Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" On the Unique Things About Manitoba

Since the middle of April when I learned I am a "Lost Canadian", I've been learning about Canada. While I have learned many things,  there clearly are a great many things I still do not know and have yet to learn. Today I'm sharing some of the unique things I've learned online about the Canadian Province of Manitoba . . .

Manitoba is a Canadian province known for being the polar bear capital of Churchill, the color-shifting Little Limestone Lake, massive snake dens, and the coin-minting heart of the nation. It blends raw northern wilderness with rich cultural history. 

Amazing Wildlife

Polar Bear Capital: Churchill is the world's most accessible place to see polar bears in the wild, and nearby Wapusk National Park is their largest maternity denning site. 
Beluga Whales: Every summer, tens of thousands of friendly beluga whales enter Hudson Bay near Churchill.
Garter Snakes: Narcisse is home to the world's largest concentration of red-sided garter snakes, where tens of thousands gather in limestone caves. 

Unique Landscapes

Color-Changing Lake: Little Limestone Lake is the world's largest marl lake, turning from turquoise to neon blue as the water warms up.
Ancient Reptiles: Morden houses Bruce the Mosasaur at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, the largest publicly displayed fossil of an 80-million-year-old marine reptile.
Coin Maker: Winnipeg is home to the Royal Canadian Mint, which produces every single Canadian circulation coin.
More than 10,000 years ago, most of Manitoba was covered by an ancient lake. Known as Lake Agassiz, it was larger than the Great Lakes combined.
Manitoba is larger than France

Culture and Cities

Northern Lights: Churchill experiences the aurora borealis roughly 300 nights a year.
Slurpee Capital: Winnipeg has held the title of the Slurpee Capital of the World for over two decades.
Winnie-the-Pooh: The real bear cub that inspired A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Winnipeg by a Canadian soldier during World War I. 
Winnipeg is the Cree word for muddy water.
The world’s largest snow maze emerges every year in St. Adolphe, Manitoba, just 20 minutes south of Winnipeg.
Winnipeg has one of the sunniest winters in Canada with more than 300 days of measurable sunshine a year.

There is SO much more to know, discover, and most certainly love about Manitoba, Canada, and you will find much of it at this link and this link. (Images from Canada.ca)