By: Roberta and Seher
The Taiga Shield Zone is located just to the East of the Taiga
Plains, South of the Southern Artic Zone, and North of the
Boreal Shield. It is intersected by the Hudson Bay and the
Hudson Plains.
It is part of the subarctic region of Canada.
Thin soils prevent
deep rooting plants
from growing here
Part of the Wet-climate Soil
Region of Canada, and the
Boreal and Taiga vegetation
region.
Terrain has rolling
hills with several
upland areas and long
eskers.
Glaciers have
scraped the earth
bare in this region
Precipitation ranges
from 200mm to
1000mm on the
Labrador Coast
• Taiga – the sometimes swampy coniferous forest of high northern
latitudes, esp. that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia
and North America
• Subarctic – a climate characterized by long cold winters and
short mild summers
• Hydroelectric – relating to or denoting the generation of
electricity using flowing water
• Wet-climate Soil – a region with soil that contains much moisture
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A population made up of 60% Aboriginals
About 340, 000 people in total
Untouched wildlife and nature (mostly)
Mining, hydroelectric activity, hunting, fishing, etc. largely
dictate settlement
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Diversity of wildlife (migrating stop)
Suited for many types of recreational activities
Many valuable minerals (iron, gold, occasionally diamonds, etc)
A wide variety of climates
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Short summers, long winters (average temperature below 0˚C)
Short growing season (100-140 days), cool and damp weather
Low to moderate precipitation in some parts
Permafrost in more Northern parts
Heavily leached thin soil; lacking in nutrients
• 4 billion years old; has a lot of the history of Canada
• Swampy marsh lands, forests, hills and mountain landforms
• Damp, soggy areas of the soil tilts trees, creating a ‘drunken
forest’
• Just below the tree line - mostly coniferous trees and shrubs
• Variety of vegetation - wetlands, shrub lands, meadows, forests
Geographic Issues
• Habitat loss and environmental degradation are the main factors that
threaten wildlife in the Taiga Shield
• Urbanization along Great Slave lake creates impacts on surrounding
wildlife.
• Protected areas are mainly in the southeastern part of the ecozone
although a part of the Thelon National Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the
in the Northwest Territories (north-central part of ecozone)
• The Sand Lakes Provincial Park and Caribou River Provincial Park are the
largest reserves (in terms of area) located within the Taiga Shield. They
monitor the fly-in hunt camps to preserve the caribou
• The Grizzly bear population is under special care due to their loss of
terrestrial habitats through flooding associated with hydro-electric projects
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YruocBILrrQ
• http://ecozones.ca/english/zone/TaigaShield/index.html
• http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/taigash
ield/taigashield.htm#loc
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiga_Shield_Ecozone_(CEC)
• https://ecozoneexperts.wikispaces.com/Taiga+Shield
• http://rai108.tripod.com/
• https://sites.google.com/site/ecozonestaigashield/home/resour
ces