend toward the more peculiar, Alberta is home to a surprising assortment of the world's "largest," including: The World's Largest Badminton Racket, Beaver, Bee, Chuckwagon, Dinosaur, Easter Egg, Mushroom, Oil Lamp, Piggy Bank, Putter, Sundial, and Western Boot.
British Columbia
One of the most striking buildings in Vancouver is Canada Place, with its sail-like structures stretched toward the sky. Canada Place is a mixed-use building on the waterfront that serves as the home of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, The Pan Pacific Hotel, the cruise ship terminal, the CN IMAX Theatre, and various offices. As Vancouver prepares to host the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, it is not only sprucing up existing amenities, but building new facilities in the area, like the recently opened Whistler Olympic Park, so keep an eye out for new points of interest.
In Victoria, the late 19th century Legislative Buildings sit on the Inner Harbour and illuminate the area every evening with 3,333 lights. Tours of the Francis Rattenbury-designed buildings are available at no cost, offering visitors a closer look at the murals, plaster work, stained glass, architectural details and the grounds surrounding the buildings.
Manitoba
In downtown Winnipeg sits Dalnavert, the home of Sir Hugh John Macdonald, the son of Canada's first Prime Minister. The Queen Anne-style house was built in 1895 and narrowly escaped demolition in 1970 when it was saved, then carefully restored, by the Manitoba Historical Society.
The Forks, where the Assiniboine River meets the Red River, has been a Winnipeg gathering spot for six thousand years and today it takes the form of a commercial, recreational and educational destination with a market, restaurants, attractions, an amphitheater, garden and riverwalk. The Johnston Terminal, also at The Forks, served as a cold storage railway warehouse in its former life and now houses specialty shops, offices and dining options.
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Comments (10)
hey can anyone help me with this canada pionts of intersts?
Posted by Manmohan Singh Matharu on March 19,2011 | 11:13 AM
hey can anyone help me with this canada pionts of intersts?
Posted by ryan on February 26,2011 | 12:08 PM
great
Posted by alyssa on February 15,2011 | 12:10 PM
Yea I have to do a "travel across canada" project and this is helping me a lot to pick good places to visit.
Posted by Nobleman on September 8,2010 | 01:53 PM
Na Yeon Kim
Please contact me regarding The Arts at UBC
Arlene
c2@credit.ca
Posted by Arlene on June 16,2010 | 02:21 PM
hey im michael from australia and im doing a class project on canada. would please be able to send me some info on canada's man-made landmarks.
regards michael
p.s it would be great if you could send me the info asap
thanks
Posted by michael on March 28,2010 | 05:06 AM
yeah it going Canada on a class trip!
Posted by Macey bob! on January 4,2010 | 06:24 PM
were are pictures of the worlds largest?
Posted by on January 4,2010 | 05:35 PM
what is the capital city of Canada?
Posted by Na Yeon Kim on November 25,2009 | 08:50 PM
Good Job!!!!!!!!!
Posted by chasity on October 29,2009 | 12:35 PM