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Coniferous forest (also known by its Russian name, taiga) is dominated by cone-bearing trees, especially pines, firs, and spruces in the northern hemisphere. Many conifers are adapted to cold only a little less severe than in tundra. Tree height ranges from a few feet (a couple of meters) near the tundra boundary or at timberline to over 300 feet (90 m) in more temperate latitudes. Some coniferous woodlands extend into subtropical climates, for example, in the southeastern United States.

In our region coniferous forest occurs in the higher mountain ranges, mostly to the north and east of the Sonoran Desert. Our most widespread coniferous community is Petran Montane (Rocky Mountain) forest, the dominant vegetation of the cold-temperate Rocky Mountains. Its elevation increases southward into Mexico until it is pushed off the tops of the mountains by excessive aridity and warmth. In the mountains west of the Sonoran Desert are isolated islands of Sierran (as in Sierra Nevada) coniferous forest, characterized by different conifer species.