Northern Lakes and Forests (ecoregion)

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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]

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
States

Level IV ecoregions

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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

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References

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  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.