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Pullman Kids: Geography: Canada: New Brunswick: Fredericton contains pictures and descriptions of Fredericton, the capital city of the province of New Brunswick, Canada.

Fredericton is a picturesque city nestled in the Saint John River valley. It was named after Prince Frederick. It contains two universities, the University of New Brunswick (UNB), and St. Thomas which is a small liberal arts college. They are "up the hill".

Down the hill next to the Saint John River are the Lord Beaverbrook Playhouse and the Lord Beaverbrook Art Gallery. One spring the art gallery was flooded when the river rose too far. The gallery's best piece is a large painting by Salvadore Dali of a man on a rearing horse.

Max Aitken was from Newcastle, New Brunswick. He was given the title, Lord Beaverbrook. He donated many buildings.

The Saint John River was named by the explorer Samuel de Champlain.

Also next to the river is Christ Church Cathedral.

Since Fredericton is the provincial capital, it houses the legislature.

Fredericton is known as the "City of Stately Elms". It has many streets lined with large elms. At one point during the 1970s, Dutch elm disease threatened these trees.

It has a continental climate which means it gets very hot in July and very snowy in January. In the autumn there is a spectacular display of colourful leaves. Also in the fall is the apple harvest. The hills are part of the Appalachian Mountains which run through Nova Scotia as well.

The houses are mostly wood frame. Very old houses sometimes have two staircases to the upstairs floor. One of them might be a steep winding one into the kitchen.

When I was a kid growing up in Fredericton, my friends liked to eat dulse. It's a purple seaweed that came in clear plastic bags as a snack. I thought it tasted horrible!

For young adults it's easy to drive from Fredericton to Saint John for takeout Chinese food and then drive back all on a Friday night. You have to eat it in Saint John or on route. Otherwise it would be cold before you got home since it's about a two hour drive.

In the spring, people like to eat fiddleheads. These are tightly curled baby ferns harvested near water. It used to be that only natives were legally allowed to harvest them but I don't know about now. You can buy them frozen at the grocery store. You boil them like other greens and then eat them with lemon juice and butter. I like them.

When I was in about grade 4, my teacher read us stories about Glooscap and others about Paul Bunyan. They are both credited with creating various geological features around the Maritimes. According to native legend, Glooscap broke up a giant dam, creating the Reversing Falls near Saint John, and also creating Partridge Island. Paul Bunyan stories are "tall tales" about a giant lumberjack and his huge ox. They are exaggerations of stories about a New Brunswick lumberjack.

My favourite poet was Bliss Carman. He lived a long time ago and was a "Poet Laureate". His historical house is close to the Saint John River in Fredericton. When the house was built it was thought that the street would be on the other side and that's not where it was put. So now the back door of the house faces the street.

COPYRIGHT C. Pullman 1998-2007