Page 203 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

POLAR FRINGE

TUNDRA

The ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctic are fringed
by bleak, almost treeless tundra. In this region, the Sun
barely rises above the horizon in winter, so temperatures
plummet and any water in the ground freezes. But when
summer arrives, it brings almost constant daylight,
warming the ground. The surface layers thaw out and
often turn the ground into waterlogged swamps. Tough
flowering plants that can survive the winter now bloom and
set their seeds, while swarming insects breed in the swamp
pools. These plants and insects attract summer visitors such
as geese, which nest and raise their young, then fly away to
warmer regions as the winter snow starts to fall again.

AROUND THE WORLD

Most of the world’s tundra lies
to the north of the great boreal ARCTIC
forests, all around the Arctic ASIA
Ocean in Alaska, Canada, coastal NORTH EUROPE
Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, AMERICA AFRICA
and Russia. It is scattered in the Equator
Southern Hemisphere, occurring SOUTH AUSTRALASIA
on the fringes of Antarctica and AMERICA
the remote, rocky islands of the
icy Southern Ocean.
ANTARCTICA

WINTER PROWLER
Many animals only visit the
tundra in summer, but a few
stay throughout the bitterly
cold winter. In the north, they
include mouselike lemmings
that live under the snow, safe
from the freezing winds. They
are hunted by predators like
this Arctic fox, which is kept
warm by its thick white winter
fur. Other northern tundra LIVING EARTH
hunters include Arctic wolves
and snowy owls.

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