Industry in this ecozone once consisted primarily of
forestry and
agriculture, but in 1967
Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited began extracting bitumen from the
Athabasca oil sands. Operations there have expanded significantly since 2003, and the oil sands are becoming an increasingly significant economic factor in the region.
Geography
Overlaying a
bedrock of
Cretaceous shale and
Tertiary sediments are thick deposits of
soil that form a flat terrain in the
Interior Plains.[5] It borders the
Montane Cordillera to the west, closely following the border between Alberta and British Columbia. To its south is the
Prairies ecozone for its entire extent, while to the north are the
Taiga Plains, with its northeastern periphery adjacent to the
Taiga Shield. 20 sub-region are located within the ecoregion.[6]
Covering 650,000 square kilometres (250,000 sq mi), it is a region of subdued relief with few lakes. However,
meltwater from glacial retreat between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago resulted in extensive
deltas and
dunes, forming
Lake Winnipegosis at the eastern end of this zone.[7] It is a remnant of
Lake Agassiz, a large glacial lake.[7] Most rivers originate in the
Rocky Mountains, flowing eastward through the zone.[7]
Oil, Forestry, and agriculture are the largest industries. The region is nearly covered by
timber, about 84% of the region,[8] The
Athabasca oil sands area around 141,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) of land. Agriculture takes place mainly in the
Peace River Country in Alberta and British Columbia. This can employ up to 20% of the land area, though it is typically less than that. Large communities include,
Fort St. John,
Grande Prairie,
Fort McMurray,
Hayriver,
La Ronge, and
The Pas.
Ecoprovinces
This ecozone can be further subdivided into three ecoprovinces:[9]
Lying east of the Rocky Mountains, the region experiences low
precipitation, averaging 450 millimetres (18 in) annually,[7] with 300 millimetres (12 in) in the west and 650 millimetres (26 in) in the east. However, this is greater than the rate of
evaporation by over 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in the south, and 300 millimetres (12 in) in the north and at the
foothills of the Rockies. The excess moisture promotes the development of
wetlands and
peat bogs, which account for between 25–50% of the ecozone's area.[10]
Summers are moderately warm, with mean July temperatures of 13 to 15 °C (55 to 59 °F), whereas winters may be very cold, with mean January temperatures of −17.5 to −11 °C (0.5 to 12.2 °F).[10]
EcoRegions
Each province continues to work on defining subregions within the larger
national ecozone system.[11]
^Bernhardt, Torsten.
"Boreal Plains". Canada's Ecozones, Canadian Biodiversity project.
McGill University, Redpath Museum. Archived from
the original on 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
^"Ecoregions". Ecological Framework of Canada. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
^"Ecozones Introduction". Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (CCEA). Retrieved 12 August 2017. This level of generalization is well suited for national scale reporting. In the last 20 years, all Provinces and Territories have refined and automated their respective regional ecological framework. It is important, then, to provide a current national perspective which accurately reflects current regional efforts. ... Detailed ecological information remains with jurisdictions.
^"Wood Buffalo National Park". Parks Canada. Retrieved 12 August 2017. Today, it protects an outstanding and representative example of Canada's Northern Boreal Plains.
^
abcdGauthier, Lorena Patino, David A.
"Conservation Areas". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
^"Prince Albert National Park DRAFT Management Plan 2017". Parks Canada. Retrieved 12 August 2017. The park is in a transition zone from the Great Plains to aspen parkland to mixed wood boreal forest, representing the Southern Boreal Plains and Plateaux natural region.