What is the Atlantic Coastal Plain?
The Atlantic Coastal Plain was formed at the end of the last glacial period (10,000 to 14,000 years ago) when the sea level was as much as 100 m lower than present day. There was a land bridge between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts and plants likely migrated northwards to southwestern Nova Scotia. See photo left from the National Geographic Data Centre – NOAA which shows what the outline of eastern North America might have looked with a drop in sea level of 110m. As the glaciers melted and the sea level rose the land bridge was submerged and Nova Scotia separated from New England. The Atlantic Coastal Plain exists in southwestern Nova Scotia, around the Great Lakes and extends down the coastline of the USA. There is also a Pacific Coastal Plain. The distribution of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora extends down the eastern coast of the USA with isolated populations in Nova Scotia and the Great Lakes in Ontario. These isolated populations can be called disjunct populations. Some of world’s la
