Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🗺️

Charlottetown

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Charlottetown is a busy and important city in Canada.

Canada Prince Edward Island location map 2
Canada Prince Edward Island location map 2

It serves as the capital of Prince Edward Island. The city is also the main seat for Queens County. It sits right on a large harbour. This harbour is formed where three different rivers meet.

Charlottetown-Stratford (aerial)
Charlottetown-Stratford (aerial)

The water flows out into the Northumberland Strait. The city has a shape that looks like the letter V. This shape is made by the Yorke and Hillsborough Rivers.

Charlottetown harbor lighthouse, Prince Edward Island, Canada - panoramio
Charlottetown harbor lighthouse, Prince Edward Island, Canada - panoramio

The weather in the city changes with the seasons. The ocean helps to keep the air from getting too extreme. Winters can be quite cold and snowy.

Winter at the UPEI quad (5061486342)
Winter at the UPEI quad (5061486342)

On average, the city sees about 284.8 centimeters of snow each season. Summers are usually mild and pleasant. The highest temperature ever recorded was 36.7 degrees Celsius in 1935. Most of the rain and snow falls during the late fall and winter months.

Charlottetown, PEI skyline
Charlottetown, PEI skyline

Charlottetown has a very long and interesting history. French settlers first arrived in the area in 1720. They called their small settlement Port La Joye.

Queens Square, Charlottetown, PE, Canada - panoramio
Queens Square, Charlottetown, PE, Canada - panoramio

Later, the British took control of the island. In 1764, a man named Captain Samuel Holland chose this spot for the county seat. The city was named after Queen Charlotte.

Government House of Prince Edward Island (Fanningbank)
Government House of Prince Edward Island (Fanningbank)

In 1855, it officially became a city. At that time, there were 6,500 people living there.

A very famous event happened here in 1864. This was called the Charlottetown Conference.

Charlottetown Conference Delegates, September 1864
Charlottetown Conference Delegates, September 1864

Leaders met at Province House to talk about joining together. This meeting helped lead to the start of the Canadian Confederation in 1867. Because of this, the city uses a special motto. It means "Birthplace of Confederation."

282 - Birthplace of Canada Charlottetown PEI
282 - Birthplace of Canada Charlottetown PEI

The city also grew because of shipbuilding and fishing. Later, a railway opened in 1874 to help the area grow even more.

Today, Charlottetown is a large place with many people. About 40,500 people live in the city itself.

Charlottetown Airport terminal
Charlottetown Airport terminal

If you count the nearby areas, there are 83,063 people. This is about half of all the people living on the island. The city has many places for learning and art. There is the University of Prince Edward Island and the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Confederation Centre of the Arts
Confederation Centre of the Arts

People use the city for work, school, and visiting beautiful parks.

366 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (30)
File:Canada relief map 2.svg
Canada relief map 2.svg
File:Canada Prince Edward Island location map 2.svg
Canada Prince Edward Island location map 2.svg
File:Blason ville ca Charlottetown.svg
Blason ville ca Charlottetown.svg
File:Flag of Charlottetown.svg
Flag of Charlottetown.svg
File:Maple Leaf (from roundel).svg
Maple Leaf (from roundel).svg
File:Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
File:Mein Schiff 1 - TUI Cruises.jpg
Mein Schiff 1 - TUI Cruises.jpg
File:Charlottetown Conference Delegates, September 1864.JPG
Charlottetown Conference Delegates,...
File:Queens Square, Charlottetown, PE, Canada - panoramio.jpg
Queens Square, Charlottetown, PE, Canada...
File:Logo of Charlottetown, PE.png
Logo of Charlottetown, PE.png
File:Government House of Prince Edward Island (Fanningbank).jpg
Government House of Prince Edward Island...
File:Charlottetown, PEI skyline.jpg
Charlottetown, PEI skyline.jpg

+ 18 more

More to explore

🔗 What's this?

Concepts mentioned in this article

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.