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Amethyst, the birthstone of February, is also the provincial stone of Ontario. This view is inside the amethyst shed at the Blue Point Mine outside Pearl, Ontario, one of several mines in the immediate area that produces endless amounts of amethyst as you can see by the display crystals on the tables. Larger boulders of amethyst are on outside display & even bigger vugs are still being worked in the mining pits themselves. While amethyst is most often associated w/ the mines of the Minas Gerais, Brazil region, the amethyst-production zone here is not small, running about 130 kilometres following near the coast of Lake Superior. Many of the crystals produced here are purple however the region is unique for also producing hematite-coated crystals, which give a brown surface color to them.
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The capital of Canada is Ottawa, in the province of Ontario. There are offically ten provinces and three territories in Canada, which is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area.While politically and legally an independant nation, the titular head of state for Canada is still Queen Elizabeth.On the east end of Canada, you have Montreal as the bastion of activity. Montreal is famous for two things, VICE magazine and the Montreal Jazz Festival. One is the bible of hipster life (disposable, of course) and the other is a world-famous event that draws more than two million people every summer. Quebec is a French speaking province that has almost seceded from Canada on several occasions, by the way..When you think of Canada, you think of . . . snow, right?But not on the West Coast. In Vancouver, it rains. And you'll find more of the population speaking Mandarin than French (but also Punjabi, Tagalog, Korean, Farsi, German, and much more).Like the other big cities in Canada, Vancouver is vividly multicultural and Vancouverites are very, very serious about their coffee.Your standard Vancouverite can be found attired head-to-toe in Lululemon gear, mainlining Cafe Artigiano Americanos (spot the irony for ten points).But here's a Vancouver secret only the coolest kids know: the best sandwiches in the city aren't found downtown. Actually, they're hidden in Edgemont Village at the foot of Grouse Mountain on the North Shore."It's actually worth coming to Canada for these sandwiches alone." -- Michelle Superle, VancouverText by Steve Smith.
