Natural Resources Canada

The map shows the mean total precipitation in the month of January. January precipitation across Canada is mainly in the form of snow. Throughout much of the interior and the north, precipitation amounts are generally less than 20 mm and, in the high Arctic, as little as a few millimetres. The...

The map shows the mean total precipitation in the month of April. April is a transitional month across much of southern Canada, when snow is still possible but rainfall begins to dominate the precipitation regime. Precipitation amounts across the southern interior of Canada are somewhat greater...

The map shows the mean total precipitation in the month of October. October marks the transition from mainly rain to snowfall across northern Canada. Snowfall also occurs across much of the interior of southern Canada but in relatively small amounts that usually melt. October also marks the...

This map shows the average maximum snow depth in centimetres computed over 18 winter seasons (1979 to 1997). Over southern Canada this usually occurs in January or February, while the time of maximum accumulation occurs much later in mountain areas and in the Arctic. The main features of the map...

This map shows the median date of snow-cover loss (defined as the last date with 14 consecutive days of snow cover greater than 2 centimetres in depth) computed over 18 winter seasons (1979 to 1997). In areas with permanent or semipermanent snow cover (for example, Arctic ice caps) or in areas...

This map shows the median date of snow-cover onset (defined as the first date with 14 consecutive days of snow cover greater than 2 centimetres in depth) computed over 18 winter seasons (1979 to 1997). In areas with permanent or semipermanent snow cover (for example, Arctic ice caps) or in areas...

The map shows the mean daily minimum temperatures for April. Minimum temperatures in April are below freezing for most of Canada. Minimum temperatures in April are below freezing for most of Canada. Only extreme southern Ontario, extreme southern Nova Scotia and coastal British Columbia have...

The map shows the mean daily maximum temperatures for April. Below-freezing maximum temperatures in April are restricted to northern Canada and the extreme northern portions of Ontario and Quebec adjacent to Hudson Bay. Lengthening days and strengthening sunshine bring about a moderation in...

The map shows the mean daily minimum temperatures for January. January marks the depths of winter across Canada and, with the exception of the coastal parts of southern Vancouver Island, below freezing minimum temperatures are the norm. The deep freeze is particularly evident near Baker Lake in...

The map shows the mean daily maximum temperatures for January. Weak or no sunshine means there is minimal diurnal variation between the maximum and minimum temperatures in January. The far north remains in an icy grip, with maximum temperatures around -30ºC or colder across parts of Nunavut....

The map shows the mean daily maximum temperatures for July. Maximum temperatures in July are above freezing across all of Canada except for high elevations on Ellesmere Island. Maximum temperatures exceed 25ºC in the valley bottoms of southern British Columbia, across the southern Prairies, in...

The map shows the mean daily maximum temperatures for July. Maximum temperatures in July are above freezing across all of Canada except for high elevations on Ellesmere Island. Maximum temperatures exceed 25ºC in the valley bottoms of southern British Columbia, across the southern Prairies, in...

The map shows the mean daily minimum temperatures for October. In October, longer nights and a return to below-freezing minimum temperatures is evident across most of Canada except for coastal British Columbia, southern Ontario and Quebec and most of the Atlantic Provinces. Normal minimum...

The map shows the mean daily maximum temperatures for October. Much of southern Canada experiences maximum temperatures in October above 10°C, whereas maximum temperatures across most of the northern territories are below zero. Only the southern portions of the Yukon and the Northwest Territories...

Fifteen ecozones make up terrestrial Canada, and five make up the marine waters bordering Canada. Canada’s 15 terrestrial ecozones can be subdivided into 53 ecoprovinces, which can be further broken into 194 ecoregions. Ecozones are useful for general national reporting and for placing Canada’s...

Canada has defined a hierarchical classification of ecosystems. At a simple level there are 20 ecozones, fifteen terrestrial and five marine. An ecozone is an area of the earth’s surface that represents a large ecological zone and has characteristic landforms and climate. Each ecozone is...

Endemic plants are those plants found only in Canada. These plants have genetically adapted to these particular environmental conditions. Because these are found nowhere else, Canada has a special obligation to ensure these plants do not become extinct. The map shows the number of endemic plants...

Ecoregions vary in their make up and complexity. Some are relatively uniform in their composition, structure and processes. Others contain extreme variations in relief, soils, climate, vegetation, and species. This map shows the number of land cover types (up to 29 types are possible) per...

Some plants are rare because they naturally occur in very specialized habitats or in very low numbers; others may be rare because they have suffered setbacks because of natural processes or pressures from human activities. The highest number of rare plant species is in southern Ontario, where...

Wetlands are lands where water saturation is the dominant factor. Wetlands occupy about 18% of Canada, and Canada has about 25% of the world’s wetlands. Wetlands foster the growth of hydrophytic vegetation and other biological activities such as the sustenance of large numbers of waterfowl,...