<P> The local Ojibwa and Cree most likely came into contact with the region but did not populate the region due to the harsh, undesirable conditions and poor drainage patterns of the area . When Europeans arrived in the area, The Hudson's Bay Company set up trading posts such as Rankin Inlet, some of which remain populated today . However, these never grew into sizable towns, again because of the poor living conditions and climate . To this day, not all of the lowlands have been properly explored . There are a few small First Nations settlements on the southern shore of Hudson Bay Lowlands at places like Moose Factory, Moosonee, Attawapiskat, and Fort Severn . </P> <P> The region is named after the nearby inland sea, Hudson Bay, the second largest in the world . The entire area drains into the bay through rivers such as the Churchill, Severn, and Attawapiskat . The region is located in the extreme north of Ontario, extending into both Manitoba to the west and Quebec in the east, and covers around 25 percent of Ontario's total land area (approximately 227,400 km). The area was covered in ice during the last ice age, and then flooded as the ice receded, leaving behind plains that are slowly rising out of the ocean due to post-glacial rebound . Peatlands, both bogs and fens now cover much of the landscape, with other kinds of wetlands along rivers and the coast . The climate of the region depends largely on the water surface of the bay, which heats rapidly in the summer, breaking ice and bringing rains to the lowlands . In the winter the bay freezes over again, bringing freezing temperatures and winds . The vegetation is mostly conifer forest and peatland, with typical sub arctic and boreal plants . </P>

Animals that live in the hudson bay lowlands