It is a region of vast barren lands and ice caps. it is an area of extreme cold and winter season is very long. Summer periods are very short. Ice and snow cover the ice caps eternally. No melting of ice and snow is possible. Sun's rays here are less effective and hence sunlight is insignificant. Darkness is at large and the life is deprived of sunlight for most of the period of the year. The only beauty in this region is that of the flowering plants which hasten to blossom during the seasons of maximum temperature causing maximum warmth.
Tundra region is located in the Northern hemisphere in the close vicinity of Arctic Ocean. Margins of North America and Eurasia, coast of Greenland and other arctic islands are the part and parcel of the region. Some areas on the coast of Antarctica also are included in this region. Whole of Antarctica excepting a few scattered and fragmented coastal parts and Greenland's interior area are perennially covered with ice and also with them the ocean of North Pole remains continuously frozen. These are known as ice cap regions.
Tundra, is a region of extreme cold. Its temperature during winter are in the neighborhood of 30°F to 40°F. Summers are short and cold have average monthly temperature less than 50°F. This area gets sunshine during summer and that is too for two to three months. Rainfall is only 10 inch throughout the tundra. North and South poles are the only two points on the surface of earth where six months predominantly are of light and other six of darkness. These ice caps also have the lowest annual average temperature on the earth. Even the average of the warmest month does never exceed 32°F. Lacking water vapour, precipitation here is small in amount and is in the form of powdery and dry snow.
This is the land of low coastal plains, high ice plateaus and mountains covered with ice. Greenland covered with ice is a high plateau with elevation of 5000 to 8000 feet. In the vicinity of Eurasia's arctic coast, lie low plateaus and rolling plains. Antarctica in southern hemisphere is the world's largest ice sheet. In this way we find different land forms in this region but of little utility and use to man.
Tundra, despite short summer, shows remarkable wealth of vegetation. Birches, willows, mosses, lichens, sedges, flowering plants and low bushes form the vegetation of the region of Tundra but the ice caps are in real sense, barren. Musk ox, reindeer, caribou, wolf, arctic fox and hare are some of the species of animals found here. In the arctic polar bears, walruses, whales and seals are found. Birds like penguins are found in Antarctica and other species are not lacking. Their migratory character is well-known.
Population in these regions are sparse and mostly nomadic in character as cultivation and other economic activities are practically impossible. Reindeers, pastured on the mosses, lichens and low plants furnish meat, milk and hides. Sled dogs are very useful here as they can pull loads up to a ton and cover a distance of two to four miles. Eskimos are the inhabitants of the tundra region and bank upon hunting and fishing for their subsistence.
The people are gradually coming into contact with the people of the neighboring areas and becoming conscious of their economic interests. Cultural impact is also being felt. In Eurasia several small ports have been made along the coast of Arctic so that shipment of timber, minerals, furs and other commodities be facilitated. Possibilities of expansion and development of these regions are bleak and harshness of nature is repulsive.
The harsh environment does not encourage permanent settlement. The Eskimos of Canada and Alaska, the Lapps of Finland, the Samoyeds and Yakuts of Siberia lead a nomadic life. They live in igloos in winter and tents in summer. Hunting and fishing are their main occupations. They also trade in fur and other animal products.
External contacts have changed the lives of the nomads. Some of them live in permanent wooden houses having all modem amenities. They use boats and modern equipment for fishing. Reindeer farms had been established in the former Soviet Union. Glass houses have been set up for cultivation of in vegetables to meet the needs of local population. Mining oil and gold in Alaska, iron ore in Labrador, nickel in Siberia has resulted in the establishment of mining settlements with adequate transport facilities by land, sea and air. Polar Tundra region has an extremely low population density.
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