Interior Plains

Natural Region 10

WILDLIFE:

The juxtaposition of tundra and forest in this region provides for a variety of wildlife not often seen this far north. The tundra provides important summer range and calving grounds for caribou; the forest-tundra zone provides critical winter range. Black bears reach the northern limit of their range here. Red fox and arctic fox, wolves, grizzly bears, muskrat, beaver, lemming, rock ptarmigan, spruce grouse and raven are characteristic wildlife. Muskox are common. The delta is a critical staging and nesting area for shorebirds and waterfowl.

Hundreds of thousands of snow geese stop at the outer delta islands and on the coastal plain each fall to accumulate fat for the long migration south, covering the land like a dusting of snow. Beluga whales congregate offshore. Farther out to sea in the Arctic Ocean, is an important migration route and feeding area for the rare bowhead whale.

Belugas © Parks Canada

STATUS OF NATIONAL PARKS

About 2,400 square kilometres, or one-quarter, of the northernmost part of Ivvavik National Park extends into the coastal plain portion of the Mackenzie Delta Natural Region, protecting about 6 percent of the total region. It is dominated by the massive fan deltas of the Firth and Malcolm rivers draining north from the British Mountains and provides habitat for a variety of wildlife including polar bear, wolverine, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, gyrfalcon, and arctic char.

Ivvavik National Park © Parks Canada

The majority of mus-kox in Ivvavik are found on the coastal plain. The Canadian portion of the calving ground of the Porcupine Caribou Herd lies within this portion of the park. The coastal plain here is also a very important staging area for migrating snow geese.

None of the Mackenzie Delta, the namesake for this natural region, is included within the national park. The Babbage River delta, however, shares many of the same characteristics as the delta of the Mackenzie River, and part of the Babbage River delta lies within the park - the east shore of the river forms the park's eastern boundary. It is particularly important here to work through the Wildlife Management Advisory Council of the North Slope to manage the entire Babbage River delta in an integrated fashion.

Pingo Canadian Landmark is Canada's first, and only, landmark. Established through the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, this area is situated on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula and contains an outstanding concentration of pingos and other permafrost phenomenon, including Canada's highest pingo.

See Natural Region 9 for details on establishment of Ivvavik National Park. © Parks Canada

The Pingo Canadian Landmark, through protecting these features, rounds out representation of the natural region.