Newfoundland and Labrador | Description, History, Climate, Economy, Facts, & Map | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Newfoundland and Labrador, province of Canada composed of the island of Newfoundland and a larger mainland sector, Labrador, to the northwest. It is the newest of Canada’s 10 provinces, having joined the confederation only in 1949; its name was officially changed to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001. The island, which was named the “newfoundelande,” or New Found Land, by late 15th-century explorers, lies athwart the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is separated from Labrador by the narrow Strait of Belle Isle and from Nova Scotia, to the southwest, by Cabot Strait. The French territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon lies off the coast of the Burin Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland. Labrador is bordered to the north and east by the Labrador Sea (northwestern arm of the Atlantic Ocean) and to the south and west by the province of Quebec.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly part of North America, and its position on the Atlantic has given it a strategic importance in defense, transportation, and communications. Its capital city, St. John’s (on Newfoundland), for instance, is closer to the coast of Ireland than it is to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Of perhaps greater significance have been the great fish stocks that inhabited the Grand Banks and other fishing grounds to the east and south of Newfoundland, spurring the development of numerous communities stretched along some 14,400 miles (23,200 km) of deeply indented wave-battered seacoast. These fisheries have been the single most important factor in shaping the history and character of the land and its people. Area 156,453 square miles (405,212 square km). Pop. (2021) 510,550; (2023 est.) 521,542.

Quick Facts

Population:

(2021) 510,550; (2023 est.) 521,542

Provincial Motto:

"Quaerite prime Regnum Dei (Seek ye first the Kingdom of God)"

Seats In House Of Commons:

7 (of 308)

Time Zone:

Atlantic (GMT − 4 hours)

Newfoundland (GMT − 3.5 hours)

Premier:

Andrew Furey (Liberal Party)

Total Area (Sq Km):

405,212

Total Area (Sq Mi):

156,453

Land

Relief, drainage, and soils

The province’s two main components—Newfoundland island and Labrador—must be treated as separate physiographic regions. The island, roughly triangular in shape and with an area (excluding associated islands) of 42,031 square miles (108,860 square km), is part of the Appalachian geologic province of North America, in which the landforms run from southwest to northeast and are characterized by continental drift, volcanic action, crustal deformation, ice erosion, and deposition. These forces have produced a highly complex geologic structure, with ancient rocks of Europe and Africa on the east, newer Appalachian rocks on the west, and the bed of the ancient ocean squeezed up between them. On the west coast the land rises abruptly from a narrow coastal plain to the Long Range Mountains, which reach a maximum height of 2,670 feet (814 meters). The mountains give way to a plateau that slopes gently downward to the northeastern coast, with its many headlands, islands, and bays. The plateau is undulating and dotted with thousands of lakes and ponds, numerous streams, and rivers, including the Exploits, Gander, and Humber. The coastal terrain is hilly and rugged; the coast itself is marked by numerous bays and fjords, and there are many offshore islands.

Labrador, with an area of 113,641 square miles (294,330 square km), is geologically part of the Canadian Shield, which comprises some of the world’s oldest rocks. Although most of the rocks are igneous and metamorphic formations of Precambrian age (i.e., older than about 540 million years), the Labrador trough, in the west, contains softer sedimentary deposits and includes some of North America’s most extensive iron-ore deposits. In the far north the Torngat Mountains rise abruptly from the sea to a height of 5,420 feet (1,652 meters) at Mount Caubvick (Mount D’Iberville), on the Labrador-Quebec border. The interior is like a giant saucer dotted with lakes and dissected by rivers that break through the eastern saucer rim to discharge into the Labrador Sea. The indented coastline has countless offshore islands, fjords, and coves, exposed and barren headlands, and relatively lush river valleys.

Most of Newfoundland and Labrador shows the effects of continental glaciation during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). Thus, the material that lies underneath the thin layer of today’s soil is generally glacial debris or marine sediments exposed by postglacial uplift. Nevertheless, the watersheds of the larger rivers contain deeper surface deposits that support the growth of excellent forest stands, and the province has pockets of arable mineral soils that support agriculture. Interrupted drainage systems throughout the province have created extensive peat bogs.

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