LAKE NIPIGON

This ecoregion surrounds Lake Nipigon and extends westward from the north shore of Lake Superior to Lake St. Joseph in northwestern Ontario. The ecoregion is marked by warm summers and cold, snowy winters. The mean annual temperature is approximately 1.5°C. The mean summer temperature is 14°C and the mean winter temperature is -13°C. The mean annual precipitation ranges 700-800 mm. The dominant vegetation is mixed forest, characterized by stands of white and black spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, trembling aspen, and paper birch. Dry sites are dominated by jack pine with secondary quantities of black spruce. In warmer locations, red and white pine occur. Wet sites contain tamarack and black spruce with a ground cover of moss and lichen. Wetlands are prevalent along the west and north shores of Lake Nipigon. This ecoregion is underlain by the acidic, Archean bedrock of the Canadian Shield. Hummocky bedrock outcrops covered with thin acidic morainal deposits and fluvial and lacustrine silts and sands dominate the landscape. Dystric Brunisolic soils dominate the western half, and Humo-Ferric Podzolic soils dominate the eastern half of the ecoregion. Significant inclusions are Gleysolic, Fibrisolic, Mesisolic, and Gray Luvisolic soils on limited areas of finer-textured deposits, some of which are peat-covered. Characteristic wildlife includes moose, black bear, lynx, snowshoe hare, wolf, and caribou. Bird species include the sharp-tailed grouse, American black duck, and wood duck. Forestry, mining, and recreation are the major land uses in this ecoregion. The main communities include Nipigon and Geraldton. The population of the ecoregion is approximately 22 550.

This ecoregion is part of the Boreal Shield ecozone.