The Taiga Cordillera Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a rugged,

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

ous terrestrial ecozone of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

spanning most of northern

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and significant portions of the border between the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. This ecozone is very sparsely populated, with only a few hundred inhabitants who rely on subsistence living and the tourism industry. Most of the area's population consists of members of the

Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) is a First Nation in the northern Yukon in Canada. Its main population centre is Old Crow. The language originally spoken by the people is Gwichʼin. Gwich'in Nation Vuntut Gwich'in refers specifically to t ...

in the community of

Old Crow Old Crow is a low-priced brand of Kentucky-made straight bourbon whiskey distilled by Beam Suntory, which also produces Jim Beam and several other brands of whiskey. The current Old Crow product uses the same mash bill and yeast as Jim Beam, but ...

, located on the

Porcupine River The Porcupine River (''Ch’ôonjik'' in Gwich’in) is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada and the United States. It rises in the Ogilvie Mountains north of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. From there it flows north through the community of ...

Geography

To the south is the

Boreal Cordillera The Boreal Cordillera Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone occupying most of the northern third of British Columbia and southern half of Yukon. Within it is found Kluane Nati ...

, to the east are the

Taiga Plains The Taiga Plain Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone that covers most of the western Northwest Territories, extending to northwest Alberta, northeast British Columbia and sl ...

, and its northern extent is defined by Yukon's coastline, at which it abuts the

Southern Arctic The Southern Arctic Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone which spans the northern coast of mainland Northwest Territories, most of northern mainland Nunavut excepting the north ...

ecozone. The northernmost area is an arctic

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

which is beyond the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...

, so is characterised by small

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

s and shrubs. These transition to alpine tundra and

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

in a southeastern arc across the zone. To the northwest are rolling hills, throughout which are found broad wetlands reaching the coast of the Beaufort Sea. The interior, comprising the

Selwyn Mountains The Selwyn Mountains are a mountain range in northern Canada, forming part of the border between the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories, and which are part of the Eastern System of the Canadian Cordillera (aka the Western Cordillera). ...

and

Mackenzie Mountains The Mackenzie Mountains are a Canadian mountain range forming part of the Yukon- Northwest Territories boundary between the Liard and Peel rivers. The range is named in honour of Canada's second prime minister, Alexander Mackenzie. Nahanni Na ...

, is primarily steep, mountainous terrain with sharp, narrow

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

Ecoprovinces

This ecozone can be further subdivided into four ecoprovinces: * Mackenzie-Selwyn Mountains * Northern Yukon Mountains *

Ogilvie Mountains The Ogilvie Mountains are a mountain range in the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada. Geologically they are part of the Yukon Ranges, in the upper Laramide Belt of the North American Cordillera. Geography The range lies north of Dawson Cit ...

* Old Crow-Eagle Plains

Climate

With mountains blocking the passage of moisture-laden

air mass In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and humidity. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to l ...

es into the region, typical annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

averages 250 to 300 mm throughout the ecozone, resulting in a dry climate. Winters are long, dark and extremely cold, with mean January temperatures between -25 and -30 °C. Summers are short and cool, with mean July temperatures between 12 and 15 °C.

Snow cover Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

lasts a minimum of six months a year, and may persist up to eight months.

Conservation

The area includes three

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

within its boundaries -

Ivvavik National Park Ivvavik National Park ( ) is a national park of Canada located in Yukon. Initially named "Northern Yukon National Park," the park was renamed Ivvavik in 1992 for the Inuvialuktun word meaning "nursery" or "birthplace," in reference to the importa ...

, Vuntut National Park, and

Nahanni National Park Reserve Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, approximately west of Yellowknife, protects a portion of the Mackenzie Mountains Natural Region. The centrepiece of the park is the South Nahanni River ( ...

, one of twelve sites in the first group of

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s granted by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. It also contains

Old Crow Flats Old Crow Flats (''Van Tat'' in the Gwichʼin language) is a wetland complex in northern Yukon, Canada along the Old Crow River. It is north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Beaufort Sea, and is nearly surrounded by mountains. Site The site ...

, an internationally important

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

that overlaps Vuntut National Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taiga Cordillera Ecozone (Cec) Ecozones of Canada Ecozones and ecoregions of the Northwest Territories Ecozones and ecoregions of Yukon