The Arctic foothills tundra is an ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

 of the far north of North America, lying inland from the north coast of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. This is permafrost tundra with an average annual temperature below freezing.

Setting

This is a hilly area between the of 123,512 km2. lying between the boggier Arctic coastal tundra

Arctic coastal tundra

The Arctic coastal tundra is an ecoregion of the far north of North America, an important breeding ground for a great deal of wildlife.-Setting:...

 to the north and the Brooks Range

Brooks Range

The Brooks Range is a mountain range in far northern North America. It stretches from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada's Yukon Territory, a total distance of about 1100 km . The mountains top out at over 2,700 m . The range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old...

 to the south, and stretching from the Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea

Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...

 east across northern Alaska to the border with Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's Yukon Territory. The Noatak River

Noatak River

The Noatak River is a river in northwestern Alaska. The river's headwaters are on tall Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains of the Brooks Range in the Gates of the Arctic National Park. The Noatak flows generally westward approximately to the Chukchi Sea at Kotzebue Sound. The river's entire...

 valley is the only forested area.

Flora

The main vegetation is the scrubby cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum

Eriophorum vaginatum

Eriophorum vaginatum L. is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the family Cyperaceae, native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout the Holarctic Kingdom. It is a 30-60 cm high tussock-forming plant with erect solitary spikelets.-External links:* in Flora of North America*...

), stiff segde [Carex bigelowii]]) and shrubs such as Betula nana, Empetrum nigrum

Empetrum nigrum

Empetrum nigrum is a species of crowberry known as black crowberry which is native to most northern areas of the northern hemisphere, as well as the Falkland Islands in the southern hemisphere....

, Rhododendron subarcticum, and the berry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible sour fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. In the past it was seldom cultivated, but fruit was commonly collected in the wild. ...

. The Noatak River Valley is the only forested area in the ecoregion.

Fauna

The Colville River

Colville River (Alaska)

The Colville River is a major river of the Arctic Ocean coast of Alaska in the United States, approximately 350 mi long. One of the northernmost major rivers in the North America, it drains a remote area of tundra on the north side of the Brooks Range entirely above the Arctic Circle...

 is a migration route for wildlife including moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 , and a breeding area for gyrfalcon

Gyrfalcon

The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...

, peregrine falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

, and rough-legged hawks. The ecoregion is also home to a number of waterbirds.
Mammals include the large ungulates moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 (Alces alces) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus), the predators brown bear

Brown Bear

The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...

 (Ursus arctos) and wolf (Canis lupus) breed here, while smaller mammals include Alaskan Hare

Alaskan Hare

The Alaskan Hare is a species of mammal in the Leporidae family. It is found in the open tundra of western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in the United States....

 (Lepus othus) and Arctic ground squirrel

Arctic Ground Squirrel

The Arctic ground squirrel is a species of ground squirrel native to the Arctic.-Subspecies:Listed alphabetically.*S. p. ablusus Osgood, 1903...

 (Spermophilus parryi).

Threats and preservation

This ecoregion is unspoilt except that it is crossed by the Dalton Highway

Dalton Highway

The James W. Dalton Highway, usually Dalton Highway is a 414-mile road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields...

 and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which can disrupt migratory behaviour of some wildlife. The east end of the ecoregion is part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...

.