Vendom Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada Photograph by Douglas Hodgson/Used with permission of the Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada   Northern North America: Northern Canada Tundra   179,000 square miles (463,700 square kilometers) -- about the size of Colorado and Nebraska combined Relatively Stable/Intact

· Cold and Dry Islands
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Cold and Dry Islands

This ecoregion is an Arctic archipelago made up of Axel Heiberg, Ellesmere, Baffin, Somerset, and Queen Elizabeth Islands. The topography varies with each island, from the rugged ice-covered mountains of the west coasts of Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg to the lower elevations of the Queen Elizabeths. Mosses, lichens, and vascular plants that can tolerate very cold weather, such as sedge and cottongrass, dominate.

Special Features

This ecoregion contains the entire range of the endangered Peary caribou, a subspecies, and is one of only two ecoregions that supports a population of high arctic wolves. For much of the year, sea ice links many of the islands, which allows large mammals to roam from one to another.

	What color is a polar bear? You might be surprised to know that the polar bear's skin is actually black. Its fur appears white because it is made up of hollow hair shafts that reflect light. This huge carnivore, which eats mostly seals, can stand about 9 feet (almost 3 m) tall and weigh up to 1,100 pounds (500 kg).

Wild Side

The abundant coastal areas provide habitat for king eiders, northern fulmars, plovers, hoary redpolls, snow buntings, Ross's gulls, ivory gulls, and other birds. Marine habitats support polar bears, walruses, seals, and a variety of whales. Inland you'll find muskoxen, arctic hares, arctic foxes, rock ptarmigans, gyrfalcons, jaegers, snowy owls, and caribou. Vegetation is limited by the climate, but arctic willow is occasionally found. Arctic poppy and low-growing plants such as purple saxifrage grow at lower elevations. Wet areas in the milder southeastern portion of the ecoregion are about 60 percent covered by wood rush, wire rush, saxifrage, and mosses.

Cause for Concern

At least 98 percent of this ecoregion remains intact. Disturbance has occurred around human communities, abandoned oil and gas camps, and seismic lines for oil and gas exploration. There is a risk of oil spills in coastal areas. Atmospheric fallout resulting in heavy metal and pesticide pollution is always a concern. A major future threat to the Peary caribou population is possible over-hunting due to increased access. Ecotourism will have to be carefully managed to minimize impact on nesting bird colonies, caribou calving grounds, and other sensitive wildlife species. Global warming is quickly changing Arctic environments, and this far northern ecoregion is particularly sensitive to its impacts.

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