Snake–Columbia shrub steppe

The Snake–Columbia shrub steppe is an ecoregion defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). This ecoregion receives little precipitation because it is within the rain shadow of the Cascade Range. The ecoregion dominates Washington's western portion of the Columbia Basin. It extends south from the Columbia River along the Deschutes River Basin, expanding to cover most of southeast Oregon, including the Oregon Lakes region. This ecoregion reaches south from Oregon into northern Nevada and the northeast corner of California. It also connects east onto the Snake River Plain, which follows east from Hells Canyon to the continental divide in eastern Idaho.^[2]

Snake–Columbia shrub steppe
Shrub-steppe of Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho
Ecology
Realm	Nearctic
Biome	Deserts and xeric shrublands
Borders	List Blue Mountains forests Cascade Mountains leeward forests Eastern Cascades forests Palouse grasslands South Central Rockies forests
Bird species	207[1]
Mammal species	104[1]
Geography
Area	218,077[2] km2 (84,200 sq mi)
Country	United States
States	Washington Oregon California Idaho Nevada
Climate type	Cold desert (BWk) and cold semi-arid (BSk)
Conservation
Habitat loss	19.112%[1]
Protected	58.45%[1]

Information about this ecoregion is covered by three articles that follow the ecoregion definitions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency:

• Columbia Plateau
• Snake River Plain
• Northern Basin and Range

See also

• List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)

45°N 117°W