This maritime-influenced ecoregion occurs along the forested parts of the coastal lowlands of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. It is marked by cool summers and mild winters with wind and fog. The mean annual temperature is approximately 3°C. The mean summer temperature is 11°C and the mean winter temperature is -4.5°C. The mean annual precipitation ranges 1000-1100 mm. The ecoregion is classified as having an Atlantic high boreal ecoclimate. Balsam fir is the dominant tree species on well- to imperfectly drained sites, but black spruce becomes an important codominant species at higher elevations. Black spruce thrives immediately adjacent to poorly drained depressions, which are predominantly covered by kalmia heath communities. Wind-exposed rocky outcrops are commonly vegetated by open, dwarf stands of black spruce and dwarf evergreen shrubs. Most of the ecoregion is less than 125 m asl in elevation, but it rises to about 450 m asl on the protected east side of the peninsula, which is composed predominantly of Archean igneous rock. On the west coast side of the ecoregion the geology is composed of a belt of soft, mainly unfolded, acidic, crystalline Palaeozoic strata. The surface of the ecoregion is covered by undulating to ridged, sandy morainal to loamy marine deposits. The ridged, rougher eastern side of the ecoregion is predominantly exposed bedrock with slopes ranging 15-30%. Soils are predominantly Humo-Ferric Podzols with significant inclusions of exposed rock outcrops, Ferro-Humic Podzols, Eutric Brunisols, and some Fibrisols. Wildlife includes moose, black bear, lynx, snowshoe hare, and caribou in the higher elevations between forest and upland tundra. Activities related to mining, forestry, and fishing are dominant land uses in this region. The population of the ecoregion is approximately 13 000.
This ecoregion is part of the Boreal Shield ecozone.