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Northern Arctic

To check where a specific point lies, you can look it up in our Ecoregion Locator.

↑Map Legend & Subregion List

This list will help you navigate the regions in case you have problems with viewing or clicking the interactive map above.

Name	†	Color on Map	CEC Code‡
Sverdrup Islands Lowland	○		2.1.1
Ellesmere Mountains and Eureka Hills	○		2.1.2
Parry Islands Plateau	○		2.1.3
Lancaster and Borden Peninsula Plateaus	○		2.1.4
Foxe Uplands	○		2.1.5
Baffin Uplands	○		2.1.6
Gulf of Boothia and Foxe Basin Plains	○		2.1.7
Victoria Island Lowlands	○		2.1.8
Banks Island and Amundsen Gulf Lowlands	○		2.1.9

† Status: ✓ = Complete ○ = Needs Image … = Incomplete ∅ = Stub Only

‡ This code refers to the CEC's Level 3 ecoregion codes for North America, see here.

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↑About the Northern Arctic

The Northern Arctic, considered a Level II ecoregion by the US EPA and an Ecozone in canada, is the harshest environment outside the Arctic Cordillera. It covers the northernmost part of the Tundra, and much of it is located on islands, with a little bit in the northernmost parts of Quebec and Nunavut.

This region is covered by continuous permafrost, meaning that the ground only thaws temporarily and on the surface. The permafrost tends to trap water on the surface during periods of thawing, so even though precipitation here is very low, around 10-20cm a year, there is abundant surface water and it is typically available to plants during the short growing season.

The flora of this region mostly consists of herbs and lichens.

This region is sparsely populated; most of the human inhabitants are Inuit. Iqaluit, with over 7,000 people, is the largest city in the region.