Location of Freshwater
Table 1 shows the distribution of freshwater by province and territory.
Most provinces and territories have large areas covered by lakes
or rivers, in particular provinces or territories that also have
large areas underlain by the Canadian Shield. Readers should note
when using this table that it refers to the surface area of standing
water only. When assessing water availability, it is important to
consult other data such as the amount of streamflow on specific
river systems, data on groundwater, and, of course, climate data.
Table 1. Canadian Provinces and Territories
Ranked by their Freshwater Surface Area
Canadian Provinces and Territories Ranked by their Freshwater Surface Area
| Quebec |
1
542 056 |
176
928 |
11.5 |
19.9 |
| Northwest
Territories |
1 346 106 |
163 021 |
12.1 |
18.3 |
| Ontario |
1
076 395 |
158
654 |
14.7 |
17.8 |
| Nunavut |
2
093 190 |
157
077 |
7.5 |
17.5 |
| Manitoba |
647
797 |
94
241 |
14.5 |
10.6 |
| Saskatchewan |
651
036 |
59
366 |
9.1 |
6.7 |
| Newfoundland
and Labrador |
405
212 |
31
340 |
7.7 |
3.5 |
| British
Columbia |
944
735 |
19
549 |
2.1 |
2.2 |
| Alberta |
661
848 |
19
531 |
2.9 |
2.2 |
| Yukon |
482
443 |
8
052 |
1.7 |
0.9 |
| Nova Scotia |
55
284 |
1
946 |
3.5 |
0.2 |
| New
Brunswick |
72
908 |
1
458 |
2.0 |
0.2 |
| Prince
Edward Island |
5
660 |
|
0.0 |
less
than 0.1 |
| Canada |
9
984 670 |
891
163 |
8.9 |
100.0 |
|
Source: Canada. Natural Resources Canada. The Atlas of Canada. Facts About Canada: Land and Freshwater Areas. Ottawa, 1999.
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