Lodgepole Uplands

The wooded uplands east of the Rocky Mountains form a transition between the mountains and the boreal forest. Lodgepole pine grows widely on the higher ground, especially after fire, alongside aspen and white spruce. Valleys, rocky outcrops and wetlands interrupt the forest, and shrubs such as Labrador tea and blueberry grow beneath the trees. The hills give way eastward to lower country drained by the Athabasca and its tributaries.