Atlantic Maritime
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic Maritime Ecozone is an ecozone
which covers the Canadian
provinces of Prince Edward Island
, Nova Scotia
, and New Brunswick
, as well as the Gaspé Peninsula
of Quebec
. It is adjacent to the Atlantic Marine Ecozone
to the east, and the Mixedwood Plains
to the west. The roughly-corresponding Level I Ecoregion to this ecozone in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's classification, which is also part of the CEC system, is the Northern Forests ecoregion, though that classification includes the woodlands and swamps of northern Michigan and Minnesota.
The coastal areas are generally cooler in summer
and warmer in winter
than the inland regions, with richer soil
s suitable for farming. Hence, coastal communities have the greatest concentration of the zone's 2.5 million inhabitants.
The largest urban area in this ecozone is Halifax.
which are hilly with poor soils, and the coastal plain
s which have much richer soil. The inland regions are primarily highlands
of igneous
bedrock
with acid
ic soils that support expansive forest
s, but are not adaptable to agricultural
uses. The coastal plain
s are atop sedimentary bedrock
, with rich soils suitable for agricultural applications.
The acadian forest is a mixedwood or transitional forest, exhibiting features of both deciduous
and boreal
forests.
results in a humid
environment with significant precipitation
, varying from an annual average of 1425 mm along the coasts to 1000 mm inland. This is the most active storm region in Canada.
Coastal areas are typically warmer during the winter, and cooler during the summer, than other regions of the ecozone. They also experience frequent sea fog in late spring and early summer due to the interaction of the warm Gulf Stream
currents with the much colder Labrador Current
.
With an average of nearly 180 frost-free days, the coasts may have up to 1,750 growing degree day
s, whereas the inland areas of New Brunswick have an average annual growing season of 1,500 growing degree days, and just 80 frost-free days.
, Forillon National Park
, Fundy National Park
, Kejimkujik National Park
, Kouchibouguac National Park
, and Prince Edward Island National Park
.
Ecozones of Canada
The ecozones of Canada consist of fifteen terrestrial and five marine ecozones in Canada. These are further subdivided into 53 ecoprovinces, 194 ecoregions, and 1021 ecodistricts...
which covers the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
provinces of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, and New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, as well as the Gaspé Peninsula
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. It is adjacent to the Atlantic Marine Ecozone
Atlantic Marine (ecozone)
The Atlantic Marine Ecozone is a Canada marine ecozone that stretches from the Davis Strait to encompass the Grand Banks, to the Avalon Peninsula on the shores of Newfoundland...
to the east, and the Mixedwood Plains
Mixedwood Plains
The Mixedwood Plains Ecozone is the Canadian ecozone with the most southerly extent, covering all of southwestern Ontario, and parts of central and northeastern Ontario and southern Quebec along the Saint Lawrence River...
to the west. The roughly-corresponding Level I Ecoregion to this ecozone in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's classification, which is also part of the CEC system, is the Northern Forests ecoregion, though that classification includes the woodlands and swamps of northern Michigan and Minnesota.
The coastal areas are generally cooler in summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
and warmer in winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
than the inland regions, with richer soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s suitable for farming. Hence, coastal communities have the greatest concentration of the zone's 2.5 million inhabitants.
The largest urban area in this ecozone is Halifax.
Geography
The Atlantic Maritime ecozone consists of two major regions, the AppalachiansAppalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
which are hilly with poor soils, and the coastal plain
Coastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
s which have much richer soil. The inland regions are primarily highlands
Highland (geography)
The term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland for ranges of low mountains.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous...
of igneous
Igneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
with acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
ic soils that support expansive forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, but are not adaptable to agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
uses. The coastal plain
Coastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
s are atop sedimentary bedrock
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
, with rich soils suitable for agricultural applications.
The acadian forest is a mixedwood or transitional forest, exhibiting features of both deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
and boreal
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
forests.
Climate
The entire region is relatively cool and moderate during the summer, with mean July temperatures at 18°C. Winters tend to be mild but long, with January mean temperatures between -2.5°C and -10°C. Proximity to the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
results in a humid
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
environment with significant precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
, varying from an annual average of 1425 mm along the coasts to 1000 mm inland. This is the most active storm region in Canada.
Coastal areas are typically warmer during the winter, and cooler during the summer, than other regions of the ecozone. They also experience frequent sea fog in late spring and early summer due to the interaction of the warm Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
currents with the much colder Labrador Current
Labrador Current
The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia...
.
With an average of nearly 180 frost-free days, the coasts may have up to 1,750 growing degree day
Growing degree day
Growing degree days , also called growing degree units , are a heuristic tool in phenology. GDD are a measure of heat accumulation used by horticulturists, gardeners, and farmers to predict plant and pest development rates such as the date that a flower will bloom or a crop reach...
s, whereas the inland areas of New Brunswick have an average annual growing season of 1,500 growing degree days, and just 80 frost-free days.
Protected areas
This ecozone contains a number of protected areas, including national and provincial parks. The national parks include Cape Breton Highlands National ParkCape Breton Highlands National Park
Cape Breton Highlands National Park is located on northern Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia. One-third of the Cabot Trail passes through the park featuring spectacular ocean and mountain views. The park was the first National Park in the Atlantic provinces of Canada and covers an...
, Forillon National Park
Forillon National Park
Forillon National Park, one of 43 national parks and park reserves across Canada, is located at the outer tip of the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec and covers 244 km². Created in 1970, Forillon was the first national park in Quebec. The park includes forests, sea coast, salt marshes, sand dunes,...
, Fundy National Park
Fundy National Park
Fundy National Park is located on the Bay of Fundy, near the village of Alma, New Brunswick. The Park showcases both seashore habitats and highland Acadian forests...
, Kejimkujik National Park
Kejimkujik National Park
Kejimkujik National Park is part of the Canadian National Parks system, located in the province of Nova Scotia...
, Kouchibouguac National Park
Kouchibouguac National Park
Kouchibouguac National Park is located on the east coast of New Brunswick, north of the town of Richibucto. The park includes barrier islands, sand dunes, lagoons, salt marshes and forests. It provides habitat for seabirds, including the endangered Piping Plover, and the second largest tern colony...
, and Prince Edward Island National Park
Prince Edward Island National Park
Prince Edward Island National Park is a National Park located on Prince Edward Island. Situated along the island's north shore, fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the park measures approximately 60 km in length and ranges from several hundred metres to several kilometres in width...
.