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The boreal forest
This coniferous forest runs in a wide belt around the entire Northern
Hemisphere. In Canada, it traverses the cordillera and then crosses the
plains and the Shield, ending up on the island of Newfoundland. Because
of their size, the ecozones of the boreal forest feature a wide range
of climatic conditions. The average annual temperatures are at their coldest
in the central-western plains
(–4oC) and at their mildest on the coasts (+5oC).
Annual precipitation barely exceeds 300 millimetres in northern Alberta,
whereas it reaches 1,500 millimetres in some parts of the cordillera and
1,000 millimetres in Labrador.
In the boreal forest, extending as far as the eye can see, the slender
silhouettes of black spruce and white spruce stand out against the sky,
intermixed with fir and larch. Across the entire southern fringe of the
forest, white birch, trembling aspen and balsam poplar abound.
Elk, black bears, raccoons, martens, skunks and lynx are among its most
common inhabitants. On the cordillera, it is also home to bighorn sheep,
mountain goats and grizzlies.
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| Grizzly fishing
©2003 ICN-RCI / Hemera |
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Canada lynx in winter
©2003 ICN-RCI / Hemera |
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