About half a million square miles of Labrador and Quebec lie in the Arctic and sub-Arctic north of the closed-crown, boreal forest. Although the boundary between the unbroken coniferous forest and the open lichen woodlands has only recently been denned accurately, it has been known for many years to correspond roughly to the 51° 30′ N. parallel except for a northern extension in the east to Lake Melville. This forest zonal division also marked approximately the northern boundary of the province of Quebec until the district of Ungava was incorporated into the province in 1912; in addition it forms the northern limit of logging operations by the pulp industry, and coincides roughly with the southern edge of the lake plateau that dominates the interior of the peninsula. Until the last few years the vast region was inhabited by less that 6000 Eskimos and Indians, a few traders, and, on the Labrador coast, small numbers of fishermen and their families.