June 16, 2006
Ottawa -- What's the total length of the Canada/U.S. boundary? When was Canada's largest (and one of the world's greatest) earthquakes? Where is the lowest tide in Canada? What is the only walled city north of Mexico? If you've read your Atlas of Canada, you'd have all these answers!
On Friday, June 30, Canada Post will issue a single domestic rate (51¢) stamp to commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Atlas of Canada. The stamp will be unveiled at GeoTec, the largest geospatial technology event ever held in Canada, on June 19. The conference takes place in Ottawa, from June 18 to 21, 2006.
James White (1863 1909) is considered to be the father of what was to become The Atlas of Canada. He began working for the Geological Survey of Canada in 1883, becoming the Geographer and Chief Draftsman of the Survey a year later. In 1899, White transferred to the Department of the Interior as its Geographer. During his ten-year tenure there, he expanded the office from a one-man operation into a section with 20 cartographers and two secretaries, and is credited with three major accomplishments: a standard base map of Canada; a 50-sheet set of topographical maps of the well-settled areas (the Chief Geographer's Series); and the first edition of The Atlas of Canada.
The first edition of The Atlas of Canada was presented to the Minister of the Interior on June 30, 1906. Other editions followed in 1915 and 1957. The fourth edition came out in 1974 under a new title: The National Atlas of Canada; it was awarded the 1976 Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. The fifth edition, completed in 1993, had larger scale maps and, for the first time, used digital cartography and remotely sensed data from satellite images.
In 1994, the Atlas's jump from paper to bytes was one of the first instances of using the Web for interactive maps. Then in 1998, the Government of Canada authorized an ongoing program for an Internet-based National Atlas - leading to the sixth edition - The National Atlas of Canada On-line.
The stamp design is by Karen Smith, of Trivium Design Inc., Halifax, with illustration by Ivan Murphy and photography by Robert Young. This creative trio has composed a stamp showing Geographer James White, a map of Canada, and in the foreground, proportional dividers. The maps and instrument, provided by Geomatics Canada of Natural Resources Canada, were photographed by Robert Young. The stamp is printed using the same number of colours used in White's original Atlas.
This 51¢ stamp, which measures 45.5 mm x 32 mm (horizontal), will be available in panes of 16 stamps. Lowe-Martin printed 2,500,000 stamps. The stamps will be printed using lithography in nine colours and P.V.A. gum on Tullis Russell Coatings. They are general tagged on all four sides, with 13+ perforations. The Official First Day Cover will read: OTTAWA, ON.
Additional information about Canadian stamps can be found in the Newsroom section of Canada Post's website, and a downloadable high-resolution photo of the Atlas of Canada commemorative stamp is in the Newsroom's Photo Centre. Stamps and Official First Day Covers will be available at participating post offices, can be ordered online by following the links at Canada Post's website www.canadapost.ca, or by mail-order from the National Philatelic Centre. From Canada and the USA call toll-free: 1-800-565-4362 and from other countries call: (902) 863-6550.
And by-the-way
The total length of the Canada-United States boundary is 8890 kilometres. Canada's largest, and one of the world's greatest earthquakes, happened on August 22, 1949, off the Queen Charlotte Islands (the magnitude was 8.1!). The lowest tide in Canada is at Eureka, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, where the tidal range is about 0.1 metres. And, the only walled city north of Mexico is Québec City; it was also the first city in North America to be placed on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list.
Media requiring further information should contact:
Cindy Daoust
(613) 734-4258
