Penpalling & Letters

Friday 5 November 2010

The City of Sudbury in Ontario, Canada

Finally we are changing continents today! Until now, all the adventures belonging to Travelling around the World sharing Cultural Heritage, Folklore and Background section took place in Europe, but today we are leaving the "Old World" to visit America. We are exactly located in east-central Canada, in the province of Ontario as Lyndsi is going to tell us about her homecity, Sudbury. Lyndsi has always liked postcards and collects them since she was little. She has been a Postcrossing member for nearly two years, too. Some interests of hers are music, writing, photography and travelling.

Hello Lyndsi! Welcome to Penpalling & Letters! Could you tell us where exactly Sudbury is?

Sudbury is located in northern Ontario, Canada. It is located within the boreal forest, so we've got a ton of trees, forests and lakes. Actually, there is a huge, beautiful lake right in the middle of the city.

What is the climate in the area?

We get fairly hot summers (20-28ºC) and extremely cold winters! The coldest winter that I have ever experienced was -60ºC. However, on average, winters usually will get as cold as -30ºC.

How many people do live in Sudbury nowadays?

In the city of Sudbury itself there are about 92,000 people. But a few years ago, the municipal government decided to take all the small towns surrounding Sudbury and make it one big city called Greater Sudbury which has a population of approximately 160,000.

Do you know when it was founded? Can you tell us some facts about its foundation?

Sudbury was founded in 1883 and wasn't called Sudbury at the time. It was actually called Sainte-Anne-des-Pins (Saint Anne of the Pines). It was originally a lumber and railroad town. When the workers were blasting some of the land to make room for more railroads, they found a large amount of nickel-ore. In 1893 Sudbury became known as Sudbury and it has been a mining city ever since!

Do you know why is it called "Sudbury"?

I sure do! Sudbury is called Sudbury after the hometown of the wife of one of the men who were working for the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR), who came from Sudbury in Suffolk, England.

What do people do for a living?

Sudbury is still primarily a large mining town, so a big majority of the jobs are surround the mine. Of course, we've got a University, two Colleges, and some government buildings.

Which are the remarkable features of the city?

I would have to say Lake Ramsey. We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful lake within our city. It is one of the main places that people go to when they come to Sudbury. It is especially beautiful in fall.

Do you have interesting monuments, museums, worship places, ancient buildings, parks... worth to be mentioned?

Well, I'm not sure if you would consider this to be a monument, but at one of the main mines, there is a giant "smoke stack" which is called "The Superstack". You can see it from everywhere in the city, and even quite a way outside of the city. Also, a couple of years ago, construction was working on rebuilding a bridge, which is now known as the "The Bridge of Nations". It has a flag on it from every country that people who live in Sudbury have come from. It's actually really nice. We've also got "The Big Nickel". It is a huge monument of a nickel which is to represent Sudbury's history as a mining community.

What are the attractions for tourists in Sudbury?

The lake, of course, is a major one. We've also got a science museum called "Science North". It is shaped like a snowflake, and it shows a lot of different interesting things that have been found in Sudbury, like animals, space stations, and all sorts of things. We've also got another called "Dynamic Earth". You can actually go underground here and see what it would be like to work in the mine.

How are the landscapes around the city?

Sudbury is a very rocky city. Billions of years ago, Sudbury was hit by a meteorite, so we live in what is known as “"Sudbury Basin". That is the reason why it is so rocky, and why there are so many minerals that are found in Sudbury. Nickel by far is the most common, and Sudbury is the Nickel capital of the world.

Which sports are practiced? Do you have some important teams?

Sudbury is a huge hockey town. We've got a city team called "The Sudbury Wolves" which travel all across Ontario and through some states playing.


Lyndsi, thank you very much for this interesting presentation of your city! Hope everybody enjoyed reading it! See you in our next trip around the world!


Note: If someone is interested in participating in this section, contact me and we will work on it!

3 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, and I complain about -20 degrees :S The "Big Nickel" looks cool :D By the way, I think that's a really nice section of the blog.

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  2. Thanks for sharing this as I didn't even know sudbury existed, it definately is nice having so much nature close by.

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  3. I'm really very glad that I hand the chance to share my part of the world :)

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