¥;.~^d^::. 



Figure 2-4. — Muskeg and gravel in terrain around Resolute Bay. 



Range, crosses the Mackenzie River at its delta, swings south- 

 east across the Candian shield to Port Nelson and Fort Churchill 

 on Hudson Bay, crosses the northern end of James Bay and the 

 Ungava Peninsula, taking a sharp southward dip along the moun- 

 tains of Labrador. In Norway, the northern limit of forests is at 

 about the 70° N. parallel. The treeline dips southeast through 

 the center of the Kola Peninsula, then runs almost parallel to and 

 about 400 miles inland from the Siberian coast, trending slightly 

 more to the south as the eastern coast is approached. The 

 Eurasian coniferous forest is the most extensive in the world, 

 while the Canadian forest covers more than half the Dominion. 



The coniferous forest or taiga, as it is called in Siberia, is com- 

 posed of several species of pines, firs, spruces, birches and larches. 

 On the whole, the forests are not a mixture of all the species, but 

 the trees tend to segregate into more or less solid stands of single 

 species. The trees group themselves mainly on the basis of their 

 ability to adapt local conditions of moisture, temperature, exposure 

 and soil. To some extent, the different trees are indicators of 

 particular soil, water and temperature factors. 



Black spruce, for example, will grow in swampy areas and is 

 found as far north as the treeline. It will also thrive on dry soils, 

 but is frequently pushed out by faster growing trees. Larch is 

 one of the hardiest of the forest trees and grows to the very north- 

 ern limit of trees. This northern limit is not a clear cut line. 



27 



