The Mixedwood plains ecozone (the yellow area of the map to your right) is one of Canada's most productive ecozones because of its great waterways (like the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River), a variety of fertile soils, and a relatively light climate. The Mixedwood plains attracted human settlers from the beginning. Early native societies such as the Mohawk, Iroquois, and Algonquian inhabited the 175 963 square kilometres of the Mixedwood plains before the first Europeans came. As time passed, British settlers established the regions of Niagara, Hamilton and Toronto. Now, after years of changing, the Mixedwood plains is an extremely successful ecozone.