abstract
| - Kingston is a city of 123,000 people located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, roughly midway between Toronto and Montréal. The city expanded significantly when it was amalgamated with Kingston and Pittsburgh Townships in 1998 and covers an area of 450.39 km2. Fort Cataraqui was established on the mouth of the Cataraqui River in 1673, although archaeological evidence suggests that aboriginal settlement dates back much earlier than that. Settlement began in earnest when the Loyalists moved north after the American Revolution, and Kingston became an important military outpost and settlement. Fort Henry was built to defend the area in the 1840s, and Kingston served as the capital of the united Canadas from 1841 to 1844. Kingston is an important regional service centre, and is home to Queen's University, a large hospital, several correctional facilities, the Royal Military College of Canada and a military base (Canadian Forces Base Kingston). Novelis (formerly ALCAN) and Invista (formerly DuPont) operate manufacturing facilities in the area. Highway 401 and two major rail lines pass through the city.
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