St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's, 2001 population 99,182, is a Canadian city, and the provincial capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The city is located on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula, in southeastern Newfoundland island on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest city in Division No. 1. The city is the centre of business, education and government for the province with some manufacturing and light industry. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. John's and the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.

St. John's is one of the oldest settlements in North America. On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of the region for England. The settlement changed hands several times between France and England, until becoming permanently British in 1762 and serving as a naval base during the American Revolutionary War and in the War of 1812. The worst disaster to befall St. John's was on July 18, 1892 and is commonly called The Great Fire of 1892. It was at St. John's that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message, and it was from there that the first nonstop transatlantic flight was made in 1919. During the Second World War the harbour was used by ships of the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy involved in convoy protection. It was also the site of a large US Army base called "Fort Peperrel". This base was established as part of the "Lend-lease" agreement between the U.K. and U.S.A.

St. John's is the site of the Newfoundland Museum, and of Memorial University.

Not to be confused with Saint John, New Brunswick. The name is possessive because it is short for St. John's Harbour.

Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer John Cabot became the first European to sail into its harbour, on June 24, 1497 - the feast day of Saint John the Baptist.

According to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census:

% Change (1996-2001): -2.7
Dwellings: 42,443
Area (sq. km.): 446.04
Density (persons per sq. km.): 222.4

	North: Torbay, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove
West: Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Paradise, Mount Pearl, Conception Bay South	St. John's	East: Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove,
	South: Division No. 1, Subd. D, Bay Bulls

External Link:

The City of St. John's Official Website