The Ecology of the North Cascades is affected by high elevations and rain shadow effects. The North Cascades is part of the Cascade Range, stretching from the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River in Washington, United States, to where the Thompson and Fraser Rivers meet in British Columbia, Canada. This area is officially called the Cascade Mountains but is often called the Canadian Cascades.
This is a list of areas with old-growth forests that have at least 10 acres (4.0 hectares) of old trees. Ecoregion details are from the book Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World. The terms “old growth” and “virgin” can have different meanings in different places.
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is a large area in the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands called potholes. These potholes were formed by glacier activity during the Wisconsin glaciation, which ended about 10,000 years ago. As the ice melted, it left behind depressions in the ground, created by uneven layers of soil and rock.
The Great Lakes Areas of Concern are specific regions within the Great Lakes Basin that have serious environmental problems. There are 43 such areas in total, with 26 located in the United States, 12 in Canada, and five shared by both countries. The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world and are shared by the United States and Canada.
The Great Plains have a variety of ecosystems because of their large size. Differences in rainfall, elevation, and latitude create different habitats, such as short grass prairies, mixed grass prairies, tallgrass prairies, and riparian areas. The Great Plains stretch from Mexico in the south through the central United States to central Canada.
The Appalachian temperate rainforest, also called the Appalachian cloud forest, is found in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. It is one of the most diverse temperate regions in the world. This rainforest is mainly located in the Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forests between southwestern Virginia and southwestern North Carolina.
The Rocky Mountains have many different types of plants and animals because of different weather and land conditions. These mountains are the largest mountain range in western North America, stretching from northern British Columbia, Canada, down to New Mexico in the southwestern United States. They rise from the Great Plains, which are at or below 1,800 feet (550 meters), up to peaks over 14,000 feet (4,300 meters).
Svalbard is an Arctic group of islands that is part of Norway. It is mostly uninhabited, with only about 3,000 people living there. However, it covers a large area of 61,020 square kilometres (23,560 sq mi).
The wildlife of Iceland includes the plants, animals, and fungi that live on the island of Iceland, which is in the North Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle. The types of plants, animals, and fungi found there are influenced by the island’s land features and weather. The island has many different environments, such as high mountains, lava fields, tundras, rivers, lakes, and coastal plains of different widths.
The Alps conifer and mixed forests are a type of temperate coniferous forest found in central Europe. This region spans parts of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Slovenia. It covers the lower slopes of the Alps all the way to their peaks, including Mont Blanc, which is 4,809 meters (15,778 feet) high and the tallest mountain in the Alps.