Toronto, the capital of the province of Ontario, is a major Canadian city along Lake Ontario’s north western shore. It's a dynamic metropolis with a core of soaring skyscrapers, all dwarfed by the iconic, free-standing CN Tower. Toronto also has many green spaces, from the orderly oval of Queen’s Park to 400-acre High Park and its trails, sports facilities and zoo. Toronto is located on the shore plain beside its harbour. There is a fairly abrupt rise 4 km inland which marks the shoreline of Lake Iroquois, a lake formed by glaciers 12,500 years ago that had a much higher water level than Lake Ontario. The best way to get around Toronto is by public transportation. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) runs three modes – subway, streetcar and bus – which operate extensive routes throughout the city and suburbs.

 

The economy of Toronto is the largest contributor to the Canadian economy, at 20% of national GDP, and an important economic hub of the world. Toronto is a commercial, distribution, financial and industrial centre. It is the banking and stock exchange centre of Canada, and is the country's primary wholesale and distribution point. Ontario's wealth of raw materials and hydroelectric power has made Toronto a primary centre of industry. The metropolitan area of Greater Toronto produces more than half of Canada's manufactured goods. The economy of Toronto is growing rapidly. As the business and financial capital of the country, and one of the world's largest financial centres as per the British Global Financial Centres Index, Toronto hosts the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), the third largest stock exchange in the Americas by market capitalization and ninth in the world. Toronto covers an area of 630 square kilometres (243 sq mi), with a maximum north-south distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi) and a maximum east-west distance of 43 km (27 mi). It has a 46-kilometre (29 mi) long waterfront shoreline, on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario. The city lies on largely flat land, with little in the way of hills.