This ecoregion occupies the lower coastal uplands on Baffin Island surrounding Cumberland Sound. The mean annual temperature ranges approximately from -9°C along the coast to -11.5°C inland. The mean summer temperature varies from 1°C to 2°C. Mean winter temperatures of -20°C occur along the coast, and it is slightly colder inland. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 300 mm to more than 400 mm along the Hall Peninsula. This ecoregion is characterized by a nearly continuous cover of dwarf tundra vegetation consisting of dwarf birch, willow, northern Labrador tea, Dryas spp., and Vaccinium spp. Tall dwarf birch, willow, and alder occur on warm sites; wet sites are dominated by willow and sedge. The ecoregion rises rapidly from sea level and is a belt of deeply dissected, crystalline Archean rocks. Its general aspect is one of a broad, gently warped, old erosion surface etched by erosion along joint systems and zones of weakness. Long arms of the sea penetrate the ecoregion as glacier-filled sounds or fjords. Bare bedrock is common, and Static Cryosols with some Turbic and some Organic Cryosols, developed on discontinuous morainal, organic, and marine deposits, are the dominant soils in the ecoregion. Characteristic wildlife includes caribou, muskox, arctic hare, arctic fox, polar bear, raptors, rock ptarmigan, seal, walrus, whale, gulls, seabirds, and waterfowl. Land uses include trapping, hunting, fishing, and tourism. Recently, recreation and tourism activities have also become increasingly important. The main settlement is Pangnirtung. The population of the ecoregion is approximately 1100.
This ecoregion is part of the Northern Arctic ecozone.