Total annual precipitation (mm) 451 Annual snowfall (cm) 180 Water deficit (mm) --- Mean July temperature (C) +15.8 Mean January temperature (C) -23.1

The climate is humid and cold. The winters are long and cold, and the summers, short. The change in season occurs gradually.

Landscape:

The area is a rolling drift plain with prominent eskers (a snake shaped steep ridge of roughly layered sand and gravel) and sand dunes. The Athabasca Sand Dunes, south of Lake Athabasca, is an extensive area of active dunes.

Soil:

Sandy soil originates from sandstone bedrock.

Vegetation:

Coniferous, or evergreen, forests dominate the region. The forest is dominated by medium to tall stands of jack pine with understories of feathermoss, bog cranberry, blueberry, Labrador tea and lichen. Some white spruce, balsam poplar and trembling aspen occur in the warmer moister sites in the southwestern sections of the forest. Bedrock exposures have few trees and are covered with lichens.

Wildlife:

This is important winter range for caribou. There are moose, black bear, lynx, wolf, beaver, muskrat and snowshoe hare (shown left) as well. Waterfowl, sandhill cranes, grouse occur with other birds.

Human Use:

The discovery of uranium ore at various locations has led to road development and the impacts of mining operations. Forest resources are generally used locally, however forests are harvested for pulp wood in the southern section of the region. Trapping, hunting and fishing are the traditional land uses on the sand plain south of Lake Athabasca.