This ecoregion covers uplands on Boothia Peninsula and southern Somerset Island. The mean annual temperature is approximately -12.5°C with a summer mean of 4°C and a winter mean of -28°C. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 100 mm to more than 200 mm with the higher values occurring on the central Boothia Plain. This ecoregion is classified as having a mid-arctic ecoclimate. Vegetation is discontinuous, and dominated by such tundra species as purple saxifrage, Dryas spp., and arctic willow, along with alpine foxtail, wood rush, and other saxifrage. Wet areas have a continuous cover of sedge, cottongrass, saxifrage, and moss. The ecoregion is underlain by crystalline gneiss forming a narrow north-trending prong of the Precambrian Shield, partly covered by outliers of Palaeozoic strata. In the south, it merges with Wager Plateau at about 760 m asl, which slopes gently northward. Bedrock outcroppings are common, and Turbic Cryosols developed on hummocky, thin, discontinuous sandy moraine are the dominant soils in the ecoregion. Permafrost is continuous and of low ice content. Characteristic wildlife includes caribou, muskox, arctic hare, arctic fox, snowy owl, other raptors, polar bear, seal, walrus, whale, seabirds, and waterfowl. Land uses include trapping, hunting, and fishing.
This ecoregion is part of the Northern Arctic ecozone.