St. Catharines

St. Catharines (2006 population 131,989; metropolitan population 390,317) is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres (37.5 sq mi) of land. It lies in Southern Ontario 51 kilometres (32 mi) south of Toronto across Lake Ontario and is 19 kilometres (12 mi) inland from the international boundary with the United States of America along the Niagara River. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal. Residents of St. Catharines are known as St. Catharinians. St. Catharines carries the official nickname "The Garden City" due to its 1,000 acres (4 km²) of meticulously groomed parks, gardens and trails.