level iii and iv ecoregions of epa region...

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2 77 1 1 4 9 3 11 17 78 50 18 47 53 52 17 57 56 62 13 67 67 19 6 5 25 62 44 21 57 54 7 64 55 70 69 63 27 27 72 20 40 40 1 45 26 71 65 28 22 39 66 68 8 73 73 74 63 29 6 38 25 37 36 35 23 32 75 30 34 76 49 46 48 50 51 23 24 79 33 31 10 15 41 58 42 43 59 83 58 60 42 17 82 58 84 65 66 61 16 81 12 14 80 Map Source: USEPA, 2003 1 Coast Range 2 Puget Lowland 3 Willamette Valley 4 Cascades 5 Sierra Nevada 6 Southern and Central California Chaparral and Oak Woodlands 7 Central California Valley 8 Southern California Mountains 9 Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills 10 Columbia Plateau 11 Blue Mountains 12 Snake River Plain 13 Central Basin and Range 14 Mojave Basin and Range 15 Northern Rockies 16 Idaho Batholith 17 Middle Rockies 18 Wyoming Basin 19 Wasatch and Uinta Mountains 20 Colorado Plateaus 21 Southern Rockies 22 Arizona/New Mexico Plateau 23 Arizona/New Mexico Mountains 24 Chihuahuan Deserts 25 Western High Plains 26 Southwestern Tablelands 27 Central Great Plains 28 Flint Hills 29 Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains 30 Edwards Plateau 31 Southern Texas Plains 32 Texas Blackland Prairies 33 East Central Texas Plains 34 Western Gulf Coastal Plain 35 South Central Plains 36 Ouachita Mountains 37 Arkansas Valley 38 Boston Mountains 39 Ozark Highlands 40 Central Irregular Plains 41 Canadian Rockies 42 Northwestern Glaciated Plains 43 Northwestern Great Plains 44 Nebraska Sand Hills 45 Piedmont 46 Northern Glaciated Plains 47 Western Corn Belt Plains 48 Lake Agassiz Plain 49 Northern Minnesota Wetlands 50 Northern Lakes and Forests 51 North Central Hardwood Forests 52 Driftless Area 53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains 54 Central Corn Belt Plains 55 Eastern Corn Belt Plains 56 Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains 57 Huron/Erie Lake Plains 58 Northeastern Highlands 59 Northeastern Coastal Zone 60 Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands 61 Erie Drift Plain 62 North Central Appalachians 63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain 64 Northern Piedmont 65 Southeastern Plains 66 Blue Ridge 67 Ridge and Valley 68 Southwestern Appalachians 69 Central Appalachians 70 Western Allegheny Plateau 71 Interior Plateau 72 Interior River Valleys and Hills 73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain 74 Mississippi Valley Loess Plains 75 Southern Coastal Plain 76 Southern Florida Coastal Plain 77 North Cascades 78 Klamath Mountains 79 Madrean Archipelago 80 Northern Basin and Range 81 Sonoran Basin and Range 82 Laurentian Plains and Hills 83 Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands 84 Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens Level III Ecoregions of the Conterminous United States Atlantic Ocean Chesapeake Bay James River Y ork River Poto ma c Riv er Delaware Rive r Lake Erie Bluestone Lake Allegheny Reservior A l l e g h e n y R iv e r Raystown Lake D el a w ar e R i v e r J ame s R iv e r Lake Anna Smith Mountain Lake Leesville Lake Greenbrier River R o a n o k e Riv er N e w R i ve r N e w R i v e r O h i o Ri ve r Ohio River O h i o R iv er Sc h uy kil l R ive r Susquehanna River Susquehanna River C o n e m augh R i v er Pymatuning Lake John H Kerr Reservoir Lake Gaston Rap pa han noc k River 66 45 63 63 84 64 58 67 62 58 60 62 61 83 57 55 56 56 69 70 71 61c 61b 61c 57a 57b 57d 55a 61c 61d 70c 70e 61c 70b 55b 70a 55c 55e 70f 70d 71d 83a 61d 61c 61e 57a 55b 55d 66e 66f 67g 67i 66f 67i 66d 67i 67h 66f 67h 67h 67i 67h 67g 67f 66e 66e 67f 67f 62e 60b 60a 62b 67c 62c 60a 67e 83a 60a 61c 62d 62c 62a 61b 67b 62d 62d 67d 67c 67a 67c 67e 67b 67b 67c 67a 67a 67a 70c 69b 67a 67e 67a 67a 67c 67b 69a 58h 64b 64a 67c 64b 64a 67a 67c 67c 67a 67a 67d 64d 67b 64c 63a 67a 67b 67b 67d 58h 64b 67a 67d 67b 64d 64a 67b 64b 64c 69a 64a 64b 69a 67a 67b 64a 64c 64a 66a 70b 66b 70b 63a 70b 67a 65n 69b 64a 67a 67d 67a 64d 67b 67c 67c 67b 63f 67b 70a 67d 67c 63b 67d 67a 66b 69b 67c 64d 63b 67c 67c 64c 66b 67b 67d 67c 67b 67b 67b 67d 69b 67c 63d 67a 63b 64b 67c 67c 67c 63b 45e 64b 63b 64a 67c 67a 67b 67b 67d 65m 66b 63b 45f 66b 63b 67a 69c 67b 67b 69d 67c 69a 67a 66a 63b 67c 67c 67c 45g 67h 67g 45g 66a 63b 67f 63e 67f 67f 63e 67g 67g 63b 63d 67f 67i 45g 67h 45c 63c 67f 66e 66e 66d 66c 67f 67g 66e 67g 67f 67h 67g 67i 67i 66e 67i 67i 67f 67g 67h 66d 67f 67i 67g 66f 67f 67i 69e 69e 67h 66d CANADA UNITED STATES OHIO MICHIGAN NORTH CAROLINA VIRGINIA TENNESSEE VIRGINIA VIRGINIA KENTUCKY MARYLAND VIRGINIA MARYLAND DELAWARE NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA NEW YORK PENNSYLVANIA OHIO PENNSYLVANIA MARYLAND WEST VIRGINIA PENNSYLVANIA WEST VIRGINIA MARYLAND KE N T U C KY O H IO WEST VIRGINIA OHIO VIRGINIA WEST VIRGINIA NEW JERSEY DELAWARE Washington D.C. Trenton Harrisburg Dover Columbus Annapolis Charleston Richmond Binghamton Elmira Monticello Erie Scranton Warren Wilkes-Barre Stroudsburg Williamsport Meadville Franklin Easton Cleveland Toledo Allentown Sandusky Youngstown New Castle Lewistown Reading Akron Butler Norristown Huntingdon Indiana Philadelphia Beaver Canton Carlisle Lancaster Pittsburgh York New Cumberland Wilmington Steubenville Chambersburg Marion Gettysburg Elkton Washington Somerset Westminster Wheeling Hagerstown Uniontown Towson Cambridge Moundsville Cumberland Chestertown Frederick Baltimore Newark Martinsburg Morgantown Charles Town Keyser Gaithersburg New Martinsville Kingwood Romney Denton Springfield Rockville Fairmont Winchester Georgetown Easton Grafton Arlington Clarksburg Marietta Fairfax Front Royal Philippi Cambridge Manassas Athens Parkersburg Salisbury Chillicothe Weston Buckhannon Elkins Culpeper Ripley Harrisonburg Point Pleasant Portsmouth Staunton Maysville Summersville Huntington Lexington Madison Covington Morehead Williamsburg Lewisburg Beckley Hinton Fincastle New Castle Virginia Beach Norfolk Bedford Williamson Princeton Welch Pikeville Christiansburg Emporia Pulaski Hazard Wytheville Martinsville Marion Abingdon Jonesville Johnstown Altoona Lock Haven State College Jamestown Vineland Lebanon Aberdeen St. Charles Kingsport Bristol Mount Airy Edan Danville Roanoke Rapids Roanoke Petersburg Charlottesville Lynchburg Farmville Fredericksburg Tappahannock Louisa Buckingham Sussex Dinwiddie Lunenburg Bowling Green Smethport Emporium Ridgway Tionesta Harrisville Montrose Laporte Sunbury Marlinton Franklin Warrenton Warm Springs 83° 82° 81° 80° 79° 78° 77° 76° 75° 83° 82° 81° 80° 79° 78° 77° 76° 75° 37° 38° 39° 40° 41° 42° 37° 38° 39° 40° 41° 42° 30 60 mi 0 60 120 km 0 15 30 10 5 SCALE 1:1 000 000 Albers Equal Area Projection 67 Ridge and Valley 67a Northern Limestone/Dolomite Valleys 67b Northern Shale Valleys 67c Northern Sandstone Ridges 67d Northern Dissected Ridges 67e Anthracite Subregion 67f Southern Limestone/Dolomite Valleys and Low Rolling Hills 67g Southern Shale Valleys 67h Southern Sandstone Ridges 67i Southern Dissected Ridges and Knobs 69 Central Appalachians 69a Forested Hills and Mountains 69b Uplands and Valleys of Mixed Land Use 69c Greenbriar Karst 69d Dissected Appalachian Plateau 69e Cumberland Mountain Thrust Block 70 Western Allegheny Plateau 70a Permian Hills 70b Monongahela Transition Zone 70c Pittsburgh Low Plateau 83 Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands 83a Erie Lake Plain Level III Boundary Level IV Boundary State Boundary County Boundary 45 Piedmont 45c Carolina Slate Belt 45e Northern Inner Piedmont 45f Northern Outer Piedmont 45g Triassic Basins 58 Northeastern Highlands 58h Reading Prong 60 Northern Appalachian Plateau 60a Glaciated Low Plateau 60b Northeastern Uplands 61 Erie/Ontario Drift And Lake Plains 61b Mosquito Creek/Pymatuning Lowlands 61c Low Lime Drift Plain 62 North Central Appalachians 62a Pocono High Plateau 62b Low Poconos 62c Glaciated Allegheny High Plateau 62d Unglaciated Allegheny High Plateau 62e Low Catskills 63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain 63a Delaware River Terraces and Uplands 63b Chesapeake-Pamlico Lowlands and Tidal Marshes 63c Swamps and Peatlands 63d Virginian Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes 63e Mid-Atlantic Flatwoods 63f Delmarva Uplands 64 Northern Piedmont 64a Triassic Lowlands 64b Diabase and Conglomerate Uplands 64c Piedmont Uplands 64d Piedmont Limestone/Dolomite Lowlands 65 Southeastern Plains 65m Rolling Coastal Plain 65n Chesapeake Rolling Coastal Plain 66 Blue Ridge 66a Northern Igneous Ridges 66b Northern Sedimentary and Metasedimentary Ridges 66c New River Plateau 66d Southern Crystalline Ridges and Mountains 66e Southern Sedimentary Ridges 66f Limestone Valleys and Coves Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources; they are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. Ecoregions are directly applicable to the immediate needs of state agencies, including the development of biological criteria and water quality standards and the establishment of management goals for nonpoint-source pollution. They are also relevant to integrated ecosystem management, an ultimate goal of most federal and state resource management agencies. The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wiken 1986; Omernik 1987, 1995). These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 52 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group 1997). At level III, the continental United States contains 104 regions (United States Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA],1998). Level IV is a further subdivision of level III ecoregions. Explanations of the methods used to define the USEPA’s ecoregions are given in Omernik (1995), Griffith and others (1994), and Gallant and others (1989). The level III and IV ecoregion map on this map was compiled at a scale of 1:250,000 and depicts revisions. It revises and subdivides earlier level III ecoregions that were compiled at a smaller scale (USEPA 1998; Omernik 1987). It includes previously published level IV ecoregions (Woods and Omernik, 1996; Woods and others, 1996). It expands level IV coverage to include, for the first time, western West Virginia and the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Compilation of this map was part of a collaborative project with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III Environmental Services Division, the EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), and state environmental resource management agencies from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia. For additional information, contact James M. Omernik, U.S. EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory (NHEERL), 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333 (phone: 541-754-4458). PRINCIPAL AUTHORS: Alan J. Woods (Dynamac Corp.), James M. Omernik (USEPA), and Douglas D. Brown (US Forest Service). Map preparation and development of digital files were provided by Jeffrey A. Comstock, Sandra H. Azevedo, M. Frances Faure, and Suzanne M. Pierson (OAO Corp.). Literature Cited: Bailey, R.G., Avers, P.E., King, T., and McNab, W.H., eds., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of the United States (map) (supplementary table of map unit descriptions compiled and edited by McNab, W.H. and Bailey, R.G.): Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, scale 1:7,500,000. Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America - toward a common perspective: Montreal, Quebec, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p. Gallant, A.L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omernik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M., 1989, Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA/600/3-89/060, 152 p. Griffith, G.E., J.M. Omernik, and S.H. Azevedo. 1998. Ecoregions of Tennessee. (Map poster). U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. Griffith, G.E., Omernik, J.M., Wilton, T.F., and Pierson, S.M., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of Iowa - a framework for water quality assessment and management: The Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science, v. 101, no. 1, p. 5-13. Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United States (map supplement): Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, no. 1, p. 118- 125, scale 1:7,500,000. Omernik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions-a framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p. 49-62. U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service, 1981, Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States: Agriculture Handbook 296, 156 p. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1998, Level III ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omernik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory Map M-1, various scales. Wiken, E., 1986, Terrestrial ecozones of Canada: Ottawa, Environment Canada, Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19, 26 p. Woods, A.J., and Omernik, J.M., 1996, Ecoregions of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Geographer, v. XXXIV, no. 2, p. 3-37. Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., Brown, D.D., and Kiilsgaard, C.W., 1996, Level III and IV Ecoregions of Pennsylvania and the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Ridge and Valley, and the Central Appalachians of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, EPA/600R-96/077, 50 p. Woods, A.J., J.M. Omernik, C.S. Brockman, T.D. Gerber, W.D. Hosteter, and S.H. Azevedo. 1998. Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio. (Map poster). U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. Level III and IV Ecoregions of EPA Region 3 jc/aw //uber2//jobs/j420.alan.reg3//reg3.aml //Cisco/ecoregions_final/EPA Reg3/reg3_eco5_03.ai May 28, 2003

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Page 1: Level III and IV Ecoregions of EPA Region 3extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs... · Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ... These phenomena

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Map Source: USEPA, 2003

1 Coast Range 2 Puget Lowland 3 Willamette Valley 4 Cascades 5 Sierra Nevada 6 Southern and Central California Chaparral and Oak Woodlands 7 Central California Valley 8 Southern California Mountains 9 Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills10 Columbia Plateau11 Blue Mountains12 Snake River Plain13 Central Basin and Range14 Mojave Basin and Range15 Northern Rockies16 Idaho Batholith17 Middle Rockies18 Wyoming Basin19 Wasatch and Uinta Mountains20 Colorado Plateaus21 Southern Rockies22 Arizona/New Mexico Plateau23 Arizona/New Mexico Mountains24 Chihuahuan Deserts25 Western High Plains26 Southwestern Tablelands27 Central Great Plains28 Flint Hills

29 Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains30 Edwards Plateau31 Southern Texas Plains32 Texas Blackland Prairies33 East Central Texas Plains34 Western Gulf Coastal Plain35 South Central Plains36 Ouachita Mountains37 Arkansas Valley38 Boston Mountains39 Ozark Highlands40 Central Irregular Plains41 Canadian Rockies42 Northwestern Glaciated Plains43 Northwestern Great Plains44 Nebraska Sand Hills45 Piedmont46 Northern Glaciated Plains47 Western Corn Belt Plains48 Lake Agassiz Plain49 Northern Minnesota Wetlands50 Northern Lakes and Forests51 North Central Hardwood Forests52 Driftless Area53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains54 Central Corn Belt Plains55 Eastern Corn Belt Plains56 Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains

57 Huron/Erie Lake Plains58 Northeastern Highlands59 Northeastern Coastal Zone60 Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands61 Erie Drift Plain62 North Central Appalachians63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain64 Northern Piedmont65 Southeastern Plains66 Blue Ridge67 Ridge and Valley68 Southwestern Appalachians69 Central Appalachians70 Western Allegheny Plateau71 Interior Plateau72 Interior River Valleys and Hills73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain74 Mississippi Valley Loess Plains75 Southern Coastal Plain76 Southern Florida Coastal Plain77 North Cascades78 Klamath Mountains79 Madrean Archipelago80 Northern Basin and Range81 Sonoran Basin and Range82 Laurentian Plains and Hills83 Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands84 Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens

Level III Ecoregions of the Conterminous United States

Atlant ic

Ocean

ChesapeakeBay

James River

York River

Potom

ac Riv er

Delaware River

Lake Erie

BluestoneLake

Allegheny Reservior

Alle

g heny

Riv

er

RaystownLake

Delawa re R

ive r

James River

Lake Anna

Smith Mountain Lake

Leesville Lake

Gre

enbr

ier R

iver

Roanoke River

New River

New River

Ohio

River

Ohi

o R

iver

Ohio River

Schuykill River

Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

Conemaugh River

PymatuningLake

John H Kerr Reservoir

LakeGaston

Rappahannock River

66

45

63

63

84

64

58

67

62

5860

6261

83

57

5556

56

69

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61c

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67a

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70a

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CANADA

UNITED STATES

OHIO

MICHIGAN

NORTH CAROLINA

VIRGINIA

TENNESSEE

VIRGINIA

VIRGINIAKENTUCKY

MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

MA

RY

LA

ND

DE

LA

WA

RE

NEW JERSEY

PENNSYLVANIA

PENNSYLVANIANEW YORK

PEN

NSY

LVA

NIA

OH

IO

PENNSYLVANIA

MARYLANDWE

ST V

IRG

INIA

PEN

NSY

LVA

NIA

WEST V

IRGIN

IA

MARYLAND

KENTUC

KY

OHIO

WEST V

IRGIN

IA

OHIO

VIRGINIA

WEST VIRGINIA

NEW

JERSEY

DELAW

AR

EWashington D.C.

TrentonHarrisburg

Dover

Columbus

Annapolis

Charleston

Richmond

BinghamtonElmira

Monticello

Erie

Scranton

Warren

Wilkes-Barre

Stroudsburg

Williamsport

Meadville

Franklin

Easton

Cleveland

Toledo

Allentown

Sandusky

Youngstown

New Castle

Lewistown

Reading

Akron

Butler

Norristown

Huntingdon

Indiana

Philadelphia

Beaver

Canton

Carlisle

Lancaster

Pittsburgh

York

New Cumberland

Wilmington

Steubenville

Chambersburg

Marion

Gettysburg

Elkton

Washington

Somerset

Westminster

Wheeling

Hagerstown

Uniontown

Towson

Cambridge

Moundsville

Cumberland

Chestertown

Frederick

Baltimore

Newark

Martinsburg

Morgantown

CharlesTown

Keyser

Gaithersburg

New Martinsville

Kingwood

Romney

Denton

Springfield

Rockville

Fairmont

Winchester

Georgetown

Easton

Grafton

Arlington

Clarksburg

Marietta

Fairfax

FrontRoyal

Philippi

Cambridge

Manassas

Athens

Parkersburg

Salisbury

Chillicothe

Weston

Buckhannon

Elkins

Culpeper

Ripley

Harrisonburg

PointPleasant

Portsmouth

Staunton

Maysville

Summersville

Huntington

Lexington

Madison

Covington

Morehead

Williamsburg

LewisburgBeckley

Hinton

Fincastle

New Castle

Virginia BeachNorfolk

Bedford

Williamson

Princeton

Welch

Pikeville

Christiansburg

Emporia

Pulaski

Hazard

Wytheville

Martinsville

Marion

AbingdonJonesville

Johnstown

Altoona

Lock Haven

StateCollege

Jamestown

Vineland

Lebanon

Aberdeen

St. Charles

Kingsport

Bristol

Mount AiryEdan

Danville

Roanoke Rapids

Roanoke

Petersburg

Charlottesville

Lynchburg

Farmville

Fredericksburg

Tappahannock

Louisa

Buckingham

Sussex

Dinwiddie

Lunenburg

Bowling Green

Smethport

Emporium

Ridgway

Tionesta

Harrisville

Montrose

Laporte

Sunbury

Marlinton

Franklin

Warrenton

Warm Springs

83° 82° 81° 80° 79° 78° 77° 76° 75°

83° 82° 81° 80° 79° 78° 77° 76° 75°

37°

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42°

37°

38°

39°

40°

41°

42°

30 60 mi0

60 120 km01530

10 5

SCALE 1:1 000 000

Albers Equal Area Projection

67 Ridge and Valley67a Northern Limestone/Dolomite Valleys 67b Northern Shale Valleys 67c Northern Sandstone Ridges 67d Northern Dissected Ridges67e Anthracite Subregion67f Southern Limestone/Dolomite Valleys and

Low Rolling Hills67g Southern Shale Valleys 67h Southern Sandstone Ridges67i Southern Dissected Ridges and Knobs

69 Central Appalachians69a Forested Hills and Mountains 69b Uplands and Valleys of Mixed Land Use 69c Greenbriar Karst69d Dissected Appalachian Plateau69e Cumberland Mountain Thrust Block

70 Western Allegheny Plateau70a Permian Hills 70b Monongahela Transition Zone 70c Pittsburgh Low Plateau

83 Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands83a Erie Lake Plain

Level III BoundaryLevel IV Boundary State BoundaryCounty Boundary

45 Piedmont45c Carolina Slate Belt45e Northern Inner Piedmont45f Northern Outer Piedmont45g Triassic Basins

58 Northeastern Highlands58h Reading Prong

60 Northern Appalachian Plateau60a Glaciated Low Plateau60b Northeastern Uplands

61 Erie/Ontario Drift And Lake Plains 61b Mosquito Creek/Pymatuning Lowlands 61c Low Lime Drift Plain

62 North Central Appalachians62a Pocono High Plateau62b Low Poconos 62c Glaciated Allegheny High Plateau 62d Unglaciated Allegheny High Plateau62e Low Catskills

63 Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain63a Delaware River Terraces and Uplands63b Chesapeake-Pamlico Lowlands and Tidal

Marshes63c Swamps and Peatlands63d Virginian Barrier Islands and Coastal

Marshes63e Mid-Atlantic Flatwoods 63f Delmarva Uplands

64 Northern Piedmont 64a Triassic Lowlands64b Diabase and Conglomerate Uplands64c Piedmont Uplands64d Piedmont Limestone/Dolomite Lowlands

65 Southeastern Plains65m Rolling Coastal Plain65n Chesapeake Rolling Coastal Plain

66 Blue Ridge66a Northern Igneous Ridges 66b Northern Sedimentary and

Metasedimentary Ridges 66c New River Plateau66d Southern Crystalline Ridges and Mountains66e Southern Sedimentary Ridges66f Limestone Valleys and Coves

Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources; they are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. Ecoregions are directly applicable to the immediate needs of state agencies, including the development of biological criteria and water quality standards and the establishment of management goals for nonpoint-source pollution. They are also relevant to integrated ecosystem management, an ultimate goal of most federal and state resource management agencies.

The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wiken 1986; Omernik 1987, 1995). These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 52 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group 1997). At level III, the continental United States contains 104 regions (United States Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA],1998). Level IV is a further subdivision of level III ecoregions. Explanations of the methods used to define the USEPA’s ecoregions are given in Omernik (1995), Griffith and others (1994), and Gallant and others (1989).

The level III and IV ecoregion map on this map was compiled at a scale of 1:250,000 and depicts revisions. It revises and subdivides earlier level III ecoregions that were compiled at a smaller scale (USEPA 1998; Omernik 1987). It includes previously published level IV ecoregions (Woods and Omernik, 1996; Woods and others, 1996). It expands level IV coverage to include, for the first time, western West Virginia and the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Compilation of this map was part of a collaborative project with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III Environmental Services Division, the EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), and state environmental resource management agencies from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia.

For additional information, contact James M. Omernik, U.S. EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory (NHEERL), 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333 (phone: 541-754-4458).

PRINCIPAL AUTHORS: Alan J. Woods (Dynamac Corp.), James M. Omernik (USEPA), and Douglas D. Brown (US Forest Service). Map preparation and development of digital files were provided by Jeffrey A. Comstock, Sandra H. Azevedo, M. Frances Faure, and Suzanne M. Pierson (OAO Corp.).

Literature Cited:

Bailey, R.G., Avers, P.E., King, T., and McNab, W.H., eds., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of the United States (map) (supplementary table of map unit descriptions compiled and edited by McNab, W.H. and Bailey, R.G.): Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, scale 1:7,500,000.

Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America - toward a common perspective: Montreal, Quebec, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p.

Gallant, A.L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omernik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M., 1989, Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA/600/3-89/060, 152 p.

Griffith, G.E., J.M. Omernik, and S.H. Azevedo. 1998. Ecoregions of Tennessee. (Map poster). U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Griffith, G.E., Omernik, J.M., Wilton, T.F., and Pierson, S.M., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of Iowa - a framework for water quality assessment and management: The Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science, v. 101, no. 1, p. 5-13.

Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United States (map supplement): Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, no. 1, p. 118-125, scale 1:7,500,000.

Omernik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions-a framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p. 49-62.

U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service, 1981, Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States: Agriculture Handbook 296, 156 p.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1998, Level III ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omernik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory Map M-1, various scales.

Wiken, E., 1986, Terrestrial ecozones of Canada: Ottawa, Environment Canada, Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19, 26 p. Woods, A.J., and Omernik, J.M., 1996, Ecoregions of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Geographer, v. XXXIV, no. 2, p. 3-37.

Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., Brown, D.D., and Kiilsgaard, C.W., 1996, Level III and IV Ecoregions of Pennsylvania and the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Ridge and Valley, and the Central Appalachians of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, EPA/600R-96/077, 50 p.

Woods, A.J., J.M. Omernik, C.S. Brockman, T.D. Gerber, W.D. Hosteter, and S.H. Azevedo. 1998. Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio. (Map poster). U.S.

Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

Level I I I and IV Ecoregions of EPA Region 3

jc/aw //uber2//jobs/j420.alan.reg3//reg3.aml //Cisco/ecoregions_final/EPA Reg3/reg3_eco5_03.ai May 28, 2003