This ecoregion occupies the northern tip of the Northern Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. It is marked by cool summers and cold winters. The maritime effect of the Atlantic Ocean is felt along the coast. Sea ice carried by the Labrador current plugs up the Strait of Belle Isle and delays the onset of spring. Fog frequency is high over the entire year. The mean annual temperature is approximately 2.5°C. The mean summer temperature is 10°C and the mean winter temperature is -5.5°C. The mean annual precipitation ranges 900-1100 mm. This ecoregion is classified as having an Atlantic low subarctic ecoclimate. The predominant vegetation includes dwarfed, open and sometimes closed cover patches of white spruce with an understory of mosses. White spruce is more tolerant of salt spray and is more prevalent in near-coastal areas, whereas black spruce and tamarack are more prominent inland. Exposed sites tend to support a moss-lichen cover. This ecoregion is formed in part by the coastal lowlands and the northern tip of the highlands of Newfoundland. Most of it consists of soft, mainly unfolded, crystalline Palaeozoic strata and Precambrian rocks. Elevations range from sea level to about 630 m asl. The lowlands region is dominated by sloping bog plateaus. Wetlands cover more than 25% of the ecoregion. Hummocky sandy to loamy morainal and colluvial deposits with slopes ranging 10-30%, and rock outcrops covered with discontinuous veneers of acidic till are more prominent in the uplands. Mesisols developed on sphagnum moss are the dominant soils in the ecoregion, but well- to imperfectly drained Humo-Ferric Podzols developed on stony, sandy, to sandy loam acidic glacial till are more prevalent on the uplands. This ecoregion lies along the Atlantic migratory flyway, and provides winter range for caribou as well as habitat for arctic hare, rock ptarmigan, Atlantic puffin, and geese. The major communities include St. Anthony and Port Saunders. The first known European colony in the Americas was the Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, established about 1000 years ago on the coast north of St. Anthony. The population of the ecoregion is approximately 11 900.
This ecoregion is part of the Boreal Shield ecozone.