Referred to over much of its area as the subarctic, it is known for its long, cold winters, deep snow cover, and short, warm summers. It is a recently deglaciated land of thin soils and exposed bedrock. An intricate maze of bogs, lakes, and rivers remains a heritage of this withdrawal. Its boreal forest cover is composed of often dense stands of black and white spruce, white birch, jack pine, balsam fir, and tamarack. Poplar, cedar, and willow, among others, are also present.
Fish are abundant in lakes and rivers.
Turtles, frogs, and clams are present, too, in some lakes and rivers. For early hunter-gatherers with a limited technology, the Hudsonian Biotic Province is a difficult environment within which to gather adequate food energy throughout the year. As a result human populations in prehistoric times tended to be low in numbers and dispersed throughout much of the year, congregating only in seasons and at times when fish and game were particularly abundant. Most Minnesotans call the Canadian Biotic Province the Northwoods. Although a distinctive biotic province in its own right, it is also a broad transition zone between the much larger Hudsonian and Carolinian biotic provinces, with Hudsonian plants and animals increasing in frequency to the north and Carolinian plants and animals becoming more common to the south.