Taiga Plains

1. Taiga Plains By: David

2. Climate • The taiga plains have a very short summer • The summer temperature is usually around 7ºC in the north to 14ºC in the south. • Winter brings an average of 15ºC to 25ºC • The yearly rainfall is around 250-500mm. • Permafrost is widespread.

3. Flora and Fauna • There are many different types of trees in this Eco zone and there are many fires so they are pretty adapted to it. • The Taiga Plains include paper birch, willows, trembling aspen, tamarack, green alder, white spruce, balsam poplar, lodge pole pine, jack pine, dwarf birch, black spruce, and balsam fir.

4. Location • “The Taiga Plains are centered around the Mackenzie River in the western Northwest Territories, bordered by the mountains to the west, the arctic to the east, and the boreal forests of the boreal plains to the south” • From http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/taigaplains/taigaplains.htm

5. Animals • The red fox, ermine, marten, black bear, lynx, and wolf are the only carnivores located in this eco zone. • Some herbivores include woodland caribou, wood bison, moose, barren-ground caribou, snow shoe hare, red squirrel, arctic ground squirrel

6. Geology and geography • The land is primarily made up of sedimentary rock like limestone, shale, and sandstone. • The largest river in the country moves through this Eco zone Mackenzie River. • The terrain is flat with rolling hills and some canyons up to hundreds of meters deep.

7. Human’s • There are some settlements in this Eco zone they are mostly close to a river for obvious reasons. • Petroleum exploration, mining, and forestry are all in this Eco zone. • Most of the landscape is untouched by humankind.

8. Sites I used • http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/taigaplains/taigaplains.htm