Northern Lakes and Forests | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Nearctic |
Geography | |
Country | United States |
States | Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin |
The Northern Lakes and Forests are an ecoregion in northern Minnesota, [1] northern Wisconsin, [2] and northern Michigan [3] in the United States. It is a Level III ecoregion in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) classification system, where it is designated as ecoregion number 50. The ecoregion is characterized by coniferous and northern hardwoods forests, morainal hills, large lake basins, and broad areas of sandy outwash plains, with numerous lakes and wetlands. The Northern Lakes and Forests are less well-suited to agriculture than ecoregions to the south, owing to shorter growing seasons, lower temperatures, and soils formed mainly from nutrient-poor sandy and loamy glacial drift material. [4] [5]
Following is a list of smaller Level IV ecoregions within the Northern Lakes and Forests ecoregion, as defined by the EPA. [1] [2] [3]
Number | Ecoregion name | Michigan | Minnesota | Wisconsin |
---|---|---|---|---|
50a | Lake Superior Clay Plain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
50b | Minnesota/Wisconsin Upland Till Plain | ✔ | ✔ | |
50c | St. Croix Pine Barrens | ✔ | ||
50d | Superior Mineral Ranges/ Ontonagon Lobe Moraines and Gogebic Iron Range | ✔ | ✔ | |
50e | Chequamegon Moraine and Outwash Plain | ✔ | ||
50f | Blue Hills | ✔ | ||
50g | Chippewa Lobe Rocky Ground Moraines | ✔ | ||
50h | Perkinstown End Moraine | ✔ | ||
50i | Northern Wisconsin Highlands Lakes Country | ✔ | ✔ | |
50j | Brule and Paint River Drumlins | ✔ | ✔ | |
50k | Wisconsin/Michigan Pine and Oak Barrens | ✔ | ✔ | |
50l | Menominee Drumlins and Ground Moraine | ✔ | ✔ | |
50m | Mesabi Range | ✔ | ||
50n | Boundary Lakes and Hills | ✔ | ||
50o | Glacial Lakes Upham and Aitkin | ✔ | ||
50p | Toimi Drumlins | ✔ | ||
50q | Itasca and St. Louis Moraines | ✔ | ||
50r | Chippewa Plains | ✔ | ||
50s | Nashwauk/Marcell Moraines and Uplands | ✔ | ||
50t | North Shore Highlands | ✔ | ||
50u | Keweenaw-Baraga Moraines | ✔ | ||
50v | Winegar Dead Ice Moraine | ✔ | ||
50w | Michigamme Highland | ✔ | ||
50x | Grand Marais Lakeshore | ✔ | ||
50y | Seney-Tahquamenon Sand Plain | ✔ | ||
50z | Rudyard Clay Plain | ✔ | ||
50aa | Menominee-Drummond Lakeshore | ✔ | ||
50ab | Cheboygan Lake Plain | ✔ | ||
50ac | Onaway Moraines | ✔ | ||
50ad | Vanderbilt Moraines | ✔ | ||
50ae | Mio Plateau | ✔ | ||
50af | Cadillac Hummocky Moraines | ✔ | ||
50ag | Newaygo Barrens | ✔ | ||
50ah | Tawas Lake Plain | ✔ |
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The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, also known as the North Woods, is a forested ecoregion in eastern North America. Among others, this terminology has been adopted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Similar, though not necessarily entirely identical regions, are identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as Northern Lakes and Forests, and by the World Wildlife Fund by regions such as the Western Great Lakes forests and Eastern forest-boreal transition.
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