Landscape Characteristics

The lower Winnipeg River basin (LWRB) is characterized by a landscape dominated by forested land (76% cover) and Precambrian bedrock. The region's geology, featuring pink granodiorite, results in high water runoff toward Lake Winnipeg with low levels of nutrients and suspended sediments. Soil types are primarily clayey lacustrine, organic peat, and bedrock, with limited agricultural capacity, resulting in cropland accounting for only approximately 3% of the land cover.

• The lower Winnipeg River basin (LWRB) is dominated by forested land, which covers 76% of the area. Other land cover types include water (12%), temperate or sub-polar grasslands (4%), wetlands (3%), and cropland (3%), with minimal shrubland and urban land.
• The geology of the basin is characterized by the Precambrian Shield and underlying pink granodiorite, which leads to high water runoff downstream toward Lake Winnipeg but low levels of nutrients and suspended sediments.
• Dominant soil types in the LWRB include Precambrian bedrock, deep/shallow organic peat, and clayey lacustrine, typically featuring imperfect or very poor drainage and slopes between 0 and 2%.
• The mineral-rich nature of the watershed has supported mining activities, including one currently operational mine that extracts caesium and tantalum.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2021). Landscape Characteristics. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/winnipeg-river-basin-sheet-2-landscape.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Landscape Characteristics. 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/winnipeg-river-basin-sheet-2-landscape.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Landscape Characteristics |date=May 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/winnipeg-river-basin-sheet-2-landscape.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2021landscape, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Landscape Characteristics}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/winnipeg-river-basin-sheet-2-landscape.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }