The Pacific Maritime Ecozone, as defined by the

Commission for Environmental Cooperation The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC; ; ) is an intergovernmental organization established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the environmental si ...

(CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone, spanning a strip approximately 200 kilometres wide along the

British Columbia Coast The British Columbia Coast, popularly referred to as the BC Coast or simply the Coast, is a geographic region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. As the entire western continental coastline of Canada ...

, then narrowing along the border with

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. It also includes all marine islands of British Columbia and a small portion of the southwestern corner of the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

. Fourteen ecoregions comprise the Ecozone, ranging from the

Mount Logan Mount Logan ( ) is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali (McKinley). The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada ...

Ecoregion in the north to the

Cascade Cascade, or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science * Air shower (physics), a cascade (particle shower) of subatomic particles and ionized nuclei ** Particle shower, a cascade of secondary particles produced as the result of a high ...

Ecoregion and Lower Mainland Ecoregion in the south. The name of the comparable ecozones in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where Level II ecoregions correspond to the international term "ecozone", are the Marine West Coast Forest and the Northwestern Forested Mountains ecoregions. In the

floristic province A phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phytochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both re ...

system, the region is described as part of the Rocky Mountain Floristic Region. Also in use is a system of biogeoclimatic zones defined and used by the British Columbia government, which defines the same area as the Coastal Western Hemlock zone, though a small portion flanking the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United Stat ...

comprises the Coastal Douglas-fir zone. In the different ecoregion system established by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

, the region corresponds to the Pacific temperate rain forests ecoregion, sub-ecoregions of which are the Haida Gwaii ecoregion, Vancouver Island ecoregion, and British Columbia mainland coastal forests ecoregions.

Geography

This ecozone is the most diverse in Canada, and perhaps the world. Its northern inland extent is primarily

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

, whereas the picturesque northern coast features numerous

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

s and valleys, with massive glaciers common in the mountains. To the south, the small flatland of the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from th ...

is located at the southern end of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

, noted for temperate

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s. In its marine areas are notable undersea kelp forests. Lying on the

Pacific Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. It is about long and up to about wide, and surrounds most of the Pa ...

, it exhibits many

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

Ecoprovinces

This ecozone can be further subdivided into three ecoprovinces: * Georgia Depression * Northern Coastal Mountains * Southern Coastal Mountains

Climate

This zone experiences the warmest and wettest climate in Canada. The lower

Georgia Strait The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington (state), Wash ...

may receive as little as 600 mm of annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

, but other areas in this zone receive as much as 3,000 mm. Moderated by the influence of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, the zone experiences mild

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

s and cool

summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

s. Mean temperatures vary little throughout the year; January means are between 4 and 6 °C, and July means are between 12 and 18 °C.

Flora and fauna

The region is the only home for some species of birds, including the

American black oystercatcher The black oystercatcher (''Haematopus bachmani'') is a conspicuous black Aves, bird found on the shoreline of western North America, ranging from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the coast of the Baja California peninsula. It is the only repres ...

, the

chestnut-backed chickadee The chestnut-backed chickadee (''Poecile rufescens'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae, native to western North America. Taxonomy In the early 20th century, Joseph Grinnell hypothesized that the chestnut-backed chickadee d ...

and the tufted puffin. The

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia Coast, mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia", the original term used by Geor ...

and

Saanich Peninsula Saanich Peninsula () is located north of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded by Saanich Inlet on the west, Satellite Channel on the north, the small Colburne Passage on the northeast, and Haro Strait on the east. The exact southern ...

contain "the last remnants of the highly endangered Garry oak ecosystem". The Great Bear Rainforest is located entirely within this ecozone.

Conservation

National parks

Four

national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

have been established in this ecozone: *

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is a National Parks of Canada, national park located on and around the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada. In the National Parks System Plan, this park provides representation of the Strait of Georgia Lo ...

* Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site *

Kluane National Park and Reserve Kluane National Park and Reserve (; ) are two protected areas in the southwest corner of the Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Yukon. The National Park Reserve was set aside in 1972 to become a national park, pending settlement o ...

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a national park located in British Columbia, Canada, which comprises three separate regions: Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail. It is located in the Pacific Coast Mountains, wh ...

Provincial parks

Dozens of provincial parks have been established in this ecozone. Some of the largest and most notable ones include: *

Fiordland Conservancy The Fiordland Conservancy, also known as the Fiordland Recreation Area formerly, and since also as the Fiordland Conservation Area, is a conservancy in British Columbia, Canada. It preserves a portion of the province's coast containing glacial f ...

* Garibaldi Provincial Park * Juan de Fuca Provincial Park *

Kitlope Heritage Conservancy The Kitlope Heritage Conservancy or Huchsduwachsdu Nuyem Jees ("source of milky blue waters") in the Haisla language, is a conservancy located on the Pacific coast of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It preserves the largest continuou ...

* Strathcona Provincial Park * Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park

References

{{Reflist Ecozones and ecoregions of British Columbia Geography of Yukon Geography of the Pacific Northwest