GnomishNotions

The northern forests consist of all wooded parts of Canada east of the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic Ocean to the north and Atlantic ocean to the east. Its southern limits are marked by a transition to the subtropical forests of the south-east at the Great Lakes. The forest, except for a flat and swamp strip along the coast of the Hudson Bay known as the 'Hudson Lowlands', is dominated by coniferous forest which grows thick on wrinkled landforms cut through by rivers and dotted with lakes or muskeg swamplands. In the south, where trees grow to full height, the region is considered 'boreal', while in the north where cold weather and irregular sunlight causes trees to grow stunted or gnarled, and the region is called 'taiga'. Further, the region can be divided into the silty-bottomed Mackenzie River valley in the west and the Canadian Shield - a vast rounded outcrop of bare bedrock which covers the territory of Nunavut, as well as much of the provinces of Manitoba...

  Map of the Southern Deserts - by Me! The southern deserts consist of two broad areas divided into western and eastern halves by the Sierra Madre and Gila Mountains. In the east lies the Chihuahuan desert that transitions to the Great Plains to the north and the Atlantic further east. In the west the desert is divided between the low lying Sonoran in the south and the higher Mojave in the north. North of the Mojave lies the Great Basin, while the western limits of both deserts are marked by the Sierra Nevada. Further south of this desert heat and humidity grow so oppressive that human survival becomes untenable Great Canyon on the Gila River - Seth Eastman The region has a subtropical desert climate that transitions to a semi-arid and steppe climate on mountainsides and a severe alpine climate at the highest peaks. The region tends to have hot summers and mild winters. In the deserts temperature averages around 30 C to around 13 C at the highest peaks. Rainfall is also highly seas...