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Derived from an Iroquois word meaning "beautiful waters" or "shimmering waters," Ontario was aptly named.
Ontario is home to over 250,000 lakes and boasts more kilometers of rivers and streams than anywhere else in North America. Portions of four Great Lakes reside within Canada's second largest province, as does Niagara Falls and a massive chunk of Hudson and James Bay shoreline. In all, over one sixth of Ontario's 1,068,580 square kilometers is covered by water.
Situated between the provinces of Quebec and Manitoba, Ontario shares a border with five American states: Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The bulk of Ontario's people live in the southeastern portion of the province, near Lake Ontario. The Great Lakes moderate the weather in this area, making for agreeable temperatures year round. Temperatures around Toronto, for example, average 22 degrees Celsius in July and -4 degrees in January - mild for a Canadian winter. There are, on average, 164 days in the South Ontario growing season, prime conditions for the orchards and vineyards of the Niagara region (Canada's leading wine-producing area).
Northern Ontario is much colder. The mean January temperature is -18 degrees Celsius in Kapuskasing - and it becomes even brisker farther north. In fact, tundra covers some areas around the Hudson Bay shoreline. Most of Ontario's north is heavily forested and sparsely populated. The ground is rocky and largely unsuitable for agriculture. Towns have sprouted up around mining and forestry centres, Northern Ontario's chief industries. Large deposits of nickel, uranium, copper and gold are mined throughout the north. Ontario is the world's largest producer of nickel.
Ontario's central Canadian location and close proximity to lucrative American markets, coupled with its wealth of natural resources and skilled labour has made it the financial and political center for all of Canada.
Many national and multinational corporations are headquartered in Ontario, especially around Toronto, the province's capital and Canada's most populous city. The Toronto Stock Exchange is North America's third largest (by value traded).
Ontario is also home to Ottawa, Canada's capital city. Ottawa is full of government offices, bureaucrats, lobbyists and politicians.
Ontario is known for its multicultural composition. Although half of Ontario's population is comprised of people of British stock, the remainder is a cornucopia of cultures from around the globe. The Toronto area is known for its multicultural communities.
Toronto is also Ontario's cultural hotspot featuring a wide range of entertainment choices. There are theatres featuring off-Broadway plays and musicals, massive stadiums that host concerts and professional sporting events and more restaurants and pubs than one person could ever visit. One of the world's tallest freestanding structures, the CN Tower, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Toronto Zoo are all popular Toronto attractions.
There is no shortage of entertainment elsewhere in the province. Theme parks, museums, art galleries and festivals abound. Niagara Falls has always been a popular draw, especially for honeymooners. Today Niagara Falls offers much more than a scenic view, with a casino and attractions galore. The vast Ontario wilderness and its many national and provincial parks provide ample opportunities for camping, boating, hiking, hunting, and fishing.