Measuring 520,000 square kilometres, the Canadian Prairies reach from the Rocky Mountains in Alberta to the Red River valley in Manitoba. Formerly, the area was covered in untouched, natural prairie, ensuring the survival of a rich variety of plants and animals. In southern Manitoba, two kinds of prairie can be seen: tall grass prairie and mixed prairie. A transitional zone, the aspen parkland, lies between the prairie and the boreal forest in the North. Only a handful of small areas of native prairie can still be found today. Agriculture is now the major use of lands in the Prairies, an area that has 60% of the arable land in Canada.