Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada Photograph by Govt. of the Northwest Territories   Northern North America: Northern Canada Tundra   398,800 square miles (1,032,800 square kilometers) -- about as big as Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas combined Relatively Stable/Intact

· Polar Desert
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Polar Desert

This very large ecoregion contains the coldest and driest landscapes in Canada. Because it receives only 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) of precipitation each year, the area is referred to as a polar desert. Snow covers the ground for at least 10 months of the year. Because of high winds, cold temperatures, and shallow, poor soils, vegetation is sparse and dwarfed. Although some shrubs can survive, plant life consists mainly of a cover of lichens and herbaceous species such as saxifrage. Warmer areas support dwarf birch, willow, and alder. It is a naturally fragmented habitat, including numerous islands such as the large Banks and Baffin Islands.

Special Features

The northern waters of the ecoregion are ice-fast, meaning they are frozen even through the summer. On land, the subsurface permafrost may reach several hundred meters deep.

	Minto Inlet and Thompson Valley are home to the world's highest density of muskoxen, and the ecoregion itself contains 80 percent of the world's muskoxen population. Both males and females of these large, shaggy herbivores have impressive horns that provide defense against predators.

Wild Side

While this area may seem inhospitable, it is alive with animals. Caribou give birth to their young in this ecoregion in late spring and polar bears den here in winter. Arctic foxes, arctic hares, and brown and collared lemmings are other vertebrates that live in the area. This is the only place in the world where you would find Arctic Island caribou and high arctic wolves (arctic subspecies of caribou and wolf) together. The ecoregion provides a major breeding ground for many migratory bird species, including snow geese, brants, Canada geese, eiders, and oldsquaw ducks. Other birds include red-throated loons, gyrfalcons, willow and rock ptarmigans, red phalaropes, parasitic and long-tailed jaegers, snowy owls, and snow buntings. Beluga whales, walruses, seals, and narwhals depend on the ecoregion's marine environment.

Cause for Concern

Approximately 95 percent of this ecoregion remains intact. Any habitat disturbance usually occurs near human communities, abandoned military sites, and areas of mining exploration. There is also a risk of oil spills in coastal areas. Atmospheric fallout resulting in heavy metal and pesticide pollution is always a concern. Threats are posed to beach ridges and glacial outwash areas because the gravel found there is sought for the building of roads, air strips, and other construction projects. Ecotourism will have to be carefully managed to minimize impact to nesting bird colonies, caribou calving grounds, and other sensitive wildlife species. Global warming is a looming threat.

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