View source for Taiga Plains Ecozone (CEC)

{{Infobox ecoregion
|name                = Taiga Plains
|image               = Mackenzie River - so beautiful.jpg
|image_size          =
|image_alt           =
|caption             = Hay River Lowland ecoregion of the Taiga Plains ecozone
|map                 =
|map_size            =
|map_alt             =
|map_caption         =
|biome               =
|animals             =
|bird_species        =
|mammal_species      =
|border1             = [[Boreal Cordillera]]
|border2             = [[Boreal Plains Ecozone (CEC)|Boreal Plains]]
|border3             = [[Southern Arctic Ecozone (CEC)|Southern Arctic]]
|border4             = [[Taiga Cordillera]]
|border5             = [[Taiga Shield Ecozone (CEC)|Taiga Shield]]
|area                = 652,125
|country             = [[Canada]]
|state1              = [[Alberta]]
|state2              = [[British Columbia]]
|state3              = [[Northwest Territories]]
|state4              = [[Yukon]]
|region_type         = Provinces
|elevation           =
|coordinates         =
|geology             =
|seas                =
|rivers              =
|climate             = [[Subarctic climate|Subarctic]]
|soil                =
|conservation        =
|global200           =
|habitat_loss        =
|habitat_loss_ref    =
|protected           =
|protected_ref       =
|embedded            =
}}
The '''Taiga Plain Ecozone''', as defined by the [[Commission for Environmental Cooperation]] (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial [[Ecozones of Canada|ecozone]] that covers most of the western [[Northwest Territories]], extending to northwest [[Alberta]], northeast [[British Columbia]] and slightly overlapping northeastern [[Yukon]].
It is the site of the [[Peace-Athabasca Delta]],<ref name="SfS">{{Cite web
|url=http://www.spaceforspecies.ca/resources/ecozone/canada/
|title=Canada's Ecozones
|publisher=Space for Species
|accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref> a globally significant wetland in [[Wood Buffalo National Park]], and [[Nahanni National Park Reserve]].<ref name="protected">{{Cite web
|url         = http://www2.parkscanada.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/itm2-crp-trc/htm/ecozone_e.asp
|title       = Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada
|work        = Teacher Resource Centre
|publisher   = Parks Canada
|accessdate  = 2008-02-13
|url-status     = dead
|archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080309013131/http://www2.parkscanada.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/itm2-crp-trc/htm/ecozone_e.asp
|archivedate = 2008-03-09
}}</ref>
==Geography==
Its eastern boundary is located by [[Great Bear Lake|Great Bear]] and [[Great Slave Lake|Great Slave]] lakes in the [[Taiga Shield]], site of the world's oldest known rock formations.<ref name="taigashield">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/vignettes/Terrestrial/ts/land.cfm |title=Landforms and Climate of the Taiga Shield Ecozone |work=Taiga Shield Ecozone |publisher=Environment Canada |accessdate=2008-02-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040622124516/http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/vignettes/Terrestrial/ts/land.cfm |archivedate=June 22, 2004 }}</ref> To its south are the [[Boreal Plains]], a vast forest of [[spruce]] and other [[timber]] with numerous [[wetland]] habitats. Portions of Wood Buffalo National Park and [[Whooping Crane Summer Range]], the only nesting area for the critically endangered [[whooping crane]], overlap onto the Taiga Plains from the Boreal Plains. To the west it abuts the foothills of the [[Boreal Cordillera]] in British Columbia and southern Yukon, and the [[Taiga Cordillera]] further north. These two ecozones comprise the [[Mackenzie Mountains]]. Its northern borders are with the [[Southern Arctic]] ecozone in northeastern Northwest Territories, and the [[Arctic Archipelago Marine]] ecozone at the delta of Canada's largest river, the [[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie]].<ref name="overview">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/vignettes/Terrestrial/tp/default.cfm |title=Overview |work=Taiga Plains Ecozone |publisher=[[Environment Canada]] |accessdate=2008-02-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040622174948/http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Vignettes/Terrestrial/tp/default.cfm |archivedate=June 22, 2004 }}</ref>
The ecozone consists primarily of [[Stratum|strata]] of [[limestone]], [[shale]], and [[sandstone]] [[sedimentary rock]]s,<ref name="bernhardt">{{Cite web
|url=http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/taigaplains/taigaplains.htm
|title=Taiga Plains
|work=Canada's Ecozones, Canadian Biodiversity project
|last=Bernhardt
|first=Torsten
|publisher=[[McGill University]], Redpath Museum
|accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref> and has formed wide flat plains with rolling terrain throughout. The sedimentary layers contain
some "rich natural reservoirs of oil and gas".<ref name="landforms">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/vignettes/Terrestrial/tp/land.cfm |title=Landforms and Climate of the Taiga Plains Ecozone |work=Taiga Plains Ecozone |publisher=[[Environment Canada]] |accessdate=2008-02-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040706155128/http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Vignettes/Terrestrial/tp/land.cfm |archivedate=July 6, 2004 }}</ref> The western portion, dominated by the Mackenzie, is more rugged with deep canyons and trenches cut by the river and tributaries.
===Ecoprovinces===
This ecozone can be further subdivided into three ecoprovinces:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Secretariat|first=Treasury Board of Canada|title=National Ecological Framework for Canada - Open Government Portal|url=https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/3ef8e8a9-8d05-4fea-a8bf-7f5023d2b6e1|access-date=2020-11-07|website=open.canada.ca}}</ref>
*[[Great Bear Lowlands]]
*[[Hay-Slave Lowlands]]
*[[Mackenzie Foothills]]
==Climate==
Summers are cool and short in this sub-arctic climate, with mean temperatures ranging from 7&nbsp;°C in the north to 14&nbsp;°C in the south.<ref name="bernhardt" /><ref name="landforms" /> Winters are long and very cold in the Mackenzie Delta, with a typical January mean of -26&nbsp;°C, but are somewhat milder in the southern extent, with a mean January temperature of -15&nbsp;°C.<ref name="bernhardt" /> Little [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] falls here, an annual average of 250 to 500&nbsp;mm throughout the zone.<ref name="landforms" /> Snow and ice cover lasts at least six months, and it is not unusual for it to persist for eight months.<ref name="landforms" />
==Conservation==
A number of [[protected area]]s have been established to protect representative and/or significant portions of this ecozone. These include the [[Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary]], [[Nahanni National Park Reserve]], and [[Wood Buffalo National Park]].
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Ecozones of Canada]]
[[Category:Ecozones and ecoregions of Alberta]]
[[Category:Ecozones and ecoregions of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Ecozones and ecoregions of the Northwest Territories]]
[[Category:Ecozones and ecoregions of Yukon]]