Northern Lakes and Forests (ecoregion)


The Northern Lakes and Forests are an ecoregion in northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and northern Michigan in the United States. It is a Level III ecoregion in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's classification system, where it is designated as ecoregion number 50. The ecoregion is characterized by coniferous and northern hardwoods forests, morainal hills, large lake basins, and broad areas of sandy outwash plains, with numerous lakes and wetlands. The Northern Lakes and Forests are less well-suited to agriculture than ecoregions to the south, owing to shorter growing seasons, lower temperatures, and soils formed mainly from nutrient-poor sandy and loamy glacial drift material.

Level IV ecoregions

Following is a list of smaller Level IV ecoregions within the Northern Lakes and Forests ecoregion, as defined by the EPA.
NumberEcoregion nameMichiganMinnesotaWisconsin
50aLake Superior Clay Plain✔✔✔
50bMinnesota/Wisconsin Upland Till Plain✔✔
50cSt. Croix Pine Barrens✔
50dSuperior Mineral Ranges/
Ontonagon Lobe Moraines and Gogebic Iron Range		✔✔
50eChequamegon Moraine and Outwash Plain✔
50fBlue Hills✔
50gChippewa Lobe Rocky Ground Moraines✔
50hPerkinstown End Moraine✔
50iNorthern Wisconsin Highlands Lakes Country✔✔
50jBrule and Paint River Drumlins✔✔
50kWisconsin/Michigan Pine and Oak Barrens✔✔
50lMenominee Drumlins and Ground Moraine✔✔
50mMesabi Range✔
50nBoundary Lakes and Hills✔
50oGlacial Lakes Upham and Aitkin✔
50pToimi Drumlins✔
50qItasca and St. Louis Moraines✔
50rChippewa Plains✔
50sNashwauk/Marcell Moraines and Uplands✔
50tNorth Shore Highlands✔
50uKeweenaw-Baraga Moraines✔
50vWinegar Dead Ice Moraine✔
50wMichigamme Highland✔
50xGrand Marais Lakeshore✔
50ySeney-Tahquamenon Sand Plain✔
50zRudyard Clay Plain✔
50aaMenominee-Drummond Lakeshore✔
50abCheboygan Lake Plain✔
50acOnaway Moraines✔
50adVanderbilt Moraines✔
50aeMio Plateau✔
50afCadillac Hummocky Moraines✔
50agNewaygo Barrens✔
50ahTawas Lake Plain✔