North American Environmental Atlas
Encyclopedia
The North American Environmental Atlas is an interactive mapping tool created through a partnership of government agencies in Canada
, Mexico
and the United States
, along with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
, a trilateral international organization created under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). By "mapping North America
's shared environment," the Atlas depicts environmental issues from a continental perspective.
, the United States Geological Survey
, and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Each country's contributing team works closely with their partner agencies in the other countries to ensure seamless and harmonized data.
The Atlas provides a foundation to analyze the status of environmental conditions and identify significant trends across North America. It contains data on watersheds
, terrestrial and marine ecoregions and protected areas, industrial pollution
, human impact, and base layers including transportation and waterways. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation uses these geospatial data to identify priority areas to conserve biodiversity
, track cross-border pollution
, monitor carbon emissions across major transportation routes, and predict the spread of invasive species
, documentation, and geospatial
data that crosses political borders. This data is displayed as series of interactive map layers in an easy to use map viewer format.
Most layers in the North American Environmental Atlas are at a scale
of 1:1:10,000,000 or finer.
The variety of layers in the Atlas continues to expand in order to support analysis of environmental conditions. Increasingly, data are being made compatible with tools such as Google Earth
and ArcGis On-line/Arc Explorer. The entire collection of maps, data, and downloadable files is available for free online at the CEC website.
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...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, along with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation was established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation , the environmental side accord to the North American Free Trade Agreement...
, a trilateral international organization created under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). By "mapping North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's shared environment," the Atlas depicts environmental issues from a continental perspective.
Purpose
The North American Environmental Atlas builds on information created, gathered, and harmonized by government scientists and map makers from Natural Resources CanadaNatural Resources Canada
The Department of Natural Resources , operating under the FIP applied title Natural Resources Canada , is the ministry of the government of Canada responsible for natural resources, energy, minerals and metals, forests, earth sciences, mapping and remote sensing...
, the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
, and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Each country's contributing team works closely with their partner agencies in the other countries to ensure seamless and harmonized data.
The Atlas provides a foundation to analyze the status of environmental conditions and identify significant trends across North America. It contains data on watersheds
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
, terrestrial and marine ecoregions and protected areas, industrial pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, human impact, and base layers including transportation and waterways. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation uses these geospatial data to identify priority areas to conserve biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
, track cross-border pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, monitor carbon emissions across major transportation routes, and predict the spread of invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
Map Information
Information included in the Atlas includes accurate, seamless mapsMAPS
Maps is the plural of map, a visual representation of an area.As an acronym, MAPS may refer to:* Mail Abuse Prevention System, an organisation that provides anti-spam support...
, documentation, and geospatial
Geospatial
Geospatial analysis is an approach to applying statistical analysis and other informational techniques to geographically based data. Such analysis employs spatial software and analytical methods with terrestrial or geographic datasets, including geographic information systems and...
data that crosses political borders. This data is displayed as series of interactive map layers in an easy to use map viewer format.
Most layers in the North American Environmental Atlas are at a scale
Scale (map)
The scale of a map is defined as the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground.If the region of the map is small enough for the curvature of the Earth to be neglected, then the scale may be taken as a constant ratio over the whole map....
of 1:1:10,000,000 or finer.
The variety of layers in the Atlas continues to expand in order to support analysis of environmental conditions. Increasingly, data are being made compatible with tools such as Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
and ArcGis On-line/Arc Explorer. The entire collection of maps, data, and downloadable files is available for free online at the CEC website.
Ecoregions
| Number | CEC Name | American equivalent | Canadian equivalent | Mexican equivalent | WWF equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arctic Cordillera Arctic Cordillera The Arctic Cordillera is a vast, deeply dissected chain of mountain ranges extending along the northeastern flank of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from Ellesmere Island to the northeasternmost part of the Labrador Peninsula in northern Labrador and northern Quebec, Canada... |
" | ||||
| 2. | 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... |
|||||
| 3. | Taiga Taiga Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods... |
|||||
| 4. | Hudson Plains Hudson Plains The Hudson Plains Ecozone is a sparsely populated Canadian subarctic ecozone extending from the western coast of Quebec to the coast of Manitoba, encompassing all coastal areas of James Bay and those of southern Hudson Bay, stretching to about 50°N latitude. It includes the largest continuous... |
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| 5. | Northern Forests | |||||
| 6. | Northwestern Forested Mountains | |||||
| 7. | Marine West Coast Forests | |||||
| 8. | Eastern Temperate Forests | |||||
| 9. | Great Plains Great Plains The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S... |
Prairies Ecoregion | ||||
| 10. | North American Deserts | |||||
| 11. | Mediterranean California | |||||
| 12. | Southern Semi-Arid Highlands | |||||
| 13. | Temperate Sierras | |||||
| 14. | Tropical Dry Forests | |||||
| 15. | Tropical Humid Forests | |||||