Its range covers most of interior Alaska, and extends from the southern Brooks Range to the Chugach Range in Alaska, including the Turnagain Arm and northern half of the Kenai Peninsula, eastward from Norton Sound through the Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, southern Nunavut, and into northwestern Ontario.

It grows in a variety of habitats, from wetlands to ridgetops at altitudes of 100–1,200 m (330–3,940 ft).

The mature bark ranges widely in color, from pure white to red, yellowish, pinkish, or gray.

Bark of twigs, seedlings, and saplings is dark, from reddish to almost black, and covered with resin glands.

Hybrids also occur with American Dwarf Birch, named Betula × uliginosa.