United States vs. Canada: Geographical Comparison

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Difference between United States and Canada

Believe it or not, there are still some people around the world who consider the United States and Canada as pretty much identical countries, with the only differences being the climate. Of course nothing could be further from the truth, and both countries are as different as if they were on opposite sides of the globe...well, almost! In any case, here are a few of the more notable geographical features that distinguish them from one another.

United States
Canada

Land Area

Depending on how it is measured, the United States can be said to be either just a bit larger than China, or a bit smaller. This makes the U.S. is either the third or fourth largest country in the world. The United States is actually smaller than Canada, although when measured in terms of land area only, the United States is definitely larger. The total area of the United States was measured at 9,372,610 km2. Canada on the other hand has a total land area of 9,984,670 km2. This makes the country just a little bit larger than the U.S.

Geographic Regions

The United States has quite varied geography, considering it spans such a wide area. The main landmass alone is divided into eight physiographic regions, with each being further divided into smaller subdivisions. The major regions are the Laurentian Upland , the Atlantic Plain, the Appalachian Highlands, the Interior Plains, the Interior Highlands, the Rocky Mountain System, Intermontane Plateaus, Pacific Mountain System.

Canada for is part is divided into the West, the Prairies, Central Canada, the Maritimes, and the North. These regions are further divided into the Pacific Coast, the Interior Plains, the Canadian Shield, St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachian Region, and the Arctic Lowlands.

Boundaries

The United States is bordered by Canada on the north and Mexico on the south, and it shares water borders with Russia towards the northwest as well. The first forty-eight states meet with the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Atlantic Ocean toward the east, with the Gulf of Mexico towards the southeast.

As for Canada, its territories extend to the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean and Alaska towards the west, Newfoundland and the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and the United States on the south.

Summary

United States

  • Total land area of 9,372,610 km2
  • Larger than Canada when only land area is measured
  • Divided into the Laurentian Uplands, the Atlantic Plain, the Appalachian Highlands, the Interior Plains, the Interior Highlands, the Rocky Mountain System, Intermontane Plateaus, Pacific Mountain System.
  • Immensely varied geography spanning a huge land area
  • Shares borders with Canada, Mexico and Russia
  • Bordered by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico

Canada

  • Total land area 9,984,670 km2
  • Larger total land area than the U.S.
  • Divided into the West, the Prairies, Central Canada, the Maritimes, and the North
  • Varied geography highlighted by several mountain ranges
  • Shares borders with Newfoundland and the United States
  • Bordered by the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
 
 

comments 6 Comments

  • Canada . 3+ yrs. ago

Well USA enjoys a lot more blessings from mother earth .In Canada the winters are very rigid .

thanks man

  • ds . 3+ yrs. ago

poster above me is a ****

  • Glen Robertson . 3+ yrs. ago

Canada doesn't, "share a border with Newfoundland;" 'Newfoundland and Labrador,' is a Province of Canada just as much as Maryland and Oregon are States of the USA. Canada shares more of a water border with Russia than the USA does. Canada also shares very close water borders with Denmark and France. Parts of Canada feature palm trees and are warmer than much of the USA.

Canada is far larger than USA. 20% of the planet's fresh water is found in Canada, so discounting the vast tracts of land occupied by Canada's many lakes, streams, and reservoirs (some of which exist for the sole purpose of providing water to the USA) is the only way the USA might be able to claim to be larger than Canada.

  • Tbone . 3+ yrs. ago

USA has a much better health system and only people who do not even live in Canada would say that Canada has a better health care system

Because Canada's Health Care system is one of the worst in the developed world (probably the worst) I know because I live in Canada. Waiting times may as well be death sentences, for example, my friend dislocated his shoulder but it took him over a year and a half to get it checked on because the doctors are incompetent and have their schedules full because people abuse the "free health care" by going to the doctor when they don't need to. There is no such thing as "free health care" we pay tons of "Sin Taxes" just research Canadian Sin Taxes. For example we pay about 12-13 dollars for a specific bottle of wine which I have seen in the USA costs only 3-4 dollars. A pack of cigarettes costs us close to 20 dollars. "Sin Taxes" are sort of like paying for my "future medical bills".. but it is not fair at all because Sin Taxes are only put on things which are considered "unnecessary" and "unhealthy" but how does that make sense when a third of the Canadian population is obese but none of them have to pay any "Sin Taxes" for eating unhealthy (in other words, if we Sin Tax cigarettes and alcohol what about overeating? What about ...... etc etc)

This is why Canada is way behind all the other G7 countries. My friend who dislocated his shoulder had to wait essentially 2 years before he was able to go back to work at all because of how slow our health care system is and because our doctors are incompetent (they sent my friend to a knee specialist which wasted about 3 months of time or more since he needed a shoulder specialist not a knee specialist... that's just to give you an example of the incompetence of the doctors here)

  • Joe Bleaux . 3+ yrs. ago

You're a damn liar, "Tbone" - as a US/Canadian dual citizen, I've experienced both healthcare systems for many decades, and nobody I have ever met experienced the wait-times you allege. F**k off...

  • Neal Wallace . 3+ yrs. ago

American "health" is 100% greed based. Hence, pretty awful, and add to that the fact that most white male "physicians" are legacies, that get in to med school with no science background, "usually a business degree... with a less than 3.0 gpa..." and you have the disaster that is occurring in the USA. Lets face it, our culture is ****. Of course, I am a white golf addicted, old man from Georgia, so I see the worst of humanity, every day. You have cowards here screaming preserve our heritage, and my response is simply, show me a heritage on this planet that is not despicable, and I will go all in for preserving it, but from what I see and read, humanity has yet to develop a respectable heritage worth preservation. I will give a shout out to the few decent Physicians still practicing, and all of the nurses and other under compensated of every mammoth health care company, thanks for what you do, I hope things improve soon.

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