GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICAN SUBARCTIC 



When the Subarctic of North America is delimited in terms of 

 climate, as already outlined, the region extends much farther south 

 than would normally be realized. All but the southern edge of 

 Newfoundland is within this region, as is most of the land in 

 Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. The northern half of Saskatche- 

 wan and Alberta also are subarctic as is the northeastern portion 

 of British Columbia. The Mackenzie valley, the Yukon, central 

 and southern Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands, form the remainder 

 of this wide belt of coniferous forests, comparable to the taiga of 

 Siberia. Thus about 60 percent of Canada and most of Alaska 

 have a subarctic environment. 



COASTAL AREAS 



The eastern edges of the North American Subarctic are the 

 deeply indented, rugged and mountainous coasts of Labrador and 

 northeastern Newfoundland. High, barren ranges rise abruptly 

 from the ocean and the fiords are deep and lined by steep, rocky 

 cliffs. 



The Labrador current which flows south along those coasts 

 brings with it floe ice and bergs during the summer. In the 

 winter, the coasts are blocked by heavy pack ice. The combination 

 of ice half the year and cold water the rest of the year produces 

 a marked influence on the environment of the shore. 



Fog often covers the coastal areas, particularly in Newfound- 

 land where the mingling of water from the Gulf Stream and the 

 Arctic make ideal conditions for fog. Inland the weather is fre- 

 quently clear even when dense fog lies along the shores. 



The most striking feature of the coastal area on the west side 

 of this subarctic region is the Aleutian Island chain. Active vol- 

 canoes and cones characterize these islands that stretch from the 

 Alaskan Peninsula to within a few degrees of longitude of the 

 Kamchatka Peninsula. It is one of the most active volcanic ^reas 

 of the world. There are hundreds of islands of varying size in 

 this group. Their shorelines are extremely irregular, with many 

 deep coves and inlets. 



The Aleutians, especially during the summer months, are fre- 

 quently shrouded in fog due in part to the contact of the arctic 

 waters of the Bering Sea to the north, and the warmer waters of 

 the Japanese current to the south. 



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