Ottawa
is the capital of Canada and the country's
fourth largest city. It is located in
the Ottawa Valley in the eastern part
of the province of Ontario, at the northern
edge of the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor,
about 400 km (250 miles) east of Toronto
and 190 km (120 miles) west of Montreal).
The population of the city proper is 808,391,
while the population of the larger Ottawa
region is 1,146,790 (2004). The mayor
of the city is Bob Chiarelli.Ottawa is
situated on the south bank of the Ottawa
River, and contains the mouths of the
Rideau River and Rideau Canal. The oldest
part of the city (including what remains
of Bytown) is known as Lower Town and
occupies an area between the canal and
the rivers. Across the canal to the west
lies Centretown (often just called "downtown"),
which is the city's financial and commercial
hub. Between here and the Ottawa River,
the slight elevation of Parliament Hill
is home to many of the capital's landmark
government buildings, and is the Legislative
seat of Canada.
The
City of Ottawa includes many urban areas.
The main one extends a considerable distance
to the east, west and south of the centre,
and includes the former cities of Gloucester,
Nepean and Vanier the former village of
Rockcliffe Park and the suburban communities
of Manotick and Orléans. Ottawa
shares the area with the Quebec city of
Gatineau (formerly comprised of the towns
of Gatineau, Hull and Aylmer) across the
Ottawa River. The combined population
of the two cities exceeds one million
residents. Around the main urban area
is an extensive greenbelt, administered
by the National Capital Commission for
conservation and leisure, and comprising
mostly forest farmland, and marshland.
In addition to the main urban area, there
is the Kanata urban area consisting of
the urbanised part of the former city
of Kanata and the former village of Stittsville
(pop. 70,320). There are also a number
of satellite towns and rural communities
that are also urban areas (urban fringes)
that lie beyond the greenbelt but are
administratively part of the Ottawa municipality.
These are Constance Bay (pop. 2,327);
Kars (pop. 1,539); Metcalfe (pop. 1,610);
Munster (pop. 1,390); Osgoode (pop. 2,571);
and Richmond (pop. 3,287). Across
the Ottawa River, which forms the border
between Ontario and Québec, lies
the city of Gatineau. Although administered
separately, the two cities both fall within
the remit of the National Capital Commission
and for many purposes are considered a
single metropolitan area, called the National
Capital Region.
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