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Taiga Shield

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↑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‡
Kazan River and Selwyn Lake Uplands	○		3.4.1
La Grande Hills and New Quebec Central Plateau	○		3.4.2
Smallwood Uplands	○		3.4.3
Ungava Bay Basin and George Plateau	○		3.4.4
Coppermine River and Tazin Lake Uplands	○		3.4.5

† 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 Taiga Shield

The Taiga Shield is a fairly large Canadian ecozone (equivalent to a US EPA Level II Ecoregion) located in two separate pieces on the east and west side of the Hudson Bay. The region is named for its bedrock, the Canadian Shield, one of the oldest exposed geological formations on earth, dating to the Precambrian era.

The terrain is mostly either flat or consisting of rolling hills, with numerous ponds, lakes, and wetlands carved from glaciation.

The vegetation varies from wetlands and meadows to shrublands and open forests. The shallow soil and freeze/thaw cycles, with discontinuous permafrost throughout the area, can shift soil, leading trees to tip over, giving a "drunken forest" appearance.

The tree line lies at the northern limit of this region, past which the Southern Arctic region begins. To the south lies the comparatively lush forests of the Softwood Shield. To the west, this region is bordered by the Taiga Plain, and to the east it extends the whole way to the ocean, although it does share a small border with the southernmost part of the Artic Cordillera.