Prince Edward Island (PEI), also called the island is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is consisting of the Atlantic island of the same name along with several much smaller islands nearby.
It is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, west of Cape Breton Island, north of the Nova Scotia peninsula, and east of New Brunswick.
Prince Edward Islandis is about 225 kilometers (140 miles) long, ranging from 3 to 65 kilometers (2 to 40 miles) in width.
It is the smallest province in Canada in terms of total area with 5,660 square kilometers (2,190 square miles).
As of April 2019, the population of Prince Edward Island was estimated to be about 150,000 people. It is the 10th most populous province in Canada.
It is the most densely populated province in Canada.
Charlottetown s the capital and largest city of Prince Edward Island. It is named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. Charlottetown has a Victorian-era charm and a surprising small-town feel.
Prince Edward Island is one of the three Maritime Provinces.
It is located about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of Quebec City.
Prince Edward Island’s landscape is pastoral. Rolling hills, woods, reddish white sand beaches, ocean coves and the famous red soil have given Prince Edward Island a reputation as a province of outstanding natural beauty.
The coastline has a combination of long beaches, dunes, red sandstone cliffs, salt water marshes, and numerous bays and harbours.
Prince Edward Island has about 1,760 kilometers (1,100 miles) of coastline.
The highest point of Prince Edward Island is located at Springton in Queens County, rising 152 meters (499 feet) above sea level.
Prince Edward Island has 1 national park and 23 provincial parks.
Prince Edward Island National Park is situated along the island’s north shore, fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The park measures approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in length and ranges from several hundred meters to several kilometers in width. Established in 1937, the park’s mandate includes the protection of many broad sand beaches, sand dunes and both freshwater wetlands and saltmarshes. The park’s protected beaches provide nesting habitat for the endangered piping plover; the park has been designated a Canadian Important Bird Area.
The Confederation Bridge spans the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait. It links Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada. Before its official naming, Prince Edward Islanders often referred to the bridge as the “Fixed Link”. Construction took place from October 1993 to May 1997[2] and cost C$1.3 billion. The 12.9-kilometer (8 mi) bridge opened on May 31, 1997.
As Juliet has done with Verona, the fictional Anne of Green Gables has so captured readers’ and viewers’ imaginations that she has imbued the setting for her story with a magic of its own. Anne’s author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, lived in Cavendish, and it became the mythical Avonlea of Anne’s girlhood in her 1908 book that begins the series. The green-roofed farmhouse, Green Gables, and surrounding land belonged to Montgomery’s uncle and she visited often as a child. It is now a National Historic Site.
The Confederation Centre of the Arts is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown. This cultural institution houses an art gallery, museum, and two theaters. It presents the Anne of Green Gables musical each summer, part of the annual Charlottetown Festival.
Prince Edward Island history: Since before the influx of Europeans, the Mi’kmaq First Nations have inhabited Prince Edward Island as part of the region of Mi’kma’ki. Explored by Europeans in the 16th Century, the French claimed all of the lands of the Maritimes in 1604 and French colonists arrived in 1720. By conquest, the British claimed all of the lands including Prince Edward Island in 1763. It became the British colony of St. John Island in 1769 and joined the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1873.
Prince Edward Island consists of the main island and 231 minor islands.
The backbone of the economy is farming; it produces 25% of Canada’s potatoes.
The island has several informal names: “Garden of the Gulf”, referring to the pastoral scenery and lush agricultural lands throughout the province; and “Birthplace of Confederation” or “Cradle of Confederation”, referring to the Charlottetown Conference in 1864. It is also sometimes referred to as “Spud Island” because of its significant potato production.
Historically, PEI is one of Canada’s older settlements and demographically still reflects older immigration to the country, with Scottish, Irish, English and French surnames being dominant to this day.
Author Lucy Maud Montgomery drew inspiration from the island’s lush landscape during the late Victorian Era for the setting of her classic novel Anne of Green Gables.