The cold-tolerant white birch grows across most of the American North, from Labrador westward to Alaska.

It is found in interior (var. humilus) and south-central (var. kenaica) Alaska and in all provinces and territories of Canada, except Nunavut, as well as the far northern continental United States. Isolated patches are found as far south as the Hudson Valley of New York and Pennsylvania, northern Connecticut, and Washington.

White birch, any of several species of ornamental and timber trees of the genus Betula (family Betulaceae). The trees are native to cool regions of the Northern Hemisphere and are characterized by white peeling bark.