Sub-boreal spruce zone

The sub-boreal spruce zone (SBS zone) fits the image of interior B.C. as a place of cold winters and warm summers, deep snow and dense forests, varied wildlife and clear lakes and rivers. Outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting and cross-country skiing flourish here, alongside lowland cattle ranching and intensive logging in upland areas.

Tree species descriptions

The SBS zone occupies the gently rolling terrain of B.C.'s vast interior plateau. Like a huge, tentacled ink blot, the zone spreads out across the highlands of the Nechako and Quesnel plateaus and the Fraser Basin, sending long, forested fingers into the valley bottoms of mountainous areas to the north, east, and west.

With Vanderhoof and Prince George located close to its centre, the zone's irregular boundaries take in such areas as the lower slopes of the Rocky and Caribou Mountains; Ootsa and Eutsuk lakes on the west; Quesnel, Horsefly, Machete Lake, and Lac des Roches in the south; and Babine, Takla, and Williston lakes in the north.

The area contains several major rivers, including the Skeena, Bulkley, Fraser, Babine, and Nechako and numerous large lakes, including Stuart, Francois, Burns, Trembleur and the Nation Lakes.

Subzone/variants in the SBS zone

Tree species descriptions:

• dh subzone (PDF, 198KB)
• dk subzone (PDF, 182KB)
• dw subzone, variant 1 (PDF, 156KB)
• dw subzone, variant 2 (PDF, 155KB)
• dw subzone, variant 3 (PDF, 186KB)
• mc subzone, variant 1 (PDF, 153KB)
• mc subzone, variant 2 (PDF, 186KB)
• mc subzone, variant 3 (PDF, 182KB)
• mh subzone (PDF, 154KB)
• mk subzone, variant 1 (PDF, 185KB)
• mk subzone, variant 2 (PDF, 185KB)
• mw subzone (PDF, 155KB)
• vk subzone (PDF, 185KB)
• wk subzone, variant 1 (PDF, 220KB)
• wk subzone, variant 2 (PDF, 185KB)
• wk subzone, variant 3 (PDF, 185KB)
• wk subzone, variant 3a (PDF, 175KB)