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Prince Edward Island is the smallest province in the nation. In fact, there are 27 cities in Canada with larger populations than the total population of Prince Edward Island!
Residents are known as Islanders. About the same size as the state of Delaware, the province is shaped like a crescent moon and is separated from its fellow Maritime Provinces--Nova Scotia and New Brunswick--by the Strait of Northumberland.
The Strait of Northumberland usually freezes over in wintertime and ferries called icebreakers (special ships that can sail through ice) keep sea channels open for travel and shipping. The island is nicknamed The Garden Province and is well known for its unusual red soil. The redness comes from the soil's high levels of rust (iron-oxide).
Here are some other interesting facts:
- Islanders refer to anyone who wasn't born on the island as being "from away."
- The stories in the Anne of Green Gables books were set in Prince Edward Island and written by islander Lucy Maud Montgomery.
- It is illegal to sell carbonated drinks like soda pop in cans. They must be sold in glass bottles, which can then be recycled.
- In the 1700s, mice overran the province, eating their way across the island's farmland. The town of Souris (French for "mouse") got its name from this plague.
- The island is named after Queen Victoria's father--Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.
- Prince Edward Island has the lowest crime rate in Canada.
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