The Eastern Canadian Shield taiga is an ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

 of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system.

Setting

Located in northeastern Canada, this ecoregion covers a large part of northern Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 and most of Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

, reaching from Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

 and James Bay

James Bay

James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...

 in the west, across to Ungava Bay

Ungava Bay

Ungava Bay is a large bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik from Baffin Island. The bay is shaped like a rounded square with a side length of about and has an area of approximately...

 and east to the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 coast of Labrador. This is a taiga ecoregion and therefore stops at the treeline, beyond which is tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

. This is a rugged rocky landscape including an area fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

s on the Atlantic coast of Labrador. The hills and plateaus are dotted with many lakes and string bog

String bog

A String bog or Strong mire is a bog consisting of slightly elevated ridges and islands, with woody plants, alternating with flat, wet sedge mat areas. String bogs occur on slightly sloping surfaces, with the ridges at right angles to the direction of water flow...

s, and patches of tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

 on the Mealy Mountains

Mealy Mountains

The Mealy Mountains is a mountain range in the southern portion of Labrador in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The mountains lie south of Lake Melville and cover an area of approximately 26,495km² ....

 and elsewhere.

This is a cold part of the world with average annual temperatures ranging from -6°C in Hudson Bay to 1°C on the Labrador coast.

Flora

The dominant trees of the taiga are black spruce (Picea mariana) and tamarack (Larix laricina), mixed with smaller numbers of white spruce (Picea glauca), dwarf birch

Dwarf Birch

Betula nana is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.-Description:...

es, willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

s, laurel

Laurel

-Botany:* Laurel family , a group of flowering plants** Azores laurel ** Bay Laurel , also called True Laurel** California Laurel ** Camphor Laurel...

s, and rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...

s. The boglands are a habitat of sedge

Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...

s and sphagnum

Sphagnum

Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...

 moss.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to wildlife including caribou, moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 (Alces alces), American black bear (Ursus americanus), grey wolf (Canis lupus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), wolverine (Gulo gulo), snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) and colonies of seals. Of particular interest are the inland (and therefore freshwater) Harbor Seal

Harbor Seal

The harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...

s of Lacs des Loups Marins and the world's largest herd of caribou

Migratory Woodland Caribou

The migratory woodland caribou , also known as the forest caribou or woodland caribou , is a subspecies of the caribou...

, the George River herd of up to 400,000 animals. Birds include grouse

Grouse

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

, osprey (Pandion haliaetus), raven (Corvus corax) and many waterbirds. In particular the rocky coast is home to breeding colonies of seabirds, including the endangered eastern population of the Harlequin Duck

Harlequin Duck

The Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies...

 and is also on the Atlantic Flyway

Atlantic Flyway

The Atlantic Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Atlantic Coast of North America and the Appalachian Mountains. The main endpoints of the flyway include the Canadian Maritimes and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico; the migration route tends to narrow considerably in...

 migratory route for birds.

Threats and preservation

This ecoregion is almost entirely in its natural state, apart from some areas damaged by hydro-electric power generation projects and mining activities such as the Voisey's Bay Mine. There are no substantial protected areas although the proposed Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve is a proposed national park in Canada, located in the Labrador region of Newfoundland and Labrador. It will cover an area of approximately . Along with the Mealy Mountains, the park will protect a large portion of boreal forest, tundra and 50 kilometres of...

 will be the largest park in Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...

 and other parks are proposed for Richmond Gulf and the Clearwater Lakes

Clearwater Lakes

The Lac à l'Eau Claire , also called the Clearwater Lakes in English, Wiyasakami in Cree and Allait Qasigialingat by the Inuit, are a pair of circular lakes on the Canadian Shield in Quebec, Canada, near Hudson Bay.The lakes are actually a single body of water with a sprinkling of islands forming a...

 on Hudson Bay, and Atikonak Lake

Atikonak Lake

Atikonak Lake is a lake in southern Labrador near the border with Quebec, Canada....

on the Quebec-Labrador border.