DISCOVERYA Viking village existed at L'Anse aux Meadows, located on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland, for an undetermined period c1000 AD. This area is now a National Historic Park and has been designated by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site. More recent history credits John Cabot with the discovery of Newfoundland in 1497.
Labrador was named "Markland" by the Vikings which means "Land of Trees".
Vikings
in North America LOCATIONLabrador lies between the 53rd and 60th parallels and is more than three times the size of Newfoundland. Labrador is located on the eastern part of the Canadian mainland. Newfoundland and Labrador is Canada's most easterly province.
Map
of Newfoundland and Labrador
Map of
Newfoundland
CONFEDERATION
Newfoundland and
Labrador entered into the confederation on March 31, 1949.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the tenth and newest Canadian
province.
NEWFOUNDLAND
TARTAN
| GOLD | Of the Sun Rays that crown thee |
| GREEN | Of the Pine Clad Hills |
| WHITE | Of the cloak at winter's stern command |
| BROWN | Of the Iron Isle |
| RED | Of the Royal Standard for which our Fathers stood |
Provincial
Tartans
OFFICIAL BIRD OF
NEWFOUNDLAND
The Atlantic Puffin is
the provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador. About 95% of all
North America's puffins breed in colonies around the Newfoundland
and Labrador coasts. As people with strong marine heritage, it is
appropriate to have a marine bird as our symbol.
Atlantic
Puffin
The Northern
Lights
The Aurora Borealis
lights result from solar electrons and protons striking molecules
high in the Earth's atmosphere. Planetary aurora activity can
sometimes be predicted after particularly active solar coronal
mass ejections How
Powerful Are The Northern Lights
Northern
lights and the Climate
FLORAL EMBLEM-Pitcher
Plant
Queen Victoria, more
than a hundred years ago, chose the Pitcher Plant to be engraved
on a newly minted Newfoundland and Labrador penny. In 1954, the
Newfoundland Cabinet designated this unusual and interesting plant
as the official flower of the provinces. Pitcher Plant
MINERAL EMBLEM -
LABRADORITE
One of the most
beautiful and popular of the "semi-precious" stones, labradorite
is found in several locations along the coast of Labrador and, on
the Island of Newfoundland. It is said that the Indians of
Labrador attributed mystical qualities to the stone because of its
captivating play of colours or "labradoresence". They called it
"firestone" and used a powder produced by pulverizing it as a
magical potion to cure their ailments. A tumble-polished fragment
makes an ideal touchstone or talisman and a beautifully shaped and
polished cabochon set in gold or silver is a highly sought
jewellery item in any collection.
Among the twenty or so,
semi-precious stones that are found in Newfoundland and Labrador,
labradorite is the one that truly qualifies as the provincial
mineral emblem. Photo
of Labradorite
Provincial Tree -
Black Spruce Tree.
The Black Spruce-Picea
mariana: A small slow-growing tree, up to 20 meters tall and 25
centimeters in diameter. It often has a characteristic cluster of
branches at the top forming a club or crow's nest. They have
needles which are blue-green color, short, stiff, and four-sided.
The needles are arranged in all directions along the twig or
mostly pointing upwards. The seed cones are small and purplish.
The old cones hang on the tree several years. Pollen cones are
dark red.The bark is thin, scaly and dark greenish-brown.
The black spruce tree is used by the Aboriginal people to
make snowshoe frames. BLACK
SPRUCE
COAT OF
ARMS
The cross is based upon
the cross of St. George, but of a different colour. The lions and
unicorns are based upon those in the Arms of England, to which the
unicorn had been added at the time of the union of England with
Scotland.
The shield is surmounted by an elk and supported
on either side by what the Grant of Arms describes as "Savages of
the clyme ----- armed and apparelled according to their guise when
they go to warre" . . . . apparently representing the now extinct
Beothuk Indians of Newfoundland. The translation of the motto is
"SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD".
Although granted in
1637, the Arms were unknown to authorities in Newfoundland until
they were rediscovered and officially adopted by the Newfoundland
Government on January 1, 1928.
Coat of Arms
THE LABRADOR
FLAG
This flag is meant to
be a permanent declaration of the unique identity of the people of
Labrador and their common heritage.
The top white bar
represents the snow, the element which, more than any other,
coloured our culture and dictated our lifestyles.
The
bottom blue bar represents the waters of our rivers, lakes and
oceans. The waters have been our highways, like the snows, and
nurtured our fish and wildlife.
The centre green bar
represents the land. The green and bountiful land is the
connecting element that unites our three diverse
cultures.
The symbolic spruce twig was chosen because the
spruce tree is the one thing that is common to all geographic
areas of Labrador. It has provided our shelter, transport, fuel,
and in an indirect way, our food and clothing since the spruce
forests became the environment for the wildlife which gave us meat
for our tables, and skins for our clothing and trade. It was from
the spruce that we sawed our planks and timber for our boats,
komatiks and houses.
The three branches of the spruce twig
represents the three races: the Inuit, the Indian and the European
settlers. The twig is in two sections, or year's growths. The
outer growth is longer than the inner growth. This occurs because
in the good growing years the twig grows longer than in the poor
years. Thus, the inner and shorter twig reminds us of times past,
while the longer twig represents our hope for the
future.
The
Labrador Flag
ODE TO LABRADOR
Dear land of mountains, woods and snow,
Labrador our Labrador.
God's noble gifts to us we know,
Labrador our Labrador.
Thy proud resources waiting still,
their splendid task will soon fulfill,
Obedient to thy
Maker's will,
Labrador our Labrador.
Thy stately
forests soon shall ring,
Labrador our Labrador.
Responsive
to the woodmans' ring,
Labrador our Labrador.
And mighty
floods that long remained
their raging fury unrestrained
Shall serve the purpose God ordained,
Labrador our
Labrador.
We love to climb thy mountains steep,
Labrador our Labrador.
Or paddle on thy waters deep,
Labrador our Labrador.
Our snowshoes scar the trackless
plains,
we seek no city streets nor lanes.
We are thy sons
while life remains,
Labrador our Labrador.
Ode to
Newfoundland
CLIMATE
Labrador is known for
its long winters which can be excruciating, yet adventurous due to
its activities. Winters in Labrador usually last from November
until late May with snow present in all areas. The average
temperature for the winter months range from a high of -16.7 to an
extreme low of -39.4. April and May are still quite cool and
precipitation is abundant, but the snow by now is slowly
disappearing in most regions. Temperatures have been recorded from
a high of 32.1 to a low of -15.0.
The month of June is
usually pleasant and sunny. Summer clothing should be supplemented
with some medium-weight wear as a precaution against cool
evenings, as well as rain gear for showers. Temperatures are
increasingly warmer with the maximum and minimum recorded as 36.2
and -4.2 respectively.
Black flies and mosquitos are very
common in Labrador. Mosquitos can be seen as early as May until
late September. Insect repellents are necessary and should be worn
when visiting all wooded areas.
July and August offer
adequate warmth for all popular summer activities. With
temperatures usually reaching a high of 37.8 and a low of 6
degrees. Evenings are refreshingly cool, especially in the coastal
regions, so warm, light clothing should be included in your
vacation wardrobe along with waterproof apparel for protection
against summer showers.
Indian summer is much in evidence
during September and October. The weather can be variable and the
evenings quite cool so warm clothing is required. Temperatures
range from 30 degrees in the daytime to -17.0 degrees at
night. LAND AREA
Labrador has a land
area of 294 330 km. This is twice the total area of the Maritime
Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island).
The coastline of Labrador is 7 886 km with a water area of 34 030
km2. PRINCIPAL
LAKES
| LAKE | AREA (km sq.) | ELEVATION (m) |
| Grand Lake | 352 | 82.3 |
| Lake Melville | 2939 | sea level |
RIVERS
| RIVER | AREA (km sq.) | ELEVATION (m) |
| Churchill River | 93 | 415 |
MOUNTAIN AND HEIGHTS OF
LAND
| MOUNTAIN | ELEVATION (m) |
| Caubuick | 1652 |
| Torngat Mountains | 1650 |
| Cirque Mountain | 1567 |
| Mount Caledonia | 1440 |
| Mount Eliot | 1387 |
| Mount Tetragona | 1372 |
| Bishops Metre | 1237 |
| Quartzite Mountain | 1198 |
| Mealy Mountains | 1190 |
| Blow me down Mountain | 1183 |
| Finger Hill | 1033 |
| Red Wine Mountain | 892 |
| Black Hills | 529 |
TIME
ZONES
Labrador operates on
Atlantic Standard Time, except for the area on the coast from
L'anse au Clair to Cartwright which operates on Newfoundland
Standard Time which is a half an hour
later