Flora & Fauna
In the Arctic regions of Yukon and Northwest Territories, weather patterns that include cold temperatures, a short growing season and glaciation only 10,000 years ago result in less diversity. Plants and trees have adapted to an extreme climate and a thin layer of useful soil. Although, Black and White Spruce are the most common tree species, others include Jack Pine, Tamarack, Paper Birch, Trembling Aspen, and Balsam Poplar. Willows and alders are the most common shrubs. Lichens, which provide food for caribou, join mosses and heaths such as Labrador Tea and berry-laden plants such as cranberries and blueberries to provide a dense ground cover throughout the region. Flowers abound throughout the season with the most prolific displays in the spring and early summer with clusters of Arctic lupine, moss campion, mountain avens, fireweed, river beauty, sweat pea and twin flowers. The high level of conifer forest makes the regions vulnerable to fire. The fires cause a release of nutrients that release and germinate the seeds of the Black Spruce and Jack Pine.
The small level of diversity found in the ecosystems provide habitat for a surprisingly diverse number of birds and mammals. Mammals range from the large land animals including the barrenland and woodland caribou, brown and black bears, moose, arctic wolf and muskox to the smaller varieties of red fox, wolverine, lynx, ermine, arctic hare and arctic ground squirrel or sicsic. Birds are abundant although the birds such as thrushes, kingfishers, robins and other songbirds, and the ground birds like grouse and ptarmigan are sometimes hard to spot. The large birds of prey such as the golden and bald eagles, osprey, goshawk, peregrine and gyrfalcons are seen most often of any birds. Jaegers, ravens, arctic terns, gulls do spend time over the rivers. Shore birds including plovers and sandpipers, and loons, eiders and mergansers are evident in most regions. The larger birds such as Sandhill Crane, Snow Geese, and Trumpeter and Tundra Swan appear for us at opportune times but are more rare.
Fish stocks include salmon, Arctic char, bull trout, dolly varden, lake trout, pike, inconnu, whitefish and Arctic grayling.
Featured Adventures
- Tischu River
Our exploratory trip on the Tischu River, a tributary of the Keele River
News & Events
- Our Outfitting Centre
It has been a long-standing dream of Canoe North Adventures …
- The Redstone River Exploratory Expedition 2009
The Redstone River is unique in that…
- Canol Heritage Trail Exploratory Hike
At Canoe North, we are always intrigued with the prospect of a grand adventure…
- Ice Road
The trip took eight days and the last two days …
- Exploratory Trips
In 2009, we are planning two more exploratory trips…
- New Air Services and Canoeing Base for CNA
at the North-Wright Airways float base in Norman Wells…
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