Newfoundland and Labrador – introducing the place that is now my home

Let me keep company always with those who say ‘look’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads- Mary Oliver

After retiring from active service, my husband and I moved to Newfoundland (pronounced New-fin-land), Canada to be close to our son and his wife. When people think of Newfoundland they think of a very beautiful place, a place on their bucket list to visit. But they also think how far away it is. Some others just ask where on earth is this place? In these pages I hope to introduce some aspects of this island and I hope it will be of interest to all.

It is an island off the eastern coast of mainland Canada. Together with Labrador which is part of the mainland Canada, it makes up the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.  It has an area of a little above 100, 000 sq.km with a coastline of 9656km. It has about 500000 inhabitants. That is a population density of less than 5 per sq. km. Of these over 200, 000 people live in St. Johns, the capital city. Therefore, there is a lot of uninhabited land including dense forests, lakes and coastlines full of natural beauty unspoilt by human activities.

Living in St John’s, very close to the eastern edge of Newfoundland, got me interested in several aspects of this island such as its very fascinating geological history, history of ancient life and human history, the beautiful outdoors, quaint villages, the city of St Johns itself and many other aspects. This made me want to find out more. I then thought of writing down what I learn and my personal views and thoughts on various subjects. Now I have made a series of articles or notes on varying topics. And decided to make these as posts on line. I am a beginner in this respect as well.

In the next post, I will start at the very beginning, that is, the coming together of the land mass called Newfoundland. This is a very long and interesting geological history and with evidence dating back to nearly a billion years!