Taiga (pronounce /ˈtaɪgə/, from Turkic or Mongolian) is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway and Russia (especially Siberia), as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States (Northern Minnesota, Michigan, Upstate New York, New Hampshire, and Maine), northern Kazakhstan and Japan (Hokkaidō), the taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In Canada, boreal forest is the term used to refer to the southern part of this biome, while "taiga" is used to describe the more barren northern areas of the Arctic tree line.