Gluten-free products in St John's, NL"St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the large Canadian island, Newfoundland.[9] The city spans 446.04 square kilometres (172.22 sq mi) and is North America's easternmost city, excluding those of Greenland.[10][11][12][13] Its name has been attributed to the Nativity of John the Baptist, when John Cabot was believed to have sailed into the harbour in 1497 and to a Basque fishing town with the same name. Existing on maps as early as 1519, it is one of the oldest European settlements in North America. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1888. With a metropolitan population of approximately 219,207 (as of July 1, 2017), the St. John's Metropolitan Area is Canada's 20th largest metropolitan area and the second largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Atlantic Canada, after Halifax.[14][15] The city has a rich history, having played a role in the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. John's.[16] Its history and culture have made it into an important tourist destination.[17] St. John's is along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, on the northeast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeast Newfoundland.[9] The city covers 446.04 square kilometres (172.22 sq mi) and is North America's most easterly city, excluding Greenland;[10] it is 475 kilometres (295 mi) closer to London, England than it is to Edmonton, Alberta.[42] The city of St. John's is a distance by air of 3,636 kilometres (2,259 mi) from Lorient, France which lies on a nearly identical latitude across the Atlantic on the French western coast. The city is the largest in the province and the second largest in the Atlantic Provinces after Halifax, Nova Scotia.[43] Its downtown area lies to the west and north of St. John's Harbour, and the rest of the city expands from the downtown to the north, south, east and west. Coniferous trees such as black spruce, white spruce, and balsam fir dominate the native vegetation. The largest deciduous tree is white birch; species of lesser stature include alder, cherry and mountain ash. Of introduced tree species, sycamore maple is most abundant and Norway maple is common. Blue spruce, common horsechestnut, European beech and littleleaf linden are among the other non-native species grown.[44]" |