Manitoba (pronounced /ˌmænɨˈtoʊbə/ ( listen)) is a Canadian prairie province with an area of 649,950 square kilometres (250,900 sq mi).[3] It is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. It also has a saltwater coastline on Hudson Bay. Agriculture dominates the province's economy. In 2006, Manitoba had a population of 1,213,815 (730,305 of which was in the Winnipeg Capital Region). Manitoba's capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is also Canada's eighth-largest Census Metropolitan Area, and has Canada's seventh-largest municipality. There is a significant Franco-Manitobain population in Winnipeg, but the largest ethnic group is English. There is also a growing aboriginal population. The name "Manitoba" is believed to be derived from the Cree, Ojibwe or Assiniboine languages.[4] Fur traders first arrived during the late 17th century. Manitoba entered Confederation on July 15, 1870, after the Northwest Rebellion, and was the first province to join Canada under the British North America Act (BNA Act) after the original four provinces.[5] A general strike took place in Winnipeg in 1919, and the province was hit hard by the Great Depression. This led to the creation of what would become the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, the dominant political party. Manitoba is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories to the north, and the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. It also has a saltwater coastline on Hudson Bay at Churchill. The province has the longest saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and contains over 110,000 lakes,[6] covering approximately 15.6% or 101,593 square kilometres (39,225 sq mi) of its surface area.[7] Major Manitoba lakes include Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg; the last of these is the tenth-largest fresh-water lake in the world and the largest located entirely within southern Canada.[8] Lake Winnipeg's east side has some of the world's last remote and intact watersheds. The large rivers that flow into the east side of Lake Winnipeg's basin are pristine and largely undeveloped. Many uninhabited islands can be found along the lake's shores.[9] Many of these originate in the Canadian Shield in neighbouring Ontario. These areas have only been used as native fishing, hunting, and gathering grounds for thousands of years. Some traditional land use areas of the east side of Lake Winnipeg are a proposed United Nations World Heritage Site, with the approval of their First Nations communities. Important watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill Rivers. Fishing along the Red River is an important part of Manitoba's tourism economy of Manitoba. Most of Manitoba's inhabited south lies within the prehistoric bed of Glacial Lake Agassiz, or the Red River Valley.[11] This region is extremely flat because it was once the bottom of the ancient Lake Agassiz, which covered the area. However, there are hilly and rocky areas throughout province, along with large sand ridges left behind by receding glaciers. Baldy Mountain is the highest point at 832 metres (2,730 ft) above sea level[12] and the Hudson Bay coast is the lowest, at sea level. Other upland areas include Riding Mountain, the Pembina Hills, Sandilands Provincial Forest, and the Canadian Shield regions. Much of the province's sparsely-inhabited north and east lie within the irregular granite landscape of the Canadian Shield, including Whiteshell, Atikaki, and Nopiming Provincial Parks. Birds Hill Provincial Park was originally an island in Lake Agassiz after the melting of glaciers.[13] Extensive agriculture is only found in the southern half of the province, although there is grain farming in the Carrot Valley Region (near the The Pas). The most common agricultural activity is cattle farming (34.6%),[14] followed by other grains (19.0%)[14] and oilseed (7.9%).[14] Manitoba is the nation's largest producer of sunflower seed and dry beans[15] and one of the leading potato producers. Around 12% of Canadian farmland is in Manitoba.[16] Because of its location in the centre of the North American continent, Manitoba has a very extreme climate. In general, temperatures and precipitation decrease from south to north, and precipitation also decreases from east to west. Since Manitoba is far removed from the moderating influences of both mountain ranges and large bodies of water, and because of the generally flat landscape, it is exposed to numerous weather systems throughout the year, including cold Arctic high-pressure air masses settle in from the north west, usually during the months of January and February. In the summer, the air masses often come out of the Southern United States, as the stronger Bermuda High Pressure ridges into the North American continent, the more warm, humid air is drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico, similar to that experienced in Southern Ontario. Southern parts of the province, located just north of Tornado Alley, experience tornadoes each year, with 15 confirmed touchdowns in 2006. In 2007, on June 22 and June 23, numerous tornadoes touched down, including an F5 Tornado that devastated parts of Elie (the strongest officially recorded tornado in Canada).[17] Temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) numerous times each summer, and the combination of heat and humidity can bring the humidex value to the mid-40's(C), (mid- 100's(F)), and the dewpoint to the upper 20's.[18] Carman, Manitoba, reached the extreme of 53.0 °C (127.4 °F) with the humidex, which set the highest temperature reached with the humidity in Canada. Manitoba is also a very sunny province; according to Environment Canada, Manitoba ranked first for clearest skies year round.[19] Manitoba also ranked second for most clear skies in the summer and sunniest province in the winter and spring. Portage la Prairie has the most sunny days in warm months in Canada; and Winnipeg has the second clearest skies year-round and is the second sunniest city in Canada in the spring and winter.[20] Southern Manitoba has a fairly long frost-free season, consisting of between 125 and 125 days in the Red River Valley;[21] this decreases to the northeast. The northern sections of the province (including the city of Thompson) falls in the subarctic climate zone (Koppen Dfc). This region features long and extremely cold winters with brief, warm summers with relatively little precipitation.[22] It is common to have overnight lows as low as −40 °C (−40 °F) for several days each winter, and have a few weeks that remain below −18 °C (0 °F).[22] The southwestern corner (including the city of Brandon) has a semi-arid mid-latitude steppe climate (Koppen climate classification BSk). The region is drier than other parts of southern Manitoba and very drought-prone.[23] It is cold and windy in the winter and is the region most prone to blizzards in the winter because of the openness of the landscape.[23] Summers are generally warm to hot, with low to moderate humidity.[23] The remainder of southern Manitoba (including the city of Winnipeg), falls into the humid continental climate zone (Koppen Dfb). Temperatures here are similar to the semi-arid climate zone, but this region is the most humid area in the Prairie Provinces with moderate precipitation.[25] The eastern, southeastern, and northern reaches of the province range through boreal coniferous forests, muskeg, Canadian Shield and a small section of tundra bordering Hudson Bay. Forests make up about 263,000 square kilometres (102,000 sq mi), or 48%, of the province's 548,000 square kilometres (212,000 sq mi) land area.[26] The forests generally consist of pines (mostly jack pine, some red pine), spruces (white, black), larch, poplars (trembling aspen, balsam poplar), birch (white, swamp) and small pockets of Eastern White Cedar.[26] Some of the last largest and intact boreal forest of the world can be found along the east side of Lake Winnipeg, with only winter roads, no hydroelectric development, no mines, and few communities. The tall-grass prairie dominates the southern parts of the province, and is especially notable for its endangered Fringed Orchid.[27] Manitoba is home to diverse species of animals. The province is especially noted for its bear population; Churchill, in northern Manitoba, is commonly referred to as the "Polar Bear Capital".[28] Other large animals, including moose, deer, and wolves, are common throughout the province, especially in the provincial and national parks. There is also a large population of garter snakes near Narcisse; the dens there are home to the largest concentration of snakes in the world.[29] The geographical area now named Manitoba was inhabited shortly after the last ice age glaciers retreated in the southwest. The first exposed land was the Turtle Mountain area, where large numbers of petroforms and medicine wheels can be found.[30] The first human habitants of southern Manitoba left behind pottery shards, spear and arrow heads, copper, petroforms, pictographs, fish and animal bones, and signs of agriculture along the Red River near Lockport. Eventually aboriginal settlements of Ojibwa, Cree, Dene, Sioux, Mandan, and Assiniboine peoples were founded, along with other tribes that entered the area to trade. The Whiteshell Provincial Park region along the Winnipeg River has many old petroforms and may have been a trading centre.[31] The cowry shells and copper found in this area are proof of a large trading network to the oceans, and to the larger southern native civilizations along the Mississippi River.[32] In Northern Manitoba some areas were mined for quartz to make arrowheads. The first farming in Manitoba appeared to be along the Red River, near Lockport, where corn and other seed crops were planted before contact with Europeans.[33] There are a few possible sources for the name "Manitoba". The more likely is that it comes from Cree or Ojibwe and means "strait of the Manitou (spirit)". It may also be from the Assiniboine for "Lake of the Prairie".[34]