Portal:Manitoba

edit  

The Manitoba Portal

Manitoba (mǎn'ĭ-tō'ba) was called the prairie-province up to 1906, when Alberta and Saskatchewan, having received provincial autonomy, also shared the title. It lies near the center of North America and midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The southern boundary is Minnesota and North Dakota. The 60th parallel is its northern boundary and it embraces a third of the western shore of Hudson's Bay.

In size it is larger than Scotland, Ireland and Wales combined: it embraces 251,000 square miles of territory. Conceive the extent of its rich acres. Placing a family of five on every half section of land, there is room for 2,000,000 of a farm population. The first European settlement (the Selkirk Colony) was made in 1812 on both sides of the Red River below Winnipeg, then called Fort Garry. The colonists were mostly from Scotland, and many of their descendants still reside on the old homesteads. The colony remained under Hudson Bay Company rule at Fort Garry until 1870, when the whole western country, excepting British Columbia, which already was an independent colony, passed under the control of the British government by purchase. The prairie was at that time known as Assiniboia. The price paid to the Hudson Bay Company to extinguish their title was $1,500,000, they retaining two one-mile-square sections of land in each township of 36 sections (six miles square) and small areas around their trading-posts, about one twentieth of the land all told. In 1870, when Manitoba was created a province and became a part of the Canadian federation, the boundaries were much smaller than the enlargements of 1880 and 1912 made them. Only 36 per cent, of the population is native to the province. In the early days the population was largely composed of French Canadians and French-speaking Métis. When the agricultural possibilities of the country became known, there was a large immigration from the United States, Great Britain, central and northern Europe and eastern Canada. The fertile belts paralleling the shores of Lake Winnipeg at one time, it is thought, formed the bed of the lake. (Scientists call it Lake Agassiz.) When the lake disappeared, it left deposits of clay and silt which are now overlaid by two to four feet of black vegetable mould, constituting the most magnificent wheatlands in the known world. Through this valley Red River flows northward into Lake Winnipeg, which with Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis on the west (in reality parts of one whole) finds its outlet in Hudson Bay, and thus the lakes and rivers of the province drain the whole country. All Manitoba belongs to the Hudson Bay drainage-system. For this drainage the great lakes of the province are the reservoirs. Winnipeg River is some 200 miles long. At its falls from Lake of the Woods is one of the greatest and most easily utilized water-powers in the world. Unlike some of the other provinces, Manitoba possesses but little variety of climate. There is much sunlight the year through. This ensures rapid and successful growth of vegetation. The autumns are long and agreeable. During the winter, on account of the dry atmosphere, the low temperature is not so much felt as in countries with more moisture.^{The New Student's Reference Work (1914) (Manitoba)}

edit  

Selected article

The bobcat (Lynx rufus), occasionally known as the Bay lynx, is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including much of the continental United States. The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi-desert, urban edge, and swampland environments. It persists in much of its original range and populations are healthy.

With a gray to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the bobcat resembles the other species of the mid-sized Lynx genus. It is smaller than the Canadian Lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby tail, from which it derives its name.

Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it will hunt anything from insects and small rodents to deer and pronghorn antelope. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although there is some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces. The bobcat breeds from winter into spring and has a gestation period of about two months.

Although the bobcat has been subject to extensive hunting by humans, both for sport and fur, its population has proven resilient. The elusive predator features in Native American mythology and the folklore of European settlers.

...Archive/Nominations

Read more...

edit  

Selected biography

Louis Riel (October 22, 1844 – November 16, 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government that sought to preserve Métis rights and culture as their homelands in the Northwest came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence.

The first such resistance was the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870. The provisional government established by Riel ultimately negotiated the terms under which the modern province of Manitoba entered the Canadian Confederation. Riel was forced into exile in the United States as a result of the controversial execution of Thomas Scott during the rebellion. Despite this, he is frequently referred to as the "Father of Manitoba." While a fugitive, he was elected three times to the Canadian House of Commons, although he never assumed his seat. During these years, he was frustrated by having to remain in exile despite his growing belief that he was a divinely chosen leader and prophet, a belief which would later resurface and influence his actions. He married in 1881 while in exile in Montana, and fathered three children. He became a naturalized American citizen and was actively involved in the Republican party.

...Archive/Nominations

Read more...

edit  

In the news

Wikinews Manitoba portal

• March 25: FDA warning on Honduran cantaloupes after salmonella outbreaks
• September 22: Threats of school shootings at the University of Winnipeg
• May 6: Wikinews Shorts for Canada: May 6, 2007
• January 11: Large blizzard sweeps through British Columbia, Northern Alberta and Saskatchewan
• September 21: Four fallen Canadian soldiers return home

edit  

Selected picture

Polar bear mother & two cubs (Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada)

Author: Ansgar Walk