This ecoregion extends south from Lake Athabasca to Cree Lake in northwestern Saskatchewan, and is roughly coincident with the flat-lying Proterozoic sandstones. It is marked by short cool summers and very cold winters. The mean annual temperature is approximately -3.5°C. The mean summer temperature is 12°C and the mean winter temperature is -20.5°C. The mean annual precipitation ranges 350-450 mm. This ecoregion is classified as having a subhumid high boreal ecoclimate. It forms part of the continuous coniferous boreal forest that extends from northwestern Ontario to Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. Stands of jack pine with an understory of ericaceous shrubs and lichen are dominant. Some paper birch, white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, and trembling aspen occur on warmer, south-facing sites. Forest fires are common in this ecoregion, and most coniferous stands tend to be young and stunted. Bedrock exposures have few trees and are covered with lichens. Permafrost occurs sporadically throughout the ecoregion. The plain is covered with undulating to ridged fluvioglacial deposits and sandy, acidic till. Sandy Dystric Brunisols are dominant, whereas Organic Fibrisols and Organic Cryosols are associated with peat plateaus, palsas and organic veneers. Wetlands are extensive in the western third of the ecoregion. Local areas of eolian sandy Regosols occur along the southern shore of Lake Athabasca. The plain slopes gently and drains northwestward via Lake Athabasca, Slave River, and a network of tributary secondary streams and drainageways. Small to medium-sized lakes are more numerous to the northeast. Wildlife includes moose, black bear, woodland caribou (important winter range), lynx, wolf, beaver, muskrat, snowshoe hare, waterfowl (including ducks, geese, pelicans, sandhill cranes), grouse, and other birds. Resources in the southern section of the ecoregion are used for local sawlog forestry. Trapping, hunting, fishing, and industrial activities associated with uranium mining are the dominant uses of land in this ecoregion. Stony Rapids and Cree Lake are the main communities. The population of the ecoregion is approximately 1100.
This ecoregion is part of the Boreal Shield ecozone.