| Term | Definition |
| Temperature | below freezing half of the year and often drop to -40 degrees celcius |
| Precipitation | 30 cm - 85cm annually, most of it as snow |
| Plants | trees are mainly coniferous, such as black and white spruce. |
| Physical Features | short summer growing season with an average of 50 days. The terrain is often rough. Many marshes hold vast amounts of water |
| Animal adaptations | insect-eating birds, seed eaters stay year round, mammals, and small mammals. few reptiles and amphibians because of the low temperatures |