This reporting unit includes the Klondike Plateau, Pelly Mountains, Yukon Plateau Central, and Yukon Plateau North ecoregions. Land cover of the central Yukon is primarily coniferous forests and arctic alpine tundra.
The Klondike Plateau includes a portion of the Tintina Trench and is characterized by smooth, unglaciated, rolling topography. Narrow dissected valleys of the Klondike Plateau continue to be the focus of the gold mining activity that began at Dawson City in 1896.
The Pelly Mountain ecoregion includes the Pelly and northern Cassiar mountains. Much of the region lies above the tree line and is characterized by alpine tundra vegetation communities.
The Yukon Plateau Central includes the area from Lake Laberge to Stewart River near Dawson. This region is composed of several groups of rolling hills and plateaus separated by deep, broad valleys. The south-facing grasslands produced by a generally semi-arid climate, and the veneer of volcanic ash over most soil surfaces are unique within boreal forests of Canada. This ecoregion includes the communities of Stewart Crossing, Pelly Crossing and Carmacks as well as the historic settlement of Fort Selkirk.
The Yukon Plateau North includes the Stewart, Macmillan and Pelly plateaus, and the south Selwyn Mountains. The terrain includes rolling uplands, small mountain groups, and level tablelands dissected by deeply-cut, generally broad, U-shaped valleys. The Tintina Trench, a steep-sided valley, traverses the ecoregion. The communities of Keno, Elsa, Mayo, Faro and Ross River are included in this ecoregion.
The entire central Yukon reporting unit has short, warm summers and severely cold winters, although the Pelly Mountains ecoregion is somewhat wetter and may experience midwinter mild spells. Central Yukon is home to a diversity of wildlife including caribou, grizzly and black bear, Dall and Stone sheep, mountain goat, moose, beaver, fox, wolf, coyote, ground squirrel, hare, raven, rock and willow ptarmigan and golden eagle. Salmon spawn in major rivers and streams of the Pelly, Stewart and Yukon basins, and freshwater fish include Arctic grayling, lake trout and whitefish. Many migratory birds, including sandhill cranes, pass over the central Yukon during migration.