Editing Canoe (section)

==Culture==

Canoes were developed in cultures all over the world, including some designed for use with [[sail]]s or [[outrigger]]s. Until the mid-19th century, the canoe was an important means of transport for exploration and trade, and in some places is still used as such, sometimes with the addition of an [[outboard motor]].

Where the canoe played a key role in history, such as the [[Northern United States]], Canada, and New Zealand, it remains an important theme in [[popular culture]]. For instance, the [[birch bark]] canoe of the largely birch-based culture of the [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations of Quebec, Canada, and North America]] provided these hunting peoples with the mobility essential to this way of life.<ref name="The birch bark canoe, an exceptional reign">{{cite web |author1=Frère Marie-Victorin |title=The birch bark canoe, an exceptional reign |url=https://www.florelaurentienne.com/flore/Groupes/Spermatophytes/Angiospermes/Dicotyles/011_Betulacees/01_Betula/papyrifera.htm |website=florelaurentienne.com |access-date=21 April 2024 |pages=150 of 925 |language=fr |date=1935 |quote=Betula papyrifera Marshall. — Bouleau à papier. — Bouleau blanc, Bouleau à canot. — (Canoë birch).}}</ref>

Canoes are now [[Canoeing|widely used]] for competition — indeed, canoeing has been [[Canoeing and kayaking at the Summer Olympics|part of the Olympics]] since [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936]] — and pleasure, such as [[Canoe racing|racing]], [[whitewater canoeing|whitewater]], touring and [[Canoe camping|camping]], [[Canoe freestyle|freestyle]] and general [[recreation]].

The intended use of the canoe dictates its [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]] shape, [[Length overall|length]], and construction material. Although canoes were historically [[Dugout (boat)|dugouts]] or made of [[Bark (botany)|bark]] on a wood frame,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dugout Canoe|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/dugout-canoe|publisher=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-date=15 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115200300/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/dugout-canoe|url-status=dead}}</ref> construction materials later evolved to [[canvas]] on a wood frame, then to aluminum. Most modern canoes are made of molded plastic or [[composite material|composites]] such as [[fiberglass]], or those incorporating [[kevlar]] or [[graphite]].