The Boreal Plains cut a swath across four western provinces, from the Peace River area of north-eastern British Columbia, through central (and most of) Alberta and central Saskatchewan, to southeastern Manitoba. A narrow band of the ecozone even extends for a short distance northwards into the Northwest Territories,

following the course of the Slave River.

Glaciers have levelled the land here – both its plateaux in the north and plains in the south – and occasional groups of uplands, such as the Porcupine Hills of Saskatchewan, never rise beyond 900 metres above sea level. The bedrock of the Boreal Plains is soft and sedimentary, covered with the deposits left by ancient glaciers and lakes. The moraines, or glacial deposits, are gently rolling and usually found on the uplands, while the more fine-grained lacustrine (or lake) deposits cover much of the smooth surface of the southern plains. Wetlands – bogs, fens, swamps, and marshes, with their organic soils – can be found in about 20 percent of this region, most notably between the Wabasca / Loon and Athabasca Rivers, in northern Alberta, west of Fort McMurray; and along the western shores of Lake Winnipeg. Some of these wetlands, known as prairie potholes, are the result of glaciers scooping out the soft bedrock, and they provide rich habitats for fish, birds, insects, and waterfowl (especially ducks). It’s estimated, in