Northern Lakes and Forests (ecoregion)

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Northern Lakes and Forests
Map of ecoregions of the Upper Midwest
Map of ecoregions of the Upper Midwest, with Northern Lakes and Forests shown as number 50
Ecology
RealmNearctic
Geography
CountryUnited States
StatesMichigan, 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]

Level IV ecoregions[]

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 ✔

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Minnesota level III and IV ecoregions" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  2. ^ a b "Level III and IV ecoregions of Wisconsin" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  3. ^ a b "Level III and IV ecoregions of Michigan" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. June 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  4. ^ "Michigan level III and IV ecoregion descriptions/mapping issues" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2007-12-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  5. ^ Wilson, Tamara; L. Ryan, Christy (2015-12-11). Northern Lakes and Forests Ecoregion. pp. 33–42.
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