Browse "Nature & Geography"

The Blue Mountains (Montagnes Bleues) is a 240 km long group of high hills along the Canada and United States border in the Eastern Townships.

Blue-green Algae, now known as Cyanobacteria, are named for the blue-green pigment phycocyanin which along with chlorophyll a gives them a blue-green appearance. This led to Cyanobacteria being called blue-green algae before the kingdom Monera was recognized.

The Blue-grey gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea, family Muscicapidae, subfamily Sylviinae) is a tiny, migratory, insectivorous songbird.

Bluebell, common name for several plants with bell-shaped flowers of Campanulaceae and Boraginaceae families.

Bluebird is a common name for 3 species of thrushes occurring in North and Central America.

The bobcat (Felis rufus, family Felidae) is a medium-sized, carnivorous mammal, also known as wildcat or bay lynx.

The Bonnet Plume River begins its journey in the Mackenzie Mountains on the Yukon and NWT border.

Borden Island, 2794 km2, is one of the Queen Elizabeth group of islands in the High Arctic. Most of the island is part of the Northwest Territories; the easternmost part of the island is part of Nunavut.

The boreal zone is Canada’s largest vegetation zone, making up 55 per cent of the country’s land mass. It extends from Yukon and northern British Columbia in the west to Newfoundland and Labrador in the east. While much of the region is covered by forest, it also includes lakes, rivers, wetlands and naturally treeless areas. The boreal zone is home to diverse wildlife, and is crucial to maintaining biological diversity, storing carbon, purifying air and water, and regulating the climate. With more than 2.5 million Canadians living in the boreal zone, the forest also provides these rural communities with jobs and economic stability.

Exactly what constitutes a botanical garden is debated among professionals. A very conservative view is a scientific garden of this kind must be associated with a university in order to fulfill its objectives as an educational and research facility.

The study of plant life is organized in 3 ways, which are also applicable to zoological material.

Long before formal study of plants began in Canadian academic institutions, they were studied by explorers and talented amateurs.

The political boundaries that are of concern to Canada today are the international boundaries primarily with the US and Greenland and, because they are of more than local importance, the boundaries of the provinces and territories. The evolution of both types involved 2 distinct stages. After political decisions were made on the allocation of territory, such territories were delimited and the boundaries described in state documents. Then, usually some time later, the boundaries were surveyed and marked on the ground (the process of demarcation).

The bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) is a large baleen whale living in Arctic waters. Two populations are found in Canada: the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Sea population and the Eastern Canada-West Greenland population. During the summer, the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Sea population is found in the waters of the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, while the Eastern Canada-West Greenland population is found in Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, Lancaster Sound, Hudson Strait, Foxe Basin, northwest Hudson Bay and the channels and fjords of the Arctic Archipelago. Commercial whaling began in the 1500s and ended around 1915. Both populations of bowhead whale were severely reduced by this industry. While their numbers have increased, other challenges, such as climate change and oil and gas development, pose threats to bowhead whales.

Brachiopoda, phylum of bivalved marine invertebrates, sometimes called lamp shells.

Bras d'Or Lake, 1099 km2, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean occupying the centre of Cape Breton Island that nearly divides the island in two. On the north it is linked to the ocean by a narrow channel down the west side of Boularderie Island.

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea, Botrytis Group) is an annual or biennial vegetable belonging to the Cruciferae family.

Bruce Peninsula National Park (established 1987, 156 km2) consists of a former provincial park and private lands acquired on a "willing buyer-willing seller" basis. Over 75% of the total area of the park has been acquired.

Brunette Island, 20 km2, is situated at the mouth of Fortune B on Newfoundland's S coast, 18 km S of Connaigre Head. The island, roughly triangular, measures 11 km E-W and 6 km N-S. A steep ridge backs the NW shore, at one point rising to 160 m.

Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea, Gemmifera group), are a biennial vegetable of the Cruciferae family. They are native to western Europe.