Montane Cordillera

The Montane Cordillera Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is an ecozone in south-central British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, Canada (an ecozone is equivalent to a Level I ecoregion in the United States). A rugged and mountainous ecozone spanning 473,000 square kilometres, it still contains "two of the few significant agricultural areas of the province", the Creston Valley and the Okanagan Valley. Primarily a mountainous region, it consists of rugged ecosystems such as alpine tundra, dry sagebrush and dense conifer forests. The interior plains are encircled by a ring of mountains. The area has a mild climate throughout the year, with typically dry summers and wet winters.

The corresponding name in the United States for this ecozone, where it is classed as a Level I ecoregion by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which is identical though differently-named than the CEC system, is the Northwestern Forested Mountains ecoregion.

Geography

It contains the headwaters for the Fraser and Columbia rivers and many of their tributaries, notably the Thompson and Kootenay.

It is bordered to the west by the Pacific Maritime Ecozone, to the north by the Boreal Cordillera Ecozone, to the northeast by the Boreal Plains Ecozone, and to the southeast by the Prairies Ecozone.

Ecoprovinces

This ecozone can be further subdivided into four ecoprovinces:

Central Montane Cordillera

Columbia Montane Cordillera

Northern Montane Cordillera

Southern Montane Cordillera

Conservation

National parks

Seven national parks have been established in this ecozone:

Banff National Park

Glacier National Park

Jasper National Park

Kootenay National Park

Mount Revelstoke National Park

South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve (proposed)

Waterton Lakes National Park

Yoho National Park

Provincial parks

Dozens of provincial parks have been established in this ecozone.