Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, Canada Photograph by C. Wallis   Northern North America: Central Canada Boreal Forests/Taiga   142,000 square miles (367,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of Montana Vulnerable

· What Glaciers Left Behind
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

What Glaciers Left Behind

This ecoregion is made up of upland and lowland areas, all of which show the influence of glaciers many, many years ago. The higher areas are kettled-- carved by glaciers into numerous small depressions, some of which filled with water to form lakes and ponds. Wetlands and peatlands characterize the low areas. The peatlands are water-logged accumulations of decomposing mosses and other vegetation. This ecoregion's wetlands are some of the most important for sustaining waterfowl migration in the Northern Hemisphere.

Special Features

This area consists of three main regions: the Slave River Lowland in northeastern Alberta, the Mid-Boreal Lowland in northern Manitoba, and the Mid-Boreal Uplands from north-central Alberta to southwestern Manitoba.

The principal breeding range for endangered whooping cranes in North America is found within this ecoregion. Habitat is critical, since these birds number only in the hundreds. At over 4 feet (1m) tall and with a 7 foot (2m) wingspan, this is quite an impressive bird. Its beautiful adult plumage is entirely white except for distinctive black wing tips and markings around the eyes and a red cap on the top of the head. Its name derives from its loud, whooping call.

Wild Side

This ecoregion has mixed coniferous and deciduous forests. Quaking aspen, balsam poplar, white and black spruce, and balsam fir are commonly found here. In the bog or peatland areas, tamarack and black spruce are the dominant trees. Many animals are supported by this ecoregion's habitat, including moose, woodland caribou, black bears, wolves, lynx, white-tailed deer, elk, bison, beavers, muskrats, snowshoe hares, ducks, geese, sandhill cranes, ruffed grouse, and common loons. You might not expect to find white American pelicans here, but you will during the summer! Although it spends winters in the southern United States, this species of pelican breeds in the Mid-Continental Canadian Forests. In addition, the Manitoba part of this ecoregion boasts the northernmost bat hibernacula -- winter resting shelters -- in North America.

Cause for Concern

An estimated 50 percent of this habitat remains intact. Large-scale forestry operations, oil and gas development, and mining are the main causes of habitat destruction. Logging roads have also caused habitat fragmentation.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.