The Torngat Mountain tundra

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

(WWF ID: NA1118) covers the

Torngat Mountains The Torngat Mountains are a mountain range on the Labrador Peninsula at the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec. They are part of the Arctic Cordillera.

on the northeastern tip of the

Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the southe ...

where the provinces of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

meet. The mountains feature glacially carved U-shaped valleys and deep fjords. The vegetation over most of the territory is that of 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 moun ...

(lichen, moss, sedges and grasses), herbaceous cover, or bare rock. The region supports seasonal polar bears, black bears, and caribou. The Atlantic coast is on the Atlantic Flyway for migratory birds.

Location and description

The Torngat Mountains are the southernmost range of the

Arctic Cordillera The Arctic Cordillera is a terrestrial ecozone in northern Canada characterized by a vast, deeply dissected chain of mountain ranges extending along the northeastern flank of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from Ellesmere Island to the northeas ...

, a chain of mountain ranges that reach 2,500 km to the northern point of

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. ...

. The Torngat Mountains form a peninsula between

Ungava Bay Ungava Bay (french: baie d'Ungava, ; iu, ᐅᖓᕙ ᑲᖏᖅᓗᒃ/) is a bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik (far northern Quebec) from Baffin Island. Although not geographically apparent, it is considered to be a marginal sea of the ...

on the west and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on the east. The ecoregion is only 100 km wide, and 300 km north to south. Rising from sea level, the mean elevation is meters, and the highest point . The west side is continuous

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

; the eastern (Atlantic coast side) has discontinuous permafrost. The bordering ecoregion on the west and south is the

Eastern Canadian Shield taiga The Eastern Canadian Shield taiga is an ecoregion of Canada as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system. Setting Located in northeastern Canada, this ecoregion covers a large part of northern Quebec and most of Labrador, re ...

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

ET), a local climate in which at least one month has an average temperature high enough to melt snow (0 °C (32 °F)), but no month with an average temperature in excess of 10 °C (50 °F). Precipitation averages 300-700 mm/year; average temperature in the winter is and in the summer.

Flora and fauna

Ground cover in the region is 68% moss and lichen, 15% herbaceous cover, and less than 1% evergreen forest. The remainder is bare rock, sparse vegetation or open water. The areas with mixed evergreen and deciduous shrubs tend to be on sheltered, south-facing slopes. Where tundra and open forest meet there is often a transition zone of birch/willow thickets. Mammals are mostly small species, but there are noteworthy populations of polar bears (''

Ursus maritimus The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear species ...

'') denning in the region seasonally, an unusual community of tundra-dwelling black bears (''

Ursus americanus Ursus is Latin for bear. It may also refer to: Animals *Ursus (mammal), ''Ursus'' (mammal), a genus of bears People * Ursus of Aosta, 6th-century evangelist * Ursus of Auxerre, 6th-century bishop * Ursus of Solothurn, 3rd-century martyr * Ursus ...

''), and a herd of Torngat caribou.

Protected areas

Over 41% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: *

Kuururjuaq National Park Kuururjuaq National Park (french: Parc national Kuururjuaq) is a national park, created in May 2009 and managed by the Kativik Regional Government, in northeast Quebec, Canada. It stretches all the way from Ungava Bay to Mount D'Iberville, whic ...

Torngat Mountains National Park Torngat Mountains National Park () is a Canadian national park located on the Labrador Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The park encompasses of mountainous terrain between Northern Quebec and the Labrador Sea. It is the la ...

Ulittaniujalik National Park Ulittaniujalik National Park (french: parc national Ulittaniujalik) is a national park, created on 10 March 2016 in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. It was created in partnership with the Inuit communities of Kangiqsualujjuaq and Kuujjuaq, in addition t ...

References

{{reflist Nearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Canada Tundra ecoregions