St John's Harbour, Newfoundland

The Canadian city of St. John's (population 99,182 in 2001), is the provincial capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador.

History

• The Italian navigator John Cabot, who sailed under English flag, was the first European since the Vikings verifiably known to have reached America. The 500th anniversary of his landing in what he named New Founde Lande was celebrated in 1997. St. John's became the oldest British settlement in North America as, on August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of the region for England. The settlement changed hands several times between France and England, until becoming permanently British in 1762 and serving as a naval base during both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

• The worst disaster to befall St. John's was on July 18, 1892 and is commonly called The Great Fire of 1892.

• It was at St. John's that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message, and it was from there that the first nonstop transatlantic flight was made in 1919 by Alcock and Brown.

• During the Second World War, the harbour was used by Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting convoys. It was also the site of a large US Army base called "Fort Pepperrell". This base was established as part of the "Lend-lease" agreement between the UK and USA.

Geography

The city is located on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula, in southeastern Newfoundland island, and on the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, it is the easternmost city in North America. The downtown area exists to the north of St. John's Harbour and the rest of the city expands uphill and to the west, north, and east. The city of Mount Pearl borders St. John's to the east, and is substantially smaller in population, yet only slightly smaller in size. St. John's is the largest city in Division No. 1. The following table is a representation of St. John's and its surrounding areas:

Facts

• Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer John Cabot became the first European to sail into its harbour, on June 24, 1497 — the feast day of Saint John the Baptist.
• The city is the centre of business, education, and government for the province.
• St. John's is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. John's, and the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.
• St. John's is the site of the Newfoundland Museum, Memorial University, and the College of the North Atlantic.
• St. John's is currently the only Canadian city served by radio stations whose call letters do not begin with the letter C. Four stations in St. John's use the ITU prefix VO: VOCM, VOAR and VOWR. VO was assigned to the Dominion of Newfoundland before the province joined Canadian Confederation in 1949, and these stations kept their existing call letters. However, other commercial radio stations in St. John's which went to air after 1949 use the same range of prefixes (CF–CK) currently in use elsewhere in Canada. VO remains in use in amateur radio
• St. John's is the home of the St. John's Maple Leafs, an AHL farm team for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs' home stadium is Mile One Stadium and is in downtown St. John's. However, after the 2004-2005 season, the Maple Leafs will be leaving Newfoundland and a junior team from the QMJHL, called the St. John's Fog Devils are scheduled to become the new tenant at Mile One.
• St. John's is the terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway.

• According to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census:
  • Dwellings: 42,443
  • Area (km²): 446.04
  • Density (persons per km²): 222.4

St. John's should not be confused with Saint John, New Brunswick.

External links

• The City of St. John's Official Website (http://www.stjohns.ca)

See also: List of cities in Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador