The Taiga Plains are located mainly in the western part of the Northwest Territories. Bordered by the Mackenzie Mountains on the west, they are distinguished, in the east, by the presence of two very large lakes: Great Bear and Great Slave. The ecozone also includes the northeastern corner of British Columbia and the greater part of

northernmost Alberta.

As its name implies, this is generally flat or gently rolling country. Canada’s largest river, the Mackenzie, is the most outstanding feature of the western part of the region. It makes its way, slowly and serenely, from the mudbanks and swamps of the West Arm of Great Slave Lake, in the south, to a vast delta on the Beaufort Sea, 1738 kilometres to the north. Altogether, the river, with its main headwaters – the Peace and Athabasca Rivers – and its other tributaries, drain a 1.8 million square kilometre area, the largest drainage basin in the country.

At 31,328 square kilometres, amoeba-shaped Great Bear Lake is the eighth largest lake in the world, and the largest lake lying completely within Canada. It is a deep lake, as deep as 413 metres in some parts, and a remnant of what was once a much larger body of water left behind after the last major glacial retreat. Great Slave Lake to the south is also another significant remnant from that period. It covers