This ecoregion occupies the northern section of the Manitoba Plain from the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg to the Cumberland Lowlands in Saskatchewan. The climate is marked by short, warm summers and cold winters. The mean annual temperature is approximately -1°C. The mean summer temperature is 13.5°C and the mean winter temperature is -17°C. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 375 mm in the northwest to 625 mm in the southeast. The ecoregion is classified as having a subhumid mid-boreal ecoclimate. It is part of the boreal mixed coniferous and deciduous forest, extending from Lac Seul in northwestern Ontario to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is a relatively flat, low-lying region with extensive wetlands covering approximately half the area. The cold and poorly drained fens and bogs are covered with tamarack and black spruce. The mixed deciduous and coniferous forest is characterized by medium to tall, closed stands of trembling aspen and balsam poplar with white and black spruce, and balsam fir occurring in late successional stages. Permafrost occurs in isolated patches in peatlands and is more prevalent in the region's northeastern section. Underlain by flat-lying, Palaeozoic limestone bedrock, the ecoregion is covered almost entirely by level to ridged glacial till, lacustrine silts and clays, and extensive peat deposits. Eutric Brunisols developed on extremely calcareous, loamy glacial till and Mesisols on forest peat are codominant, and are associated with local areas of limestone bedrock outcroppings and Gray Luvisols on loamy to clayey-textured lacustrine deposits. Wildlife includes moose, black bear, wolf, lynx, showshoe hare, waterfowl including duck, goose, pelican, sandhill crane, ruffed grouse, and other birds. Pulpwood and local sawlog forestry, water-oriented recreation, and wildlife trapping and hunting are the dominant uses of land in this region, although seed grains, oilseeds and forage crops are produced where soils and drainage are suitable. The major communities include The Pas and Grand Rapids. The population of the ecoregion is approximately 18 300.
This ecoregion is part of the Boreal Plains ecozone.