The ecoregion to the north on Baffin Island is the Davis Highlands tundra, which receives more than twice as much precipitation (400-600 mm/year).

To the south and east the covered portions of Somerset and Baffin Islands are lowland plains with glacial moraines.

[7][8] While much of the ecoregion is ice or bare rock with very sparse vegetation, up to 68 percent of the cover is moss and lichen.

[5] In the north, only the hardiest cold-tolerant vascular plants can survive, such as sedge (Carex) and cotton grass (Eriophorum).

In a few low-lying, protected areas there can be small stands of Arctic willow (Salix arctica), Dryas species, and low-growing purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia), Kobresia species and arctic poppy (Papaver radicatum).