text: Alpine communities Alpine communities are essentially regions of Arctic tundra, or treeless tundra-like communities. These are restricted to the tops of mountains that reach above the tree line, about 1300 metres (4,265 feet).
  Mountaintops of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island (highest point 1,755 feet) may have minor alpine biota, krumholtz and other aspects, as do many other smaller isolated peaks throughout the region. Full-blown alpine communities are found on Washington and the other White Mountains of New Hampshire and on Mount Katahdin in Maine. Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, vegetatively similar to Maine and New Brunswick, also has extensive treeless uplands—which are rare in the region.
  These tall mountains serve as refugia for arctic plants left over from the retreat of the Laurentide glacier at the end of the last ice age (the Wisconsin glaciation). The truest alpine tundra communities are located on the harsh western and northwestern slopes of tall mountains. The western slopes are typically heath dominated communities composed of plant of the family Ericaceae, changing to grasses and sedges toward the harsher northwestern faces. Common dominant components of the heaths are alpine bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) and mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea).
  Coniferous forests
  Coniferous forests are found in the White Mountain regions and the northern parts of New England Uplands, primarily the middle interior of Maine and northwards and especially in areas between 1300 metres (4,265 feet) and 900 metres (2,953) feet