The Boreal Plains Ecozone, as defined by the

Commission for Environmental Cooperation The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC; es, Comisión para la Cooperación Ambiental; french: Commission de coopération environnementale) was established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agr ...

(CEC), is a terrestrial

ecozone An Ecozone may refer to: * Ecozone (Canada), one of 15 first-level ecological land classifications in Canada * Biogeographic realm, the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface (referred to as ''ecozone'' by BBC) * Biome, a large ...

in the western

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

provinces of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

. It also has minor extensions into northeastern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

and south-central

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. The region extends over 779,471 km², of which 58,981 km² is conserved (7.6 percent).

Wood Buffalo National Park Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest national park of Canada at . It is located in northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories. Larger in area than Switzerland, it is the second-largest national park in the world. The park w ...

, the largest national park in Canada, and

Whooping Crane Summer Range Whooping Crane Summer Range is a 16,895-km2 wetland complex in the boreal forests of northern Alberta and southwestern Northwest Territories in Canada. It is the only natural nesting habitat for the endangered whooping crane. On May 24, 1982, it ...

, the only nesting and breeding area for the critically endangered

whooping crane The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is the tallest North American bird, named for its whooping sound. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to ...

, are both located in the northern portion of this ecozone. Industry in this ecozone once consisted primarily of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

, but in 1967 Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited began extracting bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands. Operations there have expanded significantly since 2003, and the oil sands are becoming an increasingly significant economic factor in the region.

Geography

Overlaying a

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of be ...

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

shale and

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

sediments are thick deposits of

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

that form a flat terrain in the

Interior Plains The Interior Plains is a vast physiographic region that spreads across the Laurentian craton of central North America, extending along the east flank of the Rocky Mountains from the Gulf Coast region to the Arctic Beaufort Sea. In Canada, it e ...

. It borders the Montane Cordillera to the west, closely following the border between Alberta and British Columbia. To its south is the

Prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as t ...

ecozone for its entire extent, while to the north are the

Taiga Plains The Taiga Plain Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone that covers most of the western Northwest Territories, extending to northwest Alberta, northeast British Columbia and sli ...

, with its northeastern periphery adjacent to the Taiga Shield. 20 sub-region are located within the ecoregion. Covering , it is a region of subdued relief with few lakes. However,

meltwater Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater ca ...

from glacial retreat between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago resulted in extensive deltas and

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s, forming

Lake Winnipegosis Lake Winnipegosis is a large (5,370 km2) lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake. An alternate spelling, once common but now rare, is Lake Winipigoos or ...

at the eastern end of this zone. It is a remnant of

Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz was a large glacial lake in central North America. Fed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined. First postulated in 1823 by William H. Keating, i ...

, a large glacial lake. Most rivers originate in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

, flowing eastward through the zone. Oil, Forestry, and agriculture are the largest industries. The region is nearly covered by

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

, about 84% of the region, The Athabasca oil sands area around of land. Agriculture takes place mainly in the

Peace River Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; french: Région de la Rivière-de-la-paix) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbi ...

in Alberta and British Columbia. This can employ up to 20% of the land area, though it is typically less than that. Large communities include, Fort St. John,

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significan ...

, Hayriver,

La Ronge La Ronge is a northern town in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is approximately north of Prince Albert where Highway 2 becomes Highway 102. La Ronge lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, is adjacent ...

, and The Pas.

Ecoprovinces

This ecozone can be further subdivided into three ecoprovinces: * Boreal Foothills * Central Boreal Plains * Eastern Boreal Plains

Climate

Lying east of the Rocky Mountains, the region experiences low

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

, averaging annually, with in the west and in the east. However, this is greater than the rate of

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when h ...

by over in the south, and in the north and at the

foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

s of the Rockies. The excess moisture promotes the development of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

s and

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s, which account for between 25–50% of the ecozone's area. Summers are moderately warm, with mean July temperatures of , whereas winters may be very cold, with mean January temperatures of .

EcoRegions

Each province continues to work on defining subregions within the larger national ecozone system. The Alberta Natural Subregion – Natural Regions (2006) found within this ecozone are: * Peace River Parkland – Parkland * Dry Mixedwood – Boreal Forest * Central Mixedwood – Boreal Forest * Peace-Athabasca Delta – Boreal Forest The Manitoba Ecoregions within this ecozone are: * Mid-Boreal Lowland Ecoregion * Boreal Transition Ecoregion * Mid-Boreal Uplands Ecoregion * Interlake Plain Ecoregion The Saskatchewan Ecoregions within this ecozone are: * Mid-Boreal Upland * Mid-Boreal Lowland * Boreal Transition

Protected areas

A number of protected areas have been established to protect representative and/or significant portions of this ecozone. These include:

Alberta

* Cross Lake Provincial Park *

Dunvegan Provincial Park Dunvegan Provincial Park and Historic Dunvegan ( ) are a provincial park and a provincial historic site of Alberta located together on one site. They are located in Dunvegan, at the crossing of Peace River and Highway 2, between Rycroft and F ...

Elk Island National Park Elk Island National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada, that played an important part in the conservation of the Plains bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This "island of conservation" is east of Edmonton, al ...

* Lakeland Provincial Park * Thunder Lake Provincial Park *

including the

Manitoba

Birch Island Provincial Park Birch Island Provincial Park is a remote provincial park located on Lake Winnipegosis in Manitoba, Canada. The park is bordered on its western boundary by the Swan-Pelican Provincial Forest and on its eastern side by Chitek Lake Anishinaabe P ...

Birds Hill Provincial Park Birds Hill Provincial Park is a provincial park in Manitoba, Canada located in the Boreal Plains ecozone. The park protects areas representative of Aspen/Oak parkland, as well as provides opportunities for recreation. It is located 24 kilometers ...

* Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve *

Clearwater Lake Provincial Park Clearwater Lake Provincial Park was designated a provincial park by the Government of Manitoba in 1963. The park is in size. The park is considered to be a Class II protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories. See also *L ...

* Chitek Lake Anishinaabe Provincial Park * Duck Mountain Provincial Park * Dog Lake Wildlife Management Area *

Elk Island Provincial Park Elk Island Provincial Park is a provincial park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is in size, and is considered to be a Class III protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories. History Elk Island Provincial Park was designa ...

* Fisher Bay Provincial Park * Grand Island Provincial Park * Goose Islands Provincial Park *

Grass River Provincial Park Grass River Provincial Park is a 2,279 km2 provincial park in Northwestern Manitoba, Canada. Designated in 1963, the park is approximately 75 km north of The Pas and is centered on the Grass River. The southern part of the park inclu ...

Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park is a provincial park in Manitoba, Canada, which includes Hecla Island, Grindstone (the area located on the mainland peninsula along the west shore of Lake Winnipeg), Black Island and a number of other small island ...

Riding Mountain National Park Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area , the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the su ...

* Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park * Walter Cook Caves Ecological Reserve * Watson P. Davidson Wildlife Management Area

Saskatchewan

* Duck Mountain Provincial Park *

Greenwater Lake Provincial Park Greenwater Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located on the eastern side of the province in the Porcupine Hills on Highway 38. The closest town, Porcupine Plain, is about 28 kilometre ...

Meadow Lake Provincial Park Meadow Lake Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest provincial recreational park along the Waterhen and Cold Rivers in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The park was founded on 10 March 1959, is the largest provincial park in Saska ...

Narrow Hills Provincial Park Narrow Hills Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest provincial recreational park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in a hilly plateau called the Cub Hills and contains several recreational facilities and over 25 a ...

Prince Albert National Park Prince Albert National Park encompasses in central Saskatchewan, Canada and is located north of Saskatoon. Though declared a national park March 24, 1927, official opening ceremonies weren't performed by Prime Minister William Lyon Macke ...

References

{{Authority control Ecozones of Canada Ecozones and ecoregions of Manitoba Ecozones and ecoregions of Saskatchewan Ecozones and ecoregions of Alberta Ecozones and ecoregions of British Columbia Ecozones and ecoregions of the Northwest Territories