The Mealy Mountains is a mountain range in the southern portion of
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
in the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
province of
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 ...
. The mountains lie south of
Lake Melville
Lake Melville is an estuary of Hamilton Inlet (itself an extension of Groswater Bay) on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising and stretching inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of the ...
and cover an area of approximately 26,495 km² (10,231 mi²).
[Peak Bagger]
/ref>
The Mealy Mountains encompass five of Labrador's ten provincial ecoregions
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 ...
, including coastal barrens, high sub 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 ...
, high boreal forest
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 ...
, mid boreal forest, and string bog. The mountain range reach heights of more than , with the highest peak being more than .[
]
National Park
A significant portion of the mountain range and surrounding area was designated a potential National Park Reserve in 2015: the Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve, a move which follows lobbying for the preservation of the area since the early 1970s. The governments of Canada (Parks Canada) and Newfoundland and Labrador (Ministry of Environment and Conservation) have agreed to pursue creation of a National Park Reserve, which would see the area managed as if it were a national park, pending settlement of Native land claims. Once settled, the area would likely be designated a national park, comprising approximately 20,000 km².Parks Canada announcement, 10 Mar 2010
/ref>
References
External links
Canadian Parks and Wilderness SocietyFirst ski descents of the Mealy Mountains
{{Mountains of Newfoundland and Labrador
Labrador
Mountain ranges of Newfoundland and Labrador
One-thousanders of Newfoundland and Labrador