Polar Regions PDF

Geography of Extreme Environments
Deserts
Polar Regions
The Tropics
Polar Regions
Charles F. Gritzner
South Dakota State University
This book is dedicated with deepest gratitude to H. Jesse Walker,
Louisiana State University Boyd Professor Emeritus, for his half-century of friendship,
encouragement, and support that opened the author’s eyes to the importance of geographic
education and to the fascinating natural environment and cultures of the Arctic.
FRONTIS The Polar Regions, Wet Tropics, and Deserts are highlighted on this map of the
world’s extreme climates.
Polar Regions
Copyright ©2007 by Infobase Publishing
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gritzner, Charles F.
Polar regions / Charles F. Gritzner.
p. cm. — (Geography of extreme environments)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7910-9235-6 (hardcover)
1. Polar regions—Description and travel—Juvenile literature. I. Title.
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Contents
1 Introducing the Polar World 7
2 Weather and Climate 16
3 Snow, Ice, and Frozen Ground 34
4 Landforms and Ecosystems 46
5 Native Peoples 62
6 European Influences 76
7 Contemporary Conditions and Regions 93
8 Future Prospects for the Polar World 109
Historical Geography at a Glance 114

Bibliography 117
Further Reading 118
Index 121
1
Introducing
the Polar World
W elcome to Earth’s last great frontier—the Polar World! Here, in

the “land of the midnight sun,” the human imprint is dwarfed
by nature’s harshness. Located at the “ends of the earth,” the polar
environment is one dominated by bone-chilling cold. Low tem-
perature, more than any other factor, is the agent primarily affecting
the region’s natural landscapes and patterns of human adaptation.
Cold shapes the patterned land, freezes the waters, and creates and
preserves glacial ice. Both plant and animal life must be uniquely
adapted to cold in order to survive the seemingly endless polar win-
ters. Lakes and streams, too, show the influence of past and present
frigid conditions.
Nature presents equally difficult and often unforgiving obstacles
for humans to overcome if they are to survive in the Polar World.
For thousands of years, though, people have inhabited the Arctic
region. Some hardy peoples, such as North America’s Inuit (Eskimo),

Polar Regions
Three Inuit girls play a traditional game during the celebration of

the establishment of Canada’s newest province, Nunavut, on March
31, 1999. Inuit people have adapted well to the Arctic’s harsh
environment by utilizing the resources around them. For example,
caribou hides provide warmth and protection from the elements in
the winter.
learned long ago how to survive—and actually thrive—in this

harsh and seemingly inhospitable environment.
LOCATING THE POLAR WORLD

Strangely, there is little agreement in regard to the name, defi-
nition, or even location of the Polar World. Some writers refer
to the region simply as “the north.” Others prefer “the Arctic.”
Since poles and extreme conditions exist in both hemispheres,
the term polar (world, region, realm, or environment) is gener-
ally used for both areas. The southern continent of Antarctica
will receive little attention in this book, however, because it
Introducing the Polar World
has no native or permanent population and has no economic

significance.
Geographers and others also have identified numer-
ous factors by which the Polar World can be defined. First
and foremost, a region is defined as an area possessing one
or more homogeneous, or uniform, elements. In the Polar
World, of course, the primary element is temperature, but
there are many others. The following descriptions, limited to
the Northern Hemisphere, are often used to define the region.
None of them, alone, is completely satisfactory.
n The Polar World is located poleward of the Arctic Circle.

Perhaps the most commonly used criterion is the Arctic
Circle, that imaginary line surrounding the globe at 66 1/2
degrees north latitude. The line marks the point at which
on at least one day a year the sun will not rise and another
on which it will not set. Within this area, however, tem-
peratures and other conditions vary greatly.
n The Polar World is in the “Frigid Zone.” Early Greek
geographers divided Earth into three zones: torrid, tem-
perate, and frigid. The border between the temperate and
frigid zones is generally placed at 60 degrees north and
south latitude. As you shall see, however, latitude, itself, is
a very unreliable determinant of climatic conditions.
The average temperature of the warmest month in the
n
Polar World falls below 50°F (10°C). Severity of tem-

perature becomes a major environmental factor when the
average temperature of the warmest month falls below
50°F. Vegetation is sparse, water remains in frozen form
much of the year, and other difficult conditions occur.
Temperature alone, however, is inadequate in defining the
region: Extreme cold also occurs at high elevation in the
equatorial zone and elsewhere.
The Polar World contains permafrost. Where winters
n
are long and frigid and summers are short and cool,
ground beneath the surface remains permanently frozen.
10 Polar Regions
Nearly all of the Polar World is underlain by this condi-

tion called permafrost. Permafrost, however, extends far
south of the region’s normal limits, particularly at higher
elevations.
n The Polar World is above the treeline. As you may have
seen on high mountains, there is an upward limit to tree
growth called the “treeline.” This zone, created by low
temperatures in which trees can no longer survive, also
occurs at higher latitudes. It generally coincides with areas
Using a Compass in the Polar World
Does your compass always point to true north or to the North

Pole? Well, that depends! If you stood at the North Pole with
a magnetic compass, it would point south! The North Pole, of
course, is located at 90 degrees north latitude, or “true north.”
A compass needle, however, will point to magnetic north, a
location that is constantly changing. Currently, it is located at
near 83 degrees north latitude and 114 degrees west longi-
tude. To complicate things, it is also moving toward Siberia at
a rate of about 25 miles (40 kilometers) per year.
What does this mean with regard to your compass arrow?
The answer to that question depends on your location. If you
were in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 2005, your compass would point
to both magnetic and true north. You would be on what is
called the agonic line, a roughly north-south line along which
there is no magnetic error. If, on the other hand, you were
in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2005, your compass would point 22
degrees 47 minutes east of true north—quite an error if you
are lost in the taiga! The following Canadian Web site can be
used to determine the precise declination for any location on
Earth’s surface: http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/geomag/apps/mdcal_e
.php.
Introducing the Polar World 11
in which the warmest monthly temperature falls below

50°F (10°C).
All these factors contribute to the uniqueness of the Polar

World, yet none of them by itself completely defines the region.
If considered alone, most would include midlatitude and
even tropical locations, where frigid conditions occur at high
elevations. Straight lines, such as the boundary between the
Greek-defined temperate and frigid zones or the Arctic Circle
Magnetic declination is defined as the difference between true

north (the axis around which the earth rotates) and magnetic north
(the direction the needle of a compass will point). The closer one
is to the poles, the larger the variance in compass readings.
12 Polar Regions
(66 1/2 degrees north latitude) are inadequate determiners.

Too many factors contribute to temperatures and the envi-
ronmental conditions they create. Physical criteria also ignore
people and the ways they have learned to live successfully in
this harsh, remote, and often merciless region. For purposes of
this book, the Polar World is defined in the following terms:
n Living in the Polar World involves cultural adaptation

to severe conditions. It is that part of the world in which
peoples’ way of life must be adapted to severe cold and
other natural conditions, such as the duration of sunlight
and darkness and frozen ground, that occur within the
polar environment.
Cultural ecology—how people culturally adapt to, use,
and change the lands in which they live—has long been a
major focus of geographic research. Understanding these
relationships is one of the geographer’s most important
tasks. Thus defined, most of the Polar World lies north
of 60 degrees north latitude, although there are excep-
tions. It includes all lands surrounding the Arctic Ocean.
Politically, much of Alaska, northern Canada, and all of
Greenland lie within the Polar World, as do portions of
Norway, Sweden, Finland, and all of northern Russia.
(Iceland lies physically within the region but is excluded,
because its population and culture are European.)
Through time, the Polar World has expanded and
contracted. During the ice age, in some places, it extended
southward by several thousand miles. Huge ice sheets
reached as far south in the United States as the present-
day Ohio and Missouri rivers. Today, the Polar World is
shrinking. Evidence suggests that our planet is warming,
particularly in the Arctic region. If this trend continues,
the Polar World will continue to shrink in size.
Most people think of the polar region as the world’s most

remote location. In reality, though, it is the “hub” of the world.
Ninety degrees north latitude, or the North Pole, occupies the

center of the Northern Hemisphere. As can easily be seen on
a globe, about 70 percent of the world’s land area lies north
of the equator. In addition, more than three-fourths of the
world’s population is clustered in the Northern Hemisphere.
As you will learn elsewhere in this book, the polar region plays
a very important role in military strategy, intercontinental air
travel, and even trade and commerce.
MIDLATITUDE PEOPLES
LOOK NORTHWARD
To midlatitude peoples, the Polar World has long been con-
sidered a remote and alien land. The earliest documented
exploration of the Polar Region by Mediterranean Europeans
did not take place until the fourth century b.c. More than a
thousand years ago, Viking voyagers ventured westward across
the North Atlantic, reaching Iceland, Greenland, and eventu-
ally North America. Following Columbus’s voyages, Europeans
began to seek a water route to the riches of the Orient. The
search drew explorers into the Arctic Ocean, where they sought
a route across the “top” of North America and Eurasia (Europe
and Asia). Gradually, other explorers began to provide details
that helped fill in the many blank spots on maps of the Arctic
region. Some were simply adventurers; others came to seek
their fortune in gold or the valuable pelts of fur-bearing ani-
mals. Still others came as missionaries, scientists, and govern-
ment administrators.
Only recently has the region begun to attract permanent
settlers from the warmer midlatitudes in growing numbers.
Some are rugged “loners,” people with a pioneering spirit
who are attracted by the region’s many challenges and the
seclusion offered by its isolation. Most, however, are drawn
by the Polar World’s rich storehouse of natural resources.
Economic development, political integration, and population
growth have brought about many changes within the region.
Throughout most of the Polar World, however, the impact of
14 Polar Regions
Due to its frigid climate, the Polar Region is sparsely inhabited.

Throughout much of its history, the region has largely been inhab-
ited by only Natives and adventure seekers. Because communi-
ties—such as the one pictured here in Alaska—are so isolated,
oftentimes the only way to travel is by floatplane.
outside influences is relatively recent. Alaska did not become

a U.S. territory until 1912 and a state until 1959, and the oil
boom that doubled its population and sent its economy soar-
ing did not get under way until the late 1970s. Today, visitors
to Anchorage, Fairbanks, or other major Alaskan urban cen-
ters would feel as “at home” there as they would in the lower
48 U.S. states.
A LAND OF PROSPECTS
AND PROBLEMS
Most readers, no doubt, are aware of the huge controversy sur-
rounding the rich petroleum and natural gas deposits located
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In essence, the
issue is whether to develop an essential natural resource, or is it
more important to preserve a pristine natural landscape and its
wildlife? It is a conflict being played out with various themes,

scales, and consequences throughout much of the Polar World.
Midlatitude peoples and needs are often in sharp conflict with
local populations, values, and environments. In addition, the
intrusion of foreign peoples and cultures has often resulted
in abrupt and often painful shocks to native peoples and their
traditional culture (way of life).
The polar environment is also being severely threatened.
During the last century, the Soviet Union dumped military
waste, including highly toxic nuclear material, into the Arctic
Ocean. Many fishing grounds, such as Canada’s Grand Banks,
are becoming severely depleted. The huge and majestic blue
whales of northern waters have been hunted to near extinction.
Caribou herds are declining in number throughout northern
America. The greatest threat, however, may come from nature
itself. Warming temperatures during recent decades have intro-
duced what could be devastating changes throughout much of
the Arctic region. This may sound strange to those who live in
the midlatitudes, but you must remember: The Polar World is
a region defined by and well adapted to the cold.
In this book, you will learn about the basic geographic
conditions and patterns of the Polar World. Our investiga-
tion begins with the region’s atmospheric conditions, because
weather and climate dominate all other elements of the envi-
ronment. You will learn about native peoples and how they
have ingeniously adapted to the region’s harsh natural condi-
tions. We will then follow the early European explorers as they
ventured into the Arctic’s “northern mists.” Our trip through
the Polar World would not be complete without visiting pres-
ent-day peoples and the places in which they live. You will have
an opportunity to learn about their social, economic, political,
and other important cultural activities. Finally, we will gaze
into a geographical crystal ball and attempt to get a glimpse
of the region’s future. Put on your warmest clothing, and let
us head northward to begin our journey to and through the
extreme environment of the Polar World!
2
Weather
and Climate
N othing defines the Polar World better than its weather and
climate. Cold, in particular, is the primary control affecting
all other elements of the natural environment. It is also the chief
condition to which humans must adapt if they are to survive in the
region. On a day-by-day basis, weather is constantly changing. Over
periods of time measured by decades and longer, climate remains
quite constant. As you will learn in this chapter, the region is domi-
nated by severe cold, but it also offers occasional surprises.
CLIMATE
Climate is defined as the long-term average condition of the weather
in a particular area; hence, it is somewhat easier to understand and
explain than weather. When considering the Polar World, we nor-
mally think in very general terms. Perhaps the descriptions “severe
cold,” “lots of snow and ice,” and “howling winds” come to mind.
These are average conditions that hold true over long periods of
16
Weather and Climate 17
time and throughout most of the region. By our standards, the

Arctic is often described with such words as cold, bleak, barren,
and monotonous.
Many factors must be taken into consideration when
defining and classifying atmospheric conditions by climate
type. In this book, we will identify three climatic realms into
which all or part of the Polar World falls. It should be noted,
however, that many climatic classifications exist; they are based
on a variety of arbitrarily selected criteria and are identified by
many names.
Polar Ice Cap

The coldest climatic region is the polar ice cap—those areas
where land lies deeply buried beneath glacial ice. Here, frost is
perpetual, and all months have an average temperature below
32°F (0°C). Moisture is scant. This region, believe it or not,
is often called a “polar desert,” because it receives only a few
inches of precipitation each year. During the ice ages of the
Pleistocene era (1.8 million to 10,000 years ago), this climate
expanded far southward, even into the northern interior of
the United States. Today, the island of Greenland and the con-
tinent of Antarctica are the only locations where this climate
occurs. Ice caps are uninhabited, except for a small number of
scientists and government employees.
Subpolar
This region is also called the tundra, named for its scant veg-
etation. The subpolar climate is defined as areas in which at
least one month has an average temperature above 32°F (0°C)
but below 50°F (10°C). Winters are very long and harsh, and
summers are extremely short. It is often said, perhaps only half
jokingly, that “It is always winter up here, but July is bad for
sledding and skiing!” Here, too, annual precipitation is sparse,
amounting to less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) in most
locations. This is the climate of the islands within the Arctic
Ocean and those lands occupying the northernmost fringe
18 Polar Regions
The taiga is a subarctic forest largely made up of needleleaf conif-

erous trees. Much of Alaska, central and northern Canada, inte-
rior northern Eurasia, and Russian Siberia fall within this region.
Pictured here is an aerial view of the Siberian taiga in Russia.
of North America and Eurasia. Although the region has been

home to native cultures for thousands of years, today’s popu-
lation remains very sparse and widely scattered. Midlatitude
peoples have only begun to settle within the region, drawn by
the prospect of wealth from the area’s resources.
Subarctic
This area is also called the taiga, named for the vast boreal
forest that spreads across most of the region and its “humid-
continental short summer.” Here, the coldest month is below
freezing, but the warmest month is above 50°F (10°C). Winters
are long and cold, but summer lasts several months, and tem-
peratures can get surprisingly high. Precipitation varies greatly,
with most locations receiving between 10 and 30 inches
(25 and 75 centimeters). The subarctic covers much of Alaska,

central and northern Canada, and much of interior northern
Eurasia, including most of Russian Siberia. Population is gen-
erally low and widely scattered. In both North America and
Eurasia, some urbanization has occurred based on administra-
tive functions or local economic development.
MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

As is true of all extreme environments, Polar World climates
conjure up many myths and misconceptions. Before consider-
ing the specific controls and conditions, let’s discuss some of
the more widely held beliefs.
Cold, Frozen Wasteland

Only the interior of Greenland and most of Antarctica can cor-
rectly be described as a cold, frozen wasteland. As you will soon
learn, the Polar World has actually recorded higher tempera-
tures than most tropical locations. In fact, many midlatitude
locations experience both lower winter extremes and lower
winter average temperatures than do a number of locations
in the Arctic. The author lives in Brookings, South Dakota
(44 degrees north latitude), and for many years, he traveled
to Alaska in January or February to conduct workshops for
teachers. During about 20 such trips, only once was it colder
in Anchorage (or several other Alaskan communities) than it
was in South Dakota!
Vast Quantities of Snow

The polar region, you will remember, is a “desert,” receiving
fewer than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of precipitation annually,
most of which falls as summer rain. Low amounts of precipi-
tation and high winds actually keep the Arctic surface (par-
ticularly the subpolar climate) snow-free during much of the
winter. It is a popular myth that the Inuit (Eskimo) built snow
igloos because there is so much snow. Nothing could be further
from the truth. If the availability of snow determined the type
20 Polar Regions
of building material used, native peoples in California’s Sierra

Nevada, where some places receive up to 700 inches (1,778
centimeters) of snowfall each winter, would be building igloos!
Roughly one-half of the United States receives more snow each
winter than does anyplace in the Polar World.
Glacial Ice
One popular myth is that glacial ice is found only in polar
regions. Glacial ice forms in those locations where snowfall
accumulation exceeds loss through evaporation and melting.
These conditions, resulting in the formation of glaciers, occur
atop high peaks in tropical Ecuador and at several other loca-
tions on or near the equator.
A Six-month Night
Polar World peoples experience a “six-month night.” The six-
month night (followed by a six-month day) occurs only at
90 degrees north and south latitudes. No one lives at either
pole, of course. In fact, very few people live north of the 75th
parallel. At this latitude, even on the shortest day (December
21 in the Northern Hemisphere), daytime twilight provides
light for most outdoor activities. Admittedly, throughout most
of the Polar World, winter days are very short and nights are
very long.
TEMPERATURE
Many factors combine to determine a location’s temperature
conditions. In the case of the Polar World, several controls
stand out as being particularly influential. The following dis-
cussion focuses upon three aspects of temperature: controls,
conditions, and related phenomena.
Controls
Latitude
The word climate comes from a Greek word meaning “slope.”
In equatorial latitudes, incoming sunlight strikes Earth’s surface
directly. At poleward latitudes, however, it strikes the sloping

surface at an angle. The same amount of incoming solar energy
is concentrated in tropical latitudes, but it is spread over a much
greater area near the poles. This is the primary reason Earth’s
poleward areas are colder.
Duration of Sunlight
As long as the sun is above the horizon, it is heating Earth’s
surface. After it sets, the source of heat is gone, heat radiates
back into space, and cooling begins to occur. With the long
duration of summer sunlight experienced at high latitudes,
temperatures can become surprisingly high (although not in
areas of polar ice cap). The direct opposite can be said for win-
ter cold. You must remember that the sun is always above and
below the horizon for one-half of the year. The difference is
duration. At the equator, the intervals are 12 hours above and
12 hours below the horizon every day of the year. At the poles,
the duration is six consecutive months above the horizon,
followed by six months of darkness. The Arctic and Antarctic
circles (66 1/2 degrees north and south latitudes, respectively)
are the points at which the sun will not rise one day or set one
day during the year. If a location receives 21 hours of sunlight
on a particular date during the summer, it is balanced by 21
hours of darkness six months later during the winter.
Land and Water Distribution

Land heats and cools faster and to greater extremes than does
water. During both summer and winter seasons, air tem-
peratures may vary by 50 or more degrees Fahrenheit (30°C)
during a single day, but a nearby lake or river may experience
little if any change in temperature. The closer a land location
is to a large body of water, the less apt it is to experience high
or low temperature extremes. This can be illustrated by tem-
perature differences at two Alaska locations: Nome (on the
Pacific coast) and Fairbanks (in the interior), both of which lie
at approximately the same latitude (see table on the following
22 Polar Regions
Lowest Highest Extreme Extreme

Location
mo. avg. mo. avg. low high
Nome 6 (–15°C) 51 (11°C) –54 (–48°C) 86 (28°C)
Fairbanks –10 (–23°C) 62 (16°C) –66 (–54°C) 89 (31°C)
page). The impact of land and water on temperatures can be

seen throughout the Polar World. Coldest winter and warmest
summer temperatures occur in continental interiors.
Other Influences
Several other factors influence temperatures on a more local
basis. Ocean currents play a significant role in those areas of
Alaska that face the northern Pacific and the warm Alaska
Current. The same holds true in the North Atlantic, where
southern Greenland, Iceland, and coastal Norway are bathed
by the warm waters of the North Atlantic Drift (the northward
extension of the Gulf Stream).
Elevation also plays a very important role in influencing
temperatures. Under normal conditions, atmospheric tem-
peratures drop about 3.5°F with each 1,000-foot (2°C per 300-
meter) increase in elevation. In the Polar World, however, few
people live in mountains, so this control is of little consequence
in human terms. Mountains do play an important role, how-
ever, in contributing to air drainage. Cold air chilled by high
elevations is denser and therefore heavier than warm air. As a
result, it tends to “flow” (as wind) into lower elevations, where
it “ponds,” just as water does flowing into a basin. Many of the
world’s coldest temperatures, including in the Arctic region,
have been recorded in basins surrounded by mountains.
Surface color also makes a difference in temperatures. A
white surface of ice or snow reflects incoming sunlight back
into space, resulting in lower temperatures. A dark surface
such as bare rock or soil, on the other hand, will absorb sun-
light, resulting in warmer temperatures.
Conditions
As is true within the midlatitudes, as well as in the Arctic, July or
August is usually the warmest month and January or February
the coldest. Summers are very short, and winters are very long
and monotonous. As you would imagine, a number of record
temperature extremes have occurred in the Polar World.
The coldest temperature ever recorded under natural
conditions was an unbelievable 129°F below zero (–89°C) in
Antarctica in July 1983 (remember, seasons are reversed in the
respective hemispheres). Fortunately, no one lives at this loca-
tion! (The freezer in most home refrigerators is set at about
0°F [–17°C].) Verkhoyansk, located in the continental interior
of eastern Siberia (67 degrees north latitude, 133 degrees east
longitude), holds several rather unenviable weather records,
including the possibility of being the world’s coldest inhab-
ited community. For the latter “honor,” it vies with another
Siberian community, Oymyakon, where in 1926 the tempera-
ture dropped to a shivering –96°F (–71.2°C). In Verkhoyansk,
in 1961, however, the temperature unofficially (although
recorded under official conditions) dropped to a tooth-chat-
tering –102°F (–74°C).
At the opposite extreme, Verkhoyansk also once recorded
a temperature of 100°F (40°C). (It should be noted that little
agreement exists on figures for either high or low extremes, so
they should be considered approximate only.) This span gave
the town yet another amazing weather record—a range of
202 degrees Fahrenheit (116°C) between its highest and low-
est temperatures! Monthly averages in Verkhoyansk are also
startling. No inhabited spot on Earth can match the village’s
January temperature average of –59°F (–51°C). (By compari-
son, International Falls, Minnesota, which brags of being “The
Nation’s Ice Box,” has a January average of 2°F [–17°C].) With a
60°F (15°C) July average, the range between warmest and coldest
month in Verkhoyansk is 119°F (67°C)—also a world record!
Verkhoyansk experiences bone-chilling record cold and
amazing temperature extremes because it is located in a low-
24 Polar Regions
elevation basin surrounded by mountains on three sides. Cold

air from the high mountains pours into the valley, where a
community of about 1,800 people is located. It is also located
far inland, well out of reach of any possible temperature-
moderating influence of either the Arctic or Pacific oceans.
Elsewhere in the Polar World, Greenland has experienced a
record low temperature of –87°F (–66°C). Alaska’s record low
is –80°F (–62°C), recorded in 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp,
located along the Alaska pipeline, about 20 miles (32 kilo-
meters) north of the Arctic Circle. This is a scant one degree
warmer than North America’s record low of –81°F (–63°C),
recorded in 1947 at Snag, Yukon, Canada.
“Hot” rarely comes to mind when one thinks about the
Polar World! You must remember, however, the influence of
duration (how long the sun shines) on temperatures. Long
summer days can become quite hot and even miserable to
people accustomed to cold. In Alaska’s Kobuk Desert, located
just north of the Arctic Circle, an unofficial temperature of
109°F (43°C) has been recorded (but, in terms of equipment,
under official conditions). Although rare, Alaska, Canada, and
Siberia have all recorded temperatures in the 90s°F (upper 30s°
C) and some locations have reached 100°F (40°C).
Temperature-related Phenomena
It may surprise you to learn that, for most Polar World natives
winter is the preferred season! The brief summer brings
warmth, but it also brings buzzing swarms of irritating insects
that make life miserable for both man and beast. In addition,
travel can be extremely difficult if not impossible across a
surface covered by mud, thousands of lakes, and numerous
streams after the spring thaw. During the winter season, the
insects are gone, and food is stored from summer hunting and
gathering. Transportation is relatively easy on the frozen earth,
snow, or ice surfaces. This is the season when people gather
to socialize and when settlement is stationary rather than
migratory. When the air is calm, outdoor activities continue
Ice fog is made up of tiny ice crystals caused by car exhaust, which
generally occurs when the temperature dips below 14ºF (–10ºC).
Pictured here is a vehicle driving through ice fog in Fairbanks,
Alaska, during a record-breaking cold snap in January 2006.
until temperatures drop into the –40 to –50°F (–40 to –46°C)

range.
Severely cold temperatures cause rather strange things to
happen. A cup of hot beverage tossed into the air will freeze
before hitting the ground. Metal becomes brittle and can
break. Vehicles are kept running to prevent fuel and oil from
freezing solid. Vehicle exhaust causes dense ice fog that can
cut visibility to almost zero. When a person exhales, breath
instantly freezes into ice crystals. Eyes involuntarily water
and tears freeze instantly. Exposed flesh can freeze in seconds.
In cold, clear, calm weather, sounds such as human voices
or barking dogs can be heard clearly many miles from their
source (be careful what you say!). Temperature inversions
(a layer of cold air underlying upper warmer air) can create
26 Polar Regions
an optical illusion in which distant objects located below the

horizon appear above the horizon. Depth perception, particu-
larly on cloudy or foggy days, is nearly impossible. Snow, ice,
and sky all blend together, resulting in “white-out” conditions.
When this occurs, the horizon vanishes, and even walking can
be difficult.
Many scientists are deeply concerned over the rapid cli-
matic change occurring in the Arctic. Data suggest that the
region is warming twice as quickly as the rest of the planet.
With warming, glaciers melt, ecosystems change, frozen ground
thaws, and many other conditions occur that severely threaten
the environment and human settlement and activity.
PRECIPITATION
Precipitation is any form of falling moisture—rain, snow, hail,
or sleet. Conditions that create hail and sleet rarely if ever occur
in colder portions of the Polar World. Most of the region’s
moisture falls in the form of rain or snow. With regard to Polar
World precipitation, two things stand out. First, and perhaps
surprisingly, half to two-thirds of all precipitation (other than
on the ice caps) falls as summer rain. Most locations receive
very little snow. Second, with the exception of more southerly
regions of the subarctic climate, at least by one definition, the
region is classified as a “desert.”
Controls
Deserts are defined in several ways, only one of which applies
to the Polar World. It is difficult, after all, to believe that a
region with hundreds of thousands of lakes, many huge riv-
ers, and vast snowfields and glaciers could be classified as a
desert!
Most climatologists (scientists who study the atmosphere)
define deserts as locations with a moisture deficit. That is,
not enough moisture is received to make up for the potential
loss through evaporation, thereby leaving conditions very
dry. Certainly this condition does not apply to any portion
of the Polar World. Another definition of deserts, however,

does: regions receiving less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of
precipitation annually. By this definition, nearly all the Polar
World is, indeed, a desert.
At poleward latitudes, precipitation is scant for five rea-
sons. First, because of the region’s constantly cool to cold
temperatures, little moisture evaporates from the surface into
the atmosphere. As a result, the air is quite dry. Second, the
prevailing wind system between 60 and 90 degrees of latitude
is generally northerly; that is, it blows from north to south. As
this occurs, the air warms as it moves southward into lower
latitudes during the summer months. Warming air increases
its moisture-holding capacity, rather than losing its moisture
as precipitation. Third, because of the cold, convectional
thundershowers are rare throughout much of the region. In
this process, heated air rises and is cooled (which is necessary
for precipitation to occur). Convection is responsible for the
summer thundershowers in some warmer inland locations.
Fourth, moisture-bearing warm air masses from the tropics
and subtropics that contribute to precipitation to the middle
latitudes rarely reach the Polar World. Finally, most of the
region is overlain by a semipermanent high-pressure system,
resulting in a very stable atmosphere. (This condition occurs in
the midlatitudes on very clear, calm, crisp winter days.)
Conditions
Although much of the Polar World receives little precipitation,
the amount varies. In portions of the region, only a few inches
of moisture falls each year. The driest location is the interior of
Antarctica, which receives about 2 inches (5 centimeters)—all
of which falls as snow. It should be noted that precipitation
figures are always given in water equivalent, so the “2” figure is
actually the water content of melted snow.
Throughout most of the subpolar region, annual precipi-
tation averages 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters). Barrow,
Alaska, receives on average 4.5 inches (11.5 centimeters) of
28 Polar Regions
F°(C°) in (mm)
86° (30°C) 20 (500)
68° (20°C) 16 (400)
50° (10°C)
12 (300)
32° (0°C)
8 (200)
14° (-10°C)
4 (100)
-4 (-20°C)
-22 (-30°C) 0
J F M A M J J A S O N D
This climograph of Barrow, Alaska, illustrates how light the

yearly precipitation is in North America’s most northern city.
Although January temperatures average –16ºF (–27ºC), the
thermometer can drop to 50 or 60 degrees below zero.
moisture, 60 percent of which falls as summer rain. The city

receives only about 20 inches (50 centimeters) of winter snow.
Most communities in Siberia, including Verkhoyansk, average
about 5 inches (13 centimeters) of precipitation, more than
75 percent of which falls from June through August as rain.
The highest amounts of precipitation (including snow) occur
in warmer areas where evaporation is greater, resulting in the
atmosphere containing more moisture. These conditions are
found on the southern margins of the Subarctic region and
in areas bordering the northern reaches of the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans.
OTHER WEATHER ELEMENTS

AND CONDITIONS
Wind and fog are two atmospheric conditions common to
many, though not all, areas of the Arctic. Antarctica is one of the
windiest places on Earth. Sustained winds of 150 to 200 miles
per hour (250 to 325 kilometers per hour) have been recorded
on the continent. In the North American Arctic, the highest
winds occur in northern and eastern Canada. In Eurasia, they
are most common along the Arctic coastal fringe.
Wind is significant for two primary reasons. First, it com-
bines with temperature to determine the temperature your
body actually feels (see chart on page 31). Second, blowing
snow limits visibility. When the air is cold, snow falls as small,
fine crystals that are easily blown about by even a slight breeze.
When winds exceed 12 to 15 miles per hour (19 to 24 kilome-
ters per hour), surface drifting begins. Higher wind velocities
will create blizzard conditions, in which snow is blown many
feet off the ground. Under such conditions, visibility can drop
to zero. In areas of greatest wind and snow accumulation,
blowing snow can obscure visibility up to 100 days a year.
Fog (a cloud in contact with the ground) also is common
to many areas, particularly those located near water. It occurs
under several conditions. First is the previously mentioned
ice fog, created under conditions of extreme cold and calm
winds. Moisture from vehicle exhausts, chimneys, or industrial
sources immediately freezes, creating a dense fog of minute
ice crystals. In urban areas such as Fairbanks, Alaska, ice fog
is frequent and can reduce visibility to near zero. A second
type is radiation fog (or ground fog), formed when moisture
in air overlying a colder surface condenses (clouds and fog are
forms of condensed moisture). It is most common on cool,
clear, summer nights with little wind. Advection fog is a third
type that is common to the region. Advection refers to the
horizontal movement of air. If warm, moist air moves across
a colder surface, condensation can occur, resulting in fog.
This condition frequently exists along coasts, where warmer
30 Polar Regions
moist air moves inland across the colder land surface. Coastal
Barrow, Alaska, for example, experiences fog an average 210
days a year! Another type of advection fog is “sea smoke,” a
type unique to polar waters. It forms when much colder air
drifts across relatively warm water. In appearance, the low
bank resembles smoke rising from the water.
Dryness and cold greatly slow organic decay. Driftwood
will remain along a shore for decades. Along the treeless Arctic
coast, the availability of driftwood can be a matter of life or
death if needed for fuel, building, or repair. Among native
people, there has long been an unwritten law: If a piece of
driftwood is found above the strand line (the line where waves
deposit debris), it means that someone moved it there. By
custom, the wood is left alone, because it may eventually be
desperately needed by the person who moved it. Meat remains
Determining Wind Chill
As most readers know, freezing temperatures can be quite

pleasant on a clear, calm day. On the other hand, the same
temperature accompanied by a howling wind can create
absolute misery. This condition is known as the “windchill”
temperature, or the temperature your body actually feels.
Windchill is based on a formula that takes into consideration
temperature and wind velocity. For example, if the tempera-
ture is 30°F (–1°C), and the wind is blowing 30 miles per
hour (42 kilometers per hour), it will actually feel like 15°F
(–9.5°C). If you know the wind speed and temperature, you
can use the following chart to determine how cold your body
thinks it is!
* Chart adapted from the National Weather Service. Available online at
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ddc/windchill.php.
31
Weather and Climate
Windchill is the still-air temperature that would have the same cooling effect on exposed human skin as a given
combination of temperature and wind speed. This chart illustrates how cold it actually feels in relation to how hard
the wind is blowing (wind speeds are listed in the far left column).
32 Polar Regions
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, is a common occurrence

in the Polar Regions. The lights are typically seen in the northern
sky when electrons collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere.
Pictured here is the aurora borealis in the sky above Eagle River,
Alaska.
fresh indefinitely. There are even many accounts of woolly

mammoth carcasses—extinct for some 10,000 years—being
discovered buried in ice or frozen ground and the flesh being
fresh and eaten!
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Although not associated with weather and climate, the aurora
borealis, or northern lights, is one of nature’s most spectacular
displays. (The equivalent in the Southern Hemisphere is the
aurora australis.) Occasionally, an aurora is seen in the mid-
latitudes, but it is a common occurrence in the Polar World,
where it may appear more than 300 nights a year. The magnifi-
cent displays most frequently appear as ribbons or curtains of
lights dancing about, high in the heavens. They are often white,
but can appear in nearly any color or variety of colors. For
spectacular views of the aurora and additional information on
the phenomenon, visit the NASA Web site. (For this and other
recommendations, see “Web sites” in the back of this book.)
In the following chapter, you will learn how conditions of the
Polar World’s weather and climate have affected the region’s
hydrosphere—its waters in the form of snow, ice, and frozen
ground.
3
Snow, Ice, and

Frozen Ground
T he primary direct effect of low polar temperatures is the domi-

nance of snow, ice, and permafrost (permanently frozen ground)
on Polar World landscapes. These elements are also of great impor-
tance to people living in the Arctic. People of various cultures recog-
nize and name things that are important to them. Many Americans
recognize frozen moisture by only two words: snow and ice. Each
of these may be labeled, in turn, as one of several subtypes, such as
“slush” and “drift” for snow. Because of their great significance to
native polar cultures, however, a great many different terms are used
to identify and label different conditions of snow and ice. The num-
ber of categories and types, and therefore words, varies by language
and dialect. Some studies suggest that several hundred words exist.
The Inuit, for example, have up to 12 to 15 categories of ice and
snow, further divided into 80 to 100 subtypes. Such numbers, them-
selves, are of little significance. What is important is what they tell us
about the significance of snow and ice to native Arctic cultures.
34
Snow, Ice, and Frozen Ground 35
SNOW
Snow is one of the most conspicuous features of the Arctic
landscape. In places, it covers both land and the frozen sea
throughout much of the year. As you learned in the previ-
ous chapter, its prevalence is not the result of huge amounts
of snowfall. Rather, the scant amount of snow that does fall
remains on the surface for seven to nine months. In most
Arctic locations, snow can fall during every month of the year.
Amazingly, Barrow, Alaska, receives more snow in July than
Thule (located in northwestern Greenland) does in January or
February! In fact, more snow falls during summer than winter
months in Greenland and northern portions of the Canadian
Archipelago (Arctic islands).
Under conditions of extreme cold, much of the snow falls
as needles, or fine crystals. Because of their small size and light
weight, they are more easily blown about than are the larger,
wetter flakes with which most readers are familiar. As a result,
in some areas as much as 75 to 90 percent of the Arctic surface
may be relatively snow-free. Other than in the densely forested
taiga region, deep snow is generally limited to places where
it drifts on the leeward (downwind) side of obstacles or fills
deep depressions. Blizzards (blowing snow) create hazardous
conditions that restrict many human activities in polar lands.
Wind-blown snow creates “white-out” conditions that severely
limit visibility and can cause people to become disoriented
easily. Surfaces tend to be leveled out as snow is swept from
exposed flat surfaces and deposited in depressions. One can
easily step on one of these “snow pits” and immediately sink
out of sight!
Snow accumulations have long been of use to native cul-
tures and others. Where wind action has packed the snow,
giving it a hard surface, the combination of frozen ground,
hardpack (snow), and ice cover is ideal for travel. Such sur-
faces also accommodate aircraft landings. Packed snow has
been used as a building material, best recognized by the Inuit
(Eskimo) igloo. Melted snow provides water for human and
36 Polar Regions
animal consumption. In this context, it should be noted that

humans are unable to provide adequate fluid for their bodies
by melting snow in the mouth. Doing so freezes the oral cavity,
causing pain and severe membrane damage.
ICE
Ice is the dominant surface cover throughout much of the
polar realm. It covers about 6 million square miles (15.5 mil-
lion square kilometers) of Antarctica, Greenland, and scat-
tered smaller areas. The combined land surface covered by
ice is roughly twice that of the combined lower 48 U.S. states.
Ice covers most of the Arctic Ocean throughout the year and
all of it during the winter months. The region’s lakes, rivers,
gulfs, seas, and bays are also ice covered much of the year. Ice
associated with water bodies is formed from the direct freezing
of water. Glacial ice, on the other hand, forms gradually from
compacted snow and over a much longer period of time. In the
following section, ice cover is discussed under three different
categories: glacial ice caps and ice sheets, mountain glaciers,
and sea ice.
Glacial Ice Caps and Ice Sheets

Ice caps and ice sheets (also called continental glaciers) differ
only in size—ice caps being much larger in area and thickness
than the smaller ice sheets. All glacial ice forms from com-
pacted snow. Many readers are familiar with the process in
which a snowball, under further compaction, turns into a ball
of ice. If more snow falls and accumulates than is lost through
melting, runoff, and evaporation, it will begin to accumulate.
As long as the accumulation continues year after year, new
layers are added. Gradually, the weight of the overlying snow
begins to compact lower layers, and glacial ice begins to form.
When less snow falls than is lost to the atmosphere or melt and
runoff, a glacier begins to ablate, or shrink in size.
On four occasions in the geologic past—during the
Pleistocene (ice age) geologic epoch—huge masses of glacial
The Greenland ice cap—the world’s second largest—contains one-

eighth of the world’s ice. In 2006, it was reported that the ice cap
was melting twice as fast as it was in 2001.
ice covered most of the Arctic and all of Antarctica. These

ice caps began retreating approximately 20,000 years ago, but
there are remnants that serve as reminders of this much colder
period of Earth’s history. In fact, in Antarctica, scientists have
drilled ice cores that reveal up to 740,000 years of climatic
history! The largest remnant is the huge Antarctic ice cap,
which covers nearly the entire continent, an area of about 5.4
million square miles (14 million square kilometers). Most of
the thousand or so scientists stationed in Antarctica are there
seeking to unlock the secrets of the world’s largest ice mass and
to better understand its environmental effects. Otherwise, the
continent’s frigid temperatures and ice-covered surfaces form
an inhospitable environment in which no plant or animal life,
or permanent human settlement, has taken root.
38 Polar Regions
In the Northern Hemisphere, Pleistocene ice caps were

centered over northern Canada and Eurasia. From their cen-
ters, they spread to cover vast areas of North America and the
huge Eurasian landmass. In the United States, lobes of glacial
ice crept southward as far as the present-day Ohio and Missouri
river valleys. Acting as giant bulldozers, the relentlessly flowing
ice scoured land, eroding some areas and depositing its till
(glacial debris) elsewhere. This finely pulverized glacial debris
eventually became the parent material from which much of
the rich soil of the U.S. Corn Belt was formed. In both North
America and Eurasia, glacially scoured basins and trenches
were later occupied by hundreds of thousands of lakes, includ-
ing the North America Great Lakes system.
Today, ice caps cover nearly all of Greenland. Smaller ice
sheets occur on some islands of the Canadian Archipelago and
in Iceland. The Columbia Icefield, a 125-square-mile (325-
square-kilometer) ice sheet is the southernmost such feature
in North America. It is tucked away in the Rocky Mountains
of British Columbia, near Jasper National Park.
Glaciers flow, just like water, although at a snail’s pace.
They have a core, or center, usually the point at which the ice
is deepest. Under the weight and pressure of this “ice dome,”
the ice mass moves outward. This process can be illustrated by
pouring a chilled, thick liquid, such as syrup, onto a flat surface
and watching it flow slowly outward. Theoretically, movement
would be outward in all directions and at the same speed. In
reality, however, terrain plays a major role in the direction and
speed of glacial movement. Features such as mountains and
valleys, as well as slope and gravity, influence glacial flow.
When glaciers flow into the sea, large chunks of ice break
off. This process, called calving, is the source of icebergs. These
huge masses of ice are often swept by currents into oceanic
shipping lanes. Just as an ice cube is nearly submerged in a
glass of liquid, so, too, are icebergs submerged in the ocean.
Only about one-eighth of their mass is above water, leav-
ing the rest below and out of sight, as a potential hazard. In
In Greenland, glaciers are increasingly flowing out of the

fjords toward the open sea. The patterns in this glacier indi-
cate that the ice is being pressed away from Greenland and
in the process rivers are appearing in the ice.
1912, the Titanic was sunk in the North Atlantic when it col-
lided with an iceberg that had probably drifted southward
from Greenland. The ship was the largest cruise vessel in the
world at the time and was built to be unsinkable. Sink it did,
40 Polar Regions
however, taking an estimated 1,500 people to a watery grave

on the ocean floor in one of the greatest nonmilitary marine
disasters in history.
Glaciers contain about 75 percent of Earth’s freshwater,
most of which is locked up in the massive ice caps and ice
sheets. Scientists know that during the last ice age, when nearly
one-third of all land was covered by glaciers, sea level was 400
to 450 feet (120 to 140 meters) lower than it is today. Were
the existing glacial ice to melt, the sea level would rise another
estimated 230 feet (70 meters). The results to low-lying settle-
ments, which include most of the world’s great cities, would
be catastrophic. This is just one of the many concerns that
geographers and others have in regard to Earth’s warming
temperatures.
Mountain or Alpine Glaciers

Mountain glaciers, as the name suggests, are glaciers formed
at high elevations. They are also called alpine glaciers, because
scientists first studied these features in Europe’s high Alps.
Unlike ice caps, they are not confined to polar latitudes. In fact,
these smaller glaciers actually occur at high elevations in the
equatorial latitudes! They are formed, however, by the same
processes that create larger glaciers. As snow accumulates, its
increasing weight compacts the layers of snow below, gradu-
ally changing them into glacial ice. If more moisture is received
in the form of snow than is lost to evaporation and melting,
the glacier will grow. If, on the other hand, more moisture is
lost than is received, the glacier will recede. Today, throughout
much of the polar realm and elsewhere, glaciers are receding,
some of them at an alarming rate.
Sea Ice
Sea ice includes all features involving frozen seawater. In terms
of area covered, it is the most widespread: It is composed of
most of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the ocean immediately
surrounding Antarctica. In the Arctic, by late winter, when sea
ice reaches its maximum extent, it creeps southward to about

60 degrees north latitude. Exceptions are found in those areas
of the North Atlantic that are bathed by warm water currents.
During summer months, the ice retreats poleward. Some
areas remain ice covered year-round. These include most of
the Arctic Ocean Basin, the waters off northern Greenland,
and some straits in the northern reaches of the Canadian
Archipelago.
Scientists identify a number of different types of sea ice,
based on the way it is formed. Fast ice (also called shelf ice) is
stationary ice that grows outward from shorelines, as tempera-
tures begin dropping below freezing on a regular basis. Floe
ice consists of detached fragments of floating sea ice. These
floating sheets of thin ice move and may be separated by leads,
or areas of open water. Pack ice (or drift ice) is formed by the
joining of many ice floes, leaving little if any open water. Ice
packs cover large areas, measured by hundreds or even thou-
sands of square miles, and are constantly on the move.
Ice islands are found in both the Arctic and the Antarctic
regions. They are huge masses of floating ice that have broken
away from coastal fast ice or an ice shelf. One ice island, called
“B-15,” broke off from Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf in 2000. Its
surface area is about 4,500 square miles (11,655 square kilo-
meters), slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut. It is
believed to contain enough freshwater to supply the United
States for five years! (Salt is removed from sea ice within a
period of about one year.) Many smaller ice islands are found
in the Arctic Basin. They move with the ocean’s currents at a
rate of about one mile (1.6 kilometers) a day and complete a
circumpolar route in about nine years. Because they are large,
stable, and moving, a number of the ice islands have been used
as scientific research stations by Americans, Russians, and oth-
ers. Finally, there is the polar ice of the central Arctic Ocean.
Smooth ice is easily traversed, which is one reason why
native peoples prefer the winter season. In some locations,
however, particularly near coasts, ice tends to be very rugged
42 Polar Regions
and difficult to traverse. Jagged surfaces are created in several

ways. The most common are tidal action and ice jamming.
Where tidal range is measured in feet, ice is broken into
pieces, which tend to pile up and form a very irregular sur-
face. Elsewhere, ice jams are formed as moving masses of ice
collide. Such terrain, featuring sharp ridges, jumbled masses,
and reaches of open water, can be difficult if not impossible to
cross. At sea, thick ice limits navigation. With rapidly warming
temperatures and ever more powerful icebreaking ships, the
Arctic “Mediterranean” may soon be turned into a valuable
shipping route!
Lake and River Ice

As a percentage of total area covered, the polar region has more
fresh surface water than any other part of the world. On rela-
tively flat terrain, about 40 to 60 percent of the surface is water
covered and in some areas much more. Throughout most of
the region, lakes and rivers remain frozen for 8 to 10 months
of the year. For humans, the smooth ice creates an ideal surface
for travel by dog sled or snowmobile, as well as aircraft take-
offs and landings. Arctic winds tend to keep the ice snow-free,
which further facilitates travel.
PERMAFROST
It seems strange that one of the major problems facing the
Arctic region is the threat of warming temperatures, which
cause frozen ground to thaw. This is the case, though, through-
out nearly the entire region. Within the Polar World (and
beyond), few if any environmental conditions pose a greater
threat than does the loss of permanently frozen ground. As
anyone living in colder areas of the United States or Canada
knows, ground freezes solid during the winter. As winter cold
gradually gives way to warmer springtime temperatures, the
ground begins to thaw. In warm areas, all of the frozen ground
thaws. Where winters are long and extremely cold, and sum-
mers very short, however, only the surface layer thaws, which
creates an upper active layer of earth. Beneath the active layer,

ground remains frozen. This condition of permanently frozen
ground is called permafrost.
Permafrost underlies an estimated 25 percent of Earth’s
land surface. It affects most of Alaska and about half of both
Canada and Russia. It even reaches into the northern Rocky
Mountains, as far south as Colorado. Temperatures and the
length of summer are the chief factors in determining the
thickness of the active layer. Basically, the colder the tempera-
tures and shorter the summer, the thinner the active layer and
the thicker the zone of permafrost. Depending on temperature
conditions, the active layer may be several inches to as much as
10 feet (3 meters) deep. Below the active layer, permafrost can
vary from a few feet in thickness to great depths. In Barrow,
Alaska, permafrost extends to about 1,300 feet (400 meters).
Near Verkhoyansk, Siberia, it is 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) thick.
Distribution of permafrost is continuous in colder areas of the
Arctic. Southward, as conditions warm, its occurrence becomes
discontinuous or sporadic (scattered).
Permafrost influences many conditions, both natural and
human. Trees, for example, cannot take root in a thin active
layer. Permafrost, therefore, is a major factor in determining
the distribution of forests and size of forest trees. Some land-
forms are influenced by permafrost. Many human activities
also are affected by both the permanently frozen ground and
the overlying active layer. Sanitary systems and water sup-
plies, for example, must be built to overcome the problem of
ground that remains frozen throughout the year. On the other
hand, storage rooms cut into the permafrost make wonderful
refrigerators!
Engineered and constructed works are extremely vulner-
able to the alternate freezing and thawing of the ground.
Imagine constructing a building, road, railroad, landing strip,
or other structure on a solid foundation (such as cement or
permanently frozen ground). Obviously, it would be stable.
What happens, though, if these features are built on a surface
44 Polar Regions
A muskeg is a boggy surface of poorly drained land with a heavy

accumulation of organic material. Pictured here is a muskeg in
Yukon Territory, Canada, which is surrounded by spruce trees and
other tundra vegetation.
that thaws out and turns into a mushy, spongy mess during
part of the year? As the active layer thaws, structures begin to
sink into the ooze. Muskeg is the term given to boggy surfaces
of poorly drained land with a heavy accumulation of organic
material. (Because of the cold, organic material decomposes
very slowly in the Arctic.) On such surfaces, transportation
routes begin to heave here and sink there, as the ground begins
to thaw beneath them in places. How can these conditions be
avoided?
Several methods have been developed to minimize per-
mafrost damage to structures. One is to build a large “mat”
upon which light buildings, roadways, or airstrips can then be
built. Another is to remove the active layer all the way down
to the permafrost and replace it with solid material such as
gravel. A third means, most commonly used in building and
bridge construction, is to create a foundation by inserting pil-

ings deeply into the permafrost layer, thereby stabilizing them.
In some instances, the frozen ground is even preserved using
refrigeration. Much of Alaska’s Dalton Highway to Prudhoe
Bay was built over an insulating bed of fiberglass. All these
methods, of course, add greatly to construction time and cost.
In fact, building across permafrost can increase construction
costs fourfold.
If temperatures continue to warm in areas underlain by
permafrost, the active layer will greatly increase in thickness.
Mats will begin to sink beneath the weight of the structures
they support. Rock fill and pilings will be inadequate, as the
permafrost melts away beneath them. Artificially freezing a
greatly expanded active layer will become cost prohibitive. This
is much more than an idle concern of scientists. Remember,
one-fourth of Earth’s surface is underlain by permafrost. This
includes nearly every building, highway, railroad, and air-
strip in Alaska, as well as those in half of Canada and Russia!
Damages and prevention costs easily could amount to hun-
dreds of billions of dollars.
We will return to conditions of snow, ice, and permafrost.
You will learn how they have affected other aspects of the
natural environment and how humans have adapted to these
seemingly harsh natural elements.
4
Landforms
and Ecosystems
A s is true of most other geographic aspects of the Polar World,

the primary agent contributing to the region’s unique land-
forms and ecosystems can be expressed in a single word: tempera-
ture. There are, of course, many other elements at work, but none
comes close to matching low temperatures as the dominant force
shaping the region’s landforms, plant and animal life, soils, and
freshwater features.
LANDFORMS
Landform features range in size from huge continental landmasses
and ocean basins to features as small as the land on which one is
standing. At a continental scale, the Polar World includes Antarctica
and spans the northern portions of North America and Eurasia.
Viewed from above the North Pole, the 5.5-million-square-mile
(15,250,000-square-kilometer) Arctic Ocean Basin is the most
prominent feature; it is also the most centrally located within the
46
Landforms and Ecosystems 47
Arctic region. With an area of about 840,000 square miles

(2,175,000 square kilometers), Greenland is the world’s larg-
est island. Elsewhere, scattered through the North Pacific and
North Atlantic basins and the Arctic Ocean are various island
groups, the largest being the Canadian Archipelago.
Landform Regions
At the next level are features such as mountains, plateaus,
hills, and plains, each of which occurs within the region. The
highest mountain within the Polar World (and all of North
America) is Alaska’s majestic Mount McKinley, or Denali. This
spectacular peak rises 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) above the
surrounding plains, which are near sea level. No mountain in
the world can match its vertical rise from base to peak in such
a close horizontal distance. Several peaks in Alaska’s Brooks
Range exceed 8,000 feet (2,500 meters), the tallest being snow-
and glacier-covered Mount Michelson, with an elevation of
9,239 feet (2,816 meters). Greenland’s highest elevation is atop
12,139-foot (3,700-meter) Mount Gunnbjorn. Like many of
the island’s other peaks, it barely reaches above the island’s
thick blanket of glacial ice. Much of eastern Siberia is a rugged
land of mountains, plateaus, and hills. Although only one peak
barely reaches above 10,000 feet (3,050 meters), the combined
terrain and severe cold make cross-country travel within the
region all but impossible. No road or railroad crosses the area.
Much of the region’s topography is dominated by very flat
plains. The largest is the Western Siberian Lowland, located
just to the east of Russia’s Ural Mountains. Occupying an area
of about one million square miles (2.6 million square kilome-
ters), it is the world’s largest expanse of unbroken lowland and
swamp. Elsewhere, portions of the great North European Plain
extend northward into the Polar World. In North America,
plains cover much of the area around Hudson Bay and also
large expanses of the coastal regions of Alaska and Canada. For
8 to 10 months a year, all land and water surfaces are locked in
the frozen grip of winter. It is during this long season that the
48 Polar Regions
The highest mountain within the Polar World is Mount McKinley, or

Denali, which is located in south-central Alaska’s Denali National
Park. Mount McKinley is North America’s highest mountain at
20,320 feet (6,194 meters) and has the world’s highest vertical
rise (18,000 feet, or 5,486 meters).
plains can be easily traversed by dog sledge, snowmobile, or

other means of Arctic travel.
Effects of Glaciation
Throughout the region, glacial ice has been the primary agent
at work in shaping the land. Huge continental ice masses
tended to level terrain, removing surface material in one loca-
tion, transporting it hundreds if not thousands of miles, and
depositing it in another. Where ice age masses grew to depths
of several miles, the overlying weight of the ice actually forced
the land downward. The basins occupied by Europe’s North
Sea, Asia’s Western Siberian Lowland, and North America’s
Hudson Bay were all formed in this way. As the burden of ice
is removed—over time intervals measured by thousands of
years—the land slowly rises, or “rebounds.”
When deposited, glacial till (rock debris) takes many
forms. Eskers—long, low ridges of sand and gravel—can
snake for many miles across the terrain. Drumlins are smaller
depositional features that are half-egg-shaped in form. Their
highest point indicates the direction from which the glacier
came, and elevation descends in the direction of movement.
On the glacial margins, terminal moraines are formed where
the till is deposited. This unconsolidated material may be very
fine, or it may contain boulders transported hundreds of miles
before they are dumped. These rocks are called glacial errat-
ics. They litter the ground’s surface in the Upper Midwest and
New England, where they pose a great problem to farmers.
Stones must be removed from fields, or they will damage plow-
shares and other equipment. Occasionally, boulders the size
of houses can be found in fields! Lakes and many short rivers
with deranged drainage patterns are among the most obvious
glacial features of the north.
Mountain glaciers, unlike continental ice sheets, tend to
increase relief, or the ruggedness of terrain. Because of their
sculpting action, anyplace in the world where Alpine glaciers
have formed (now or in the past) will show telltale signs of
their chiseling, erosive force. They leave a rugged and dis-
tinctive imprint on the mountainous landscapes they create.
Skiers are familiar with the term bowl, basins in which deep
powder snow often accumulates. Most bowls are cirques, the
pockets shaped by and in which mountain glaciers form. When
cirques form on opposite sides of a mountain ridge, they form
a variety of rugged features. Among the better-known forms
are horns (as the famous Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps), arêtes
(sawtooth-like ridges, as can be seen in Grand Teton National
Park, in Wyoming), and cols (valleys).
From their source, glaciers flow slowly downslope, scour-
ing a U-shaped valley in their path. When they cut below
50 Polar Regions
Glaciers are large bodies of ice that move slowly down a slope or
valley or spread outward on a land surface. This diagram illustrates
some of the main glacial features, including horns, tarns, and
cirques.
streams, hanging valleys are formed—valleys suspended above

the glacial valley floor. Waterfalls often plunge from hanging
valleys into the glacial valley below. (Within the United States,
an example of this feature is the spectacular Bridal Veil Falls,
in Yosemite National Park.) In places, basins are scoured and
water-filled, resulting in what looks like a “string-of-beads”
chain of small tarns, or mountain lakes of glacial origin. As
glaciers move, they pick up till, or eroded rock material. This
till forms moraines along the flanks of the moving ice or, if two
or more glaciers join, within the glacier itself. In places where
mountain glaciers reach the sea, they scour trenches that form
long, narrow, U-shaped valleys into which the sea invades.
These features are the spectacular fjords that in the Northern

Hemisphere add so much to the natural beauty of coastal
Greenland, Norway, and parts of Alaska and Canada.
Patterned Ground
On a much smaller scale, the polar realm is home to some of
the world’s strangest landform features—patterned ground.
From the air or another high vantage point, much of the flat
to gently rolling Arctic land surface appears to be covered
with strange symmetrical forms. They can appear as strips,
lobes, nets, circles, or polygons. In size, the features vary
from a foot across to several hundred feet (1/3 meter to 100
meters) in diameter. Although several forces are involved in
their formation, the action of permafrost and ice, rapidly
changing day-to-night temperatures, and local terrain are
most responsible. Basically, temperature changes cause surface
material to expand and contract. This, in turn, results in the
natural sorting of rock materials by size and the deposition of
different-sized materials in symmetrical shapes. Another fea-
ture unique to the region is the pingo, a rounded hill that can
grow to a height of 200 feet (60 meters) above the surrounding
flat terrain. A pingo can take thousands of years to form. The
features are created by an ice core that grows from the bot-
tom of a former lake, gradually thrusting upward through the
overlying earth material.
PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE

Most plants and animals thrive in hot, moist environments.
For this reason, perhaps 80 percent or more of Earth’s flora and
fauna inhabit humid tropical lands. The distribution of plant
and animal life can be illustrated by a pyramid with its broad
base at the equator and peak at the North Pole. As plants and
animals “climb” the pyramid, their survival becomes increas-
ingly difficult. They encounter environmental barriers, such as
cold, short periods of winter sunlight, aridity, permafrost, and
other limiting factors.
52 Polar Regions
Think of the environment as a series of sieves. Where it is

warm and moist, the sieve has very large mesh, allowing mil-
lions of life-forms to pass through easily. The farther up the
pyramid they move (that is, poleward from the tropical world),
the mesh becomes smaller and smaller. By the time the Polar
World is reached, the mesh is very fine. Only the hardiest life-
forms can pass through and survive in the rigorous polar envi-
ronment. Those that do are in some way uniquely adapted to
the harsh conditions imposed by nature. As you would expect,
of all the world’s large ecosystems, the Polar World has the few-
est number of species.
Flora
Most of the Polar World falls within the tundra ecosystem.
Tundra is a Finnish word meaning “treeless plain” or “barren
land.” Both descriptions are quite appropriate in describing
the region. For midlatitude people accustomed to the vertical
landscape created by woodlands, the Arctic assumes a rather
ominous horizontal dimension. Flat, featureless lands, often
buried beneath a white cover of ice and snow, can easily disori-
ent the traveler. Depth perception becomes difficult. Distances
are all but impossible to measure visually in the absence of
trees or other landmarks.
In locations experiencing perpetual ice cover, only a few
hardy lichens and algae can survive. In some spots where algae
thrive, their coloration creates a condition called “pink snow.”
Where the warmer temperatures of summer allow the surface
to thaw even for a brief period, tundra vegetation springs to
life. In order to survive, however, many environmental handi-
caps must be overcome. The growing season is very short and
cool, and water remains in the frozen state much of the year.
Due to windchill—which affects plants as well as humans—
even above-freezing temperatures can plunge to subfreezing,
killing conditions. Soils, where they exist, are very poor, thin,
and nitrogen-deficient, and are often moisture saturated.
Permafrost limits the depth to which roots can penetrate.
As was illustrated by the sieve analogy, plants do not arrive

and then adapt to the Arctic’s harsh environmental conditions.
Rather, they have undergone a rigorous “survival of the fit-
test” challenge by passing through the series of environmental
“sieves” with mesh of ever-decreasing sizes. In other words,
plants (and animals as well) possessed traits that made their
survival under harsh conditions possible before they reached
the Arctic.
Different plants, of course, have different means of surviv-
ing. Most Arctic plants are small in size and low in stature.
Hugging the ground, they take advantage of surface heat and
also are less vulnerable to the wind’s chilling effect. Some have
small, leathery leaves, or hair-like growth on leaves and stems
that offer some protection from the cold. Many flowering
plants are annuals that burst into life as soon as the surface
begins to thaw and go from seed to seed during a very short
life cycle. As temperatures begin to warm, a carpet of green will
appear. Several weeks later, the carpet will have turned into a
spectacular carpet of blossoms. In a matter of weeks, however,
all evidence of their life cycle will be gone. Seeds can last for
many years, until conditions are right for once again sprouting
to life. In fact, seeds estimated to be more than 10,000 years old
germinated immediately when the silt in which they had been
locked away thawed! Most plants are perennials, struggling
from year to year, in order to survive, grow, and reproduce.
Some woody plants (stunted trees) may be 100 years old, but
have only grown several inches in size.
Despite the region’s rather meager diversity of flora, there
are about 250 species of mosses, 330 varieties of lichens, and an
estimated 800 flowering plants in the North American Arctic
alone. One plant is unique, being the only one capable of sur-
viving in each of the world’s ecosystems (except, of course, the
ice cap). Can you guess what this hardy common yard pest is?
The dandelion! There are also native grasses, low shrubs, and a
few very small and scraggly trees, such as birch and willow, that
grow in warmer, protected spots.
54 Polar Regions
South of the tundra stretches the world’s largest continu-

ous woodland ecosystem, the vast taiga (or boreal forest) of
North America and Eurasia. Most of the taiga lies to the south
of the Polar World, but the region is important to some Arctic
peoples. Needleleaf coniferous evergreen trees, such as pines,
hemlock, spruce, and fir predominate in the North American
taiga. Waxy needles offer some protection against the cold. The
trees’ dark color helps them absorb sunlight for warmth and
also for photosynthesis, essential to plant growth. In Siberia,
deciduous birches and larches (a needleleaf tree that loses its
leaves each fall) are also common.
Trees in the taiga are generally quite small, with thin
trunks, making them of little economic value other than for
pulp and paper. They also grow closer together than do trees
in most forests. Growing in dense stands helps protect the trees
from chilling winds, but it also makes the taiga more vulner-
able to earth-scorching forest fires. Unchecked, fires often rage
for hundreds of miles, consuming everything in their devastat-
ing path. Even fires can have a positive effect, however. They
tend to create open environments into which sunlight can fall.
Here, the secondary growth consists of plants that are ideal for
grazing and browsing animals.
Polar World cultures living in the tundra region are well
adapted to treeless conditions. Along the many rivers that flow
from the taiga forest northward through the tundra on their
way to the Arctic, driftwood becomes available. Throughout
most of the tundra, however, it is scarce, highly prized, and too
valuable to be burned as fuel. Uses include frames for houses,
tents, containers, boats, and sleds. It is also used for tools,
weapons, snow knives (for making igloos), and other small
items. Because of the lack of wood, animals play a vital role in
sustaining native cultures.
Fauna
For many native peoples of the Polar World, the region’s
abundant fauna is the most important natural resource. Land
animals, marine life, and birds provide the means for food,
shelter, fuel, clothing, tools, and weapons. Their importance is
recognized by the key position they hold in several native reli-
gions. Fauna also are the most important contributors to many
folk (traditional) and contemporary (market) economies. In
this section, the emphasis is placed on animal life as an element
of the natural environment. The importance of animal life to
humans is discussed in some detail in the following chapter.
Most Arctic animals are herbivorous (plant eaters). Of the
herbivores, caribou and reindeer are far and away the most
important. Even though they are closely related, they are also
significantly different—North American caribou are wild,
whereas Eurasian reindeer are domesticated. In fact, some
people ride (domesticated) reindeer to hunt (wild) caribou!
Both animals are amazingly well adapted to the Arctic envi-
ronment. In addition to an extremely dense outer coat, they
have a thick layer of fat, which protects them against the cold.
Relative to body size, their hooves are among the largest of any
animal. They function much like snowshoes, helping the ani-
mals easily cross snow- and ice-covered surfaces. The hooves’
hard edges act as blades for digging beneath snow and ice for
lichens and mosses.
Other important herbivores include the musk ox, polar
hare, and lemming. Musk oxen are huge, horned, and buffalo-
like in appearance. A full-grown bull may weigh up to 1,800
pounds (815 kilograms). Despite their name, the animals are
neither oxen nor do they produce musk. These docile giants
have long been valued for their meat, wool, and hides. Because
of their economic importance and the fact that they possess
no fear of humans, musk oxen were at one time nearly extinct.
Today, their numbers are slowly increasing. Large herds
are found on Ellesmere and other islands in the Canadian
Archipelago, and in both Alaska and Greenland. Extensive
research has been conducted on musk oxen at the University
of Alaska in Fairbanks, and, in fact, the university has made
considerable progress in domesticating the animal. If they are
56 Polar Regions
A herd of caribou, or tuktu, as they are called by the Inuit, travel

across the tundra in the Opingivik area of Canada’s Baffin Island.
Caribou are well adapted to the Arctic’s frigid climate: They have a
dense outer coat and a thick layer of fat to keep them warm.
successful, the musk ox would be the only new animal to be

domesticated in more than 2,000 years!
The polar hare is hunted primarily for its heavy fur coat,
which is used in making warm clothing. Lemmings, large ratlike
animals, are important primarily as a source of food for carni-
vores. They are best known for suicidal marches to the sea when
their numbers grow beyond the environment’s ability to pro-
vide for their survival needs. Many other herbivorous animals,
including moose, deer, and elk, inhabit the taiga forest region.
Life in the Arctic is a constant “survival of the fittest.”
Herbivores eat vegetation, carnivores eat herbivores, and
humans are the enemy of both. In addition, cloud-like swarms
of flies, mosquitoes, and gnats feast upon and make life miser-
able for all other life-forms! Wolves, foxes, wolverines, coyotes,
and weasels are among the Arctic’s more common carnivorous

wildlife. Moving southward to the taiga, bears, including the
huge grizzly, become commonplace.
Perhaps the best-known animal of the Arctic is the polar
bear, which, like humans, is omnivorous—it eats both animal
and plant life. Unlike other bears, the polar bear does not
hibernate, although females will dig a snow cave when they
are about to give birth. Unknowingly walking over and fall-
ing through the roof of a snow cave into the den of a female
bear and her cubs is a terrifying (and perhaps fatal) experi-
ence! Bears have a varied diet but feed primarily on seals that
Reindeer and Caribou

All-purpose Animals
Native peoples of the Polar World use nearly all parts of a

reindeer or caribou; nothing goes to waste. The animal’s
flesh is the primary source of food for both people and their
dogs. Fat is also consumed by humans. To an Eskimo child,
eyeballs are a delicacy much as hard candy is to children
from the midlatitudes. Even the rumen, or stomach con-
tents, is consumed. The partially digested reindeer moss,
lichens, and other plants provide the only vegetable material
that is otherwise lacking in the diet of many native people.
Fat is also used for fuel. Skins are used to make clothing,
summer tents, wall coverings, and the shell of kayaks and
other watercraft. The gut is used to make raincoats and win-
dow panes, and to waterproof boots. Tools and weapons are
made from bone and antlers, and bone marrow is considered
a delicacy by many people. Teeth are used as ornaments.
Finally, domesticated reindeer are used in much the same
way as are animal domesticates in the lower latitudes—for
milking, riding, and pulling sleds.
58 Polar Regions
they catch and kill on or near sea ice. Scientists are deeply
concerned about the polar bears’ future. At Churchill, on the
western coast of Canada’s Hudson Bay, ice that is essential to
their hunting is disappearing three to four weeks earlier than it
did several decades ago. Here, the bear population is declining,
and their average weight has dropped by about 15 percent.
Sea life is exceptionally rich in the Polar World. Seals, wal-
rus, and otters have long been prized for their pelts. The seal,
in particular, has been the “staple” for many Arctic peoples.
In a traditional culture, each individual typically would need
about 25 to 30 seals a year. As is the case with caribou and rein-
deer, every bit of the animal is used; none of it goes to waste.
Walruses have been prized for their ivory tusks (now pro-
tected) and their fat, which makes excellent blubber for burn-
ing. Sea otters have excellent pelts, once valued at up to $1,000
each. By the early twentieth century, however, they were nearly
extinct. Today, under protection, their numbers are increasing
in some locations.
Whales have long been a mainstay of coastal peoples,
particularly the gigantic arctic blue. These aquatic giants are
the world’s largest living animal. They can grow to 120 feet
(36 meters) in length and weigh nearly 225 tons (30 times
greater than the largest elephants). No wonder a single whale
could feed and fuel an entire village for a full year! Today,
many whales, including the arctic blue, are endangered species.
Waters of the Polar World teem with fish that provide a dietary
staple for many coastal- and riverside-dwelling peoples. Fish
are eaten fresh (and raw), or preserved by smoking, drying, or
salting.
Hundreds of bird species flock (literally) to the Arctic.
Some remain there throughout the year, but many others are
migratory, traveling from as far south as southern Argentina.
Each spring, countless millions of ducks and geese from mid-
latitude locations—including an estimated 40 percent of all
North American waterfowl—migrate to breeding grounds in
the Arctic. In the autumn, flying in their distinctive V-shaped
flocks, they return southward. The strange-looking ptarmigan

(with feathers on the soles of its feet!) is perhaps the most
important bird for the Arctic’s inhabitants. Its range is the
entire Arctic region, where its flesh and eggs are eaten and its
soft skin is used in sewing garments.
One of the most lasting memories of anyone visiting
the polar realm during summer months will certainly be the
hordes of insects. Huge swarms of ravenous, blood-sucking
mosquitoes, gnawing gnats, and ferocious biting flies make life
absolutely miserable for man and beast alike throughout much
of the region. David Berreby, writing in Discover, described
a “swat test,” in which dead mosquitoes are counted after a
flat-handed swat of some part of the body. His record was an
incredible 270!
WATER FEATURES
About 90 percent of all the world’s lakes occupy basins scoured
by glacial action. It is little wonder that the Polar World has
more lakes than the rest of the world combined. It is also
home to some of the world’s largest rivers—and, yes, contrary
to a common myth, many rivers, including most in the Arctic
region, do flow northward!
If one views them from the air during summer months,
it is apparent that lakes dominate much of the Arctic land-
scape. Some of these freshwater bodies occupy deep basins.
These “great” lakes include Canada’s Great Bear, Great Slave,
Athabasca, and Winnipeg, as well as many of the larger lakes
of Eurasia. Most of these water features, however (hundreds of
thousands of them), are small and shallow. Known as “thaw”
lakes, they occupy slight depressions filled by meltwater from
the active layer of frozen ground, as well as ice and melted
snow.
In most locations, the depressions occupied by these bod-
ies of water would be dry. In the Arctic, however, several condi-
tions combine to retain surface water. First, because permafrost
lies just below the surface, water does not sink deeply into the
60 Polar Regions
ground. Second, stream patterns were deranged by the glaciers

that once blanketed the region. As a result, most streams are
poorly developed and unable to adequately drain the surface.
They flow very short distances, often only from pond to pond.
Third, much of the land is extremely flat, further hindering
runoff. This is true even in those areas where mature streams
flow through to the Arctic Ocean or some other large water
body. Finally, because of low temperatures, very little surface
moisture is evaporated.
Just as it has many lakes, the Polar World also has more
rivers than perhaps anyplace except the humid tropics. Most
of them, as explained earlier, are short. The region does have
some huge streams, however. Many Arctic rivers flow from
south to north, from the wetter taiga across the arid tundra
and into the Arctic Ocean. In North America, the largest is
Canada’s mighty Mackenzie, which in volume ranks among
the continent’s greatest rivers. To the west, the Yukon River
wanders across Alaska before entering the Bering Sea. Three of
the world’s 10 largest rivers (by volume) flow northward across
Siberia and into the Arctic. The Ob and Yenisey rivers drain
the swampy Western Siberian Lowland. Further to the east, in
Yakutia, the Lena flows northward from near Russia’s border
with China, through the world’s coldest inhabited region.
Because of their location, the region’s rivers are of limited
value for hydroelectric development or navigation. They pose
other problems, as well. Flowing from south to north, their
headwaters thaw months before ice and snow melts in the
lower (northern) stream course. As a result, when northward-
flowing water meets the frozen river channel, there is no place
for it go other than to jump the stream’s banks. Vast areas
are flooded annually. Fortunately, little damage results from
the floodwaters, because there is so little human settlement.
Because they flow into the Arctic Ocean, the streams are of
minimal value to navigation, although some local river traffic
does occur. Both hydroelectric potential and navigation are
further hindered by another factor: Because moisture in their
drainage basins is frozen much of the year, up to 90 percent of

the runoff takes place during a two- to three-month period.
Finally, because the south-to-north-flowing streams are very
wide and subject to flooding, they impose a major barrier to
east-west surface travel.
There are many problems related to water in the Arctic.
Perhaps you have heard the old cliché: “Water, water every-
where, but not a drop to drink.” (This is actually a line from the
poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, written in 1797.) For many months, this is true of
the Polar World, where water seems to be everywhere, but in
the form of ice and snow. During the long winter, obtaining
water is a major problem. Groundwater is locked in perma-
frost. Unprotected pipes can freeze. In many locations, there
is little snow to melt, and even where it is, fuel may be scarce.
The human water intake requirement (about 5.5 pints or 2.6
liters per day), however, is about the same in the Arctic as it is
in the midlatitudes. Traditionally, ice or snow must be melted
to provide water for human and animal consumption. In addi-
tion, water in the liquid state must be kept from (re)freezing.
Needless to say, bathing is a rare event for most Arctic natives!
To this point, the book has emphasized the physical aspects
of the polar environment. Our attention now turns to the
human, or cultural aspects of the region’s geographic condi-
tions and patterns. In the next chapter, you will learn about
ancient peoples, traditional cultures, and recent migrants to
the region. Emphasis will focus on how different peoples have
met the environmental challenges and taken advantage of the
opportunities the region offers. First, we will consider those
people who have made this seemingly hostile region their home
for thousands of years—native peoples of the Polar World.
5
Native Peoples
N owhere else on Earth have native peoples adapted to a more

inhospitable and challenging natural environment than in
the Polar World. Here, nature imposes seemingly insurmountable
obstacles to economic survival, mobility, and comfort. And nature
can also be deadly. Below freezing temperatures are uncompromis-
ing; they make finding a suitable shelter an important task. Humans
are biologically adapted to a tropical climate. Our bodies begin to
feel the effects of cold at about 77°F (25°C) and must be protected.
It is not our bodies that allow us to live in the Arctic; rather, it is
culture that is humankind’s “adaptive mechanism.”
Any humans who survive today or in times past in environ-
ments beyond the tropics have done so because of their culture.
Their way of life—including their knowledge, tools, skills, clothing,
housing, and other survival strategies—has made survival possible.
People inhabiting Arctic environments had to be culturally adapted
62
Native Peoples 63
From the time they first arrived in the Siberian Arctic 35,000
years ago, native people have adapted to the region’s harsh condi-
tions. For millennia, Inuit people, such as this man, have been
building igloos to serve as shelters in an environment devoid of any
other building material.
to conditions of severe cold before they occupied the region.

Remarkably, there is evidence that they were able to do so at
least 35,000 years ago, if not earlier. This chapter focuses pri-
marily on the traditional ways of life practiced by Polar World
peoples. In this context, it is important to remember that
today, for most native cultures, their traditional lifestyle is little
more than a distant memory.
THE ICE AGE AND EARLY HUMANS

Archaeological evidence from Europe suggests that humans
lived at the margins of ice age glaciers tens if not hundreds
of thousands of years ago. This suggests that they had control
of fire, adequate protective clothing and footwear, suitable
64 Polar Regions
housing, and a means of subsistence that was well adapted to

extreme cold. Recently, archaeologists discovered some star-
tling evidence near the mouth of the Yana River in eastern
Siberia. Here, hugging the frigid Arctic coast, human arti-
facts were found and dated to some 35,000 years ago. This,
of course, comes as a great shock to anyone inclined to think
of early humans as being “primitive.” “Knowledge,” it can be
said, is “learning for living.” These peoples were living on the
fringe of the inhabitable world; in what is today Earth’s coldest
inhabited region. In order to survive, they had to have a keen
understanding of the environment and its resources. They also
had to possess knowledge and skills that made their survival
possible under conditions of severe cold.
OLD WORLD–NEW WORLD EXCHANGES

As you learned in Chapter 3, during the ice age, global sea
level was an estimated 400 to 450 feet (120 to 140 meters)
lower than it is today. As ocean levels dropped, a corridor of
land 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) wide—today the floor of
the Bering Sea—joined Asia and North America. This span
of then-dry land formed what scientists call the Bering Strait
Land Bridge, or Beringia. This was the route taken by many
animals migrating between Eurasia and the Americas. Many
scientists also believe it was the route taken by early humans
migrating to the Americas.
It is certain that the first people to occupy the Americas
came from elsewhere. Decades ago, archaeologists and other
scientists thought they knew who these early people were and
where they came from. They also believed that they knew how
and by what route they traveled to their new homeland and
even when they arrived. It was believed that Asian peoples, in
pursuit of large game animals, crossed Beringia into present-
day Alaska. Then, heading southward, they passed through a
very narrow ice-free corridor, 1,200 to 1,500 miles (1,900 to
2,400 kilometers) in length, located between two huge masses
of glacial ice that then covered much of northern North
Native Peoples 65
America. Finally, they supposedly reached the southwestern

United States some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.
Now, many archaeologists, geographers, and others are
shaking their heads in bewilderment. As more and more
evidence is gathered, the origin of the earliest Americans has
become a gigantic question mark. In fact, it ranks as one of the
great unanswered social science mysteries of our time. Some
archaeological finds suggest, for example, that the earliest
Americans may have come from various areas. Northeastern
Siberia, of course, remains the primary source region, but
points of origin in Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia, Europe,
and even Africa also have been suggested!
In regard to the Beringia route and ice-free corridor
theory, some scientists now suggest that this route would have
been far too cold and inhospitable for human migration. Some
even question the existence of the proposed (but never proved)
ice-free corridor. Rather, they believe a coastal route may have
been followed. With sea levels lowered, the broad continental
shelf (land gradually sloping away from continental land-
masses and now beneath water) was exposed. People simply
could have walked between Asia and North America following
the Pacific coast.
The coastal-route theory has much in its favor. Conditions
would have been much warmer, with temperatures near or
above freezing because of warm ocean currents (currents simi-
lar to today’s Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift that bathe
northwestern Europe with warm water). Food would have been
plentiful from both land and sea. Ample supplies of driftwood
would have been available for fuel, making tools and weapons,
constructing shelters, and even building boats or rafts needed
to get around glacial lobes that reached the sea. A few scien-
tists even believe that at least some of the earliest Americans
may have come by boat! (If this sounds far-fetched, you must
remember that Australia was inhabited perhaps 50,000 years
ago, requiring at least some travel across open sea.) Even when
the first Americans arrived is now a hotly debated question.
66 Polar Regions
Various “guesstimates” based on the scientific interpretation of

evidence place the earliest arrivals at any time between 12,000
to 100,000 years ago!
Perhaps we will never know the full story of the earliest
Americans. In fact, other than being of scientific interest, the
answer really is unimportant. It is probable that some arrivals
came by way of routes other than Beringia and were of several
racial groups other than Asian Mongoloid peoples. What is
quite certain is that the great majority of early American peoples
did come from eastern Asia. And the route they took at least
touched upon today’s Polar World. This, of course, suggests that,
from the very dawn of settlement, the new arrivals possessed
survival strategies that made it possible to live in the Arctic.
Several things can be said with some certainty about the
earliest Americans, including those of the Arctic region. When
Europeans arrived on the shores of what to them was a New
World, they reached a land that had been “discovered” and
settled many thousands of years earlier. That population, it is
widely believed, was dominantly East Asian in terms of physical
characteristics and geographical origin. The ways of life prac-
ticed by the native peoples varied greatly in terms of language,
economic activity, housing and dress, and many other aspects
of culture. Levels of cultural attainment ranged from well-
organized, high-level “civilizations,” to small groups of isolated
peoples who possessed a very meager level of material culture.
POLAR WORLD CULTURES

The Polar World is home to an estimated 200,000 to 250,000
native peoples. Although they had much in common, differ-
ences also existed in the traditional cultures practiced from
place to place. Emphasis here focuses upon these traditional
ways of living.
Confusion in Names
Polar World peoples recognize themselves by many names,
both collectively and as individual (tribal) groups. In the
Native Peoples 67
The Sami people are indigenous to northern areas of Sweden,

Finland, and Norway, and the Lola Peninsula of Russia. They tra-
ditionally led nomadic lifestyles in which they engaged in such
occupations as reindeer herding, hunting, fishing, and trapping,
but today many Samis lead modern lives.
American Arctic, names such as “Eskimo” and “Indian,” for

example, are widely recognized and used. In Eurasia, “Lapps”
and “Reindeer People” are common. These are not the names
by which these people identified themselves, however. Eskimo
is a corruption of the French word for “eaters of raw meat,”
and Indian is derived from one of the great geographical errors
of all time—Columbus’s belief that he had reached the East
Indies. Today, many native cultures worldwide, including those
in the Arctic, are returning to the use of their own original
names, and this can be confusing.
In Alaska, Eskimo appears to be acceptable, although
certainly not by all members of the ethnic group. In Canada,
68 Polar Regions
however, Inuit is preferred and in Greenland, Kalaallit.

Throughout their realm, Eskimo peoples also are recognized
by many local names. Indians, as a group, may be identified as
Native Americans, First Americans, or First Nations (preferred
in Canada). Individual tribes, too, often have several names.
In northern Scandinavia, for example, the Lapps now prefer
to be called Sami. The terms used throughout this book are
those most widely recognized and also those used by the U.S.
Census Bureau.
Unique Characteristics
Traditional Polar World cultures are unique in several very
important ways. First, few of the world’s peoples live in greater
isolation. Several groups, when first contacted by outsiders,
were shocked—they assumed that they were the only people on
Earth! Second, isolation contributed to relative cultural unifor-
mity. Very few new ideas or material traits reached Polar World
peoples from other cultures until quite recently. Third, because
of the lack of diffusion—the flow of outside ideas—native
cultures had to be extremely innovative. They had to develop
survival strategies that allowed them to live in the harsh Arctic
environment. Finally, people of the realm identified and used a
resource base much different than that of midlatitude peoples.
Many resources that we take for granted—iron ore, coal, petro-
leum, and other minerals, for example—were not used at all.
Conversely, the resources upon which these people depended,
such as ice, snow, driftwood, and all parts of many animals, are
not things upon which we depend for our survival.
Common to all traditional Polar World people is a great
dependence on animal life. Animals provide food, clothing,
shelter, tools, weapons, and mobility. The sledge, pulled by
dogs in North America and reindeer in much of Eurasia, is
used for travel throughout the region. Because they depend
upon animals (hunted in North America and both herded and
hunted in Eurasia), most cultures are nomadic. Rather than
wandering aimlessly, nomads follow well-established routes
Native Peoples 69
on a seasonal basis. Because they move frequently, shelters are

generally crude and temporary. They may be made of earth,
stone, wood (where available), animal hides, snow, or a com-
bination of materials. As is true of other nomadic peoples,
material possessions are few. Socially and economically, many
groups practice a form of communal living. People take care of
one another and if someone is in need, help is never far away.
Everyone is pretty much alike in terms of “wealth.” There are
no “rich” and “poor” in traditional Polar World societies. In
most instances, even leadership is fluid. A skilled hunter will
be looked to for leadership during a hunt and a skilled builder
may be called upon to direct the building of a new settlement.
Despite the many similarities in Polar World cultures, there
also are some sharp differences. Geographically, the primary
division is between the North American and Eurasian peoples.
Although they occupy quite similar natural environments, the
way the respective groups use their land and resources varies
greatly. Eskimo (Inuit) and Aleut peoples depend primarily on
marine life, whales, sea mammals, and fish. Hence, their settle-
ments tend to cling to coastal areas. In Eurasia, on the other
hand, people are reindeer herders and hunters of land animals.
Their economic base and settlements are most often found
inland, including in the northern taiga.
North American Polar Peoples

The North American Arctic is home to a number of different
cultures; the best known is the Eskimo (Inuit). Others include
the Aleut and Indians. Some 8,000 Aleuts, a hunting, fish-
ing, and gathering people, live in settlements scattered across
the 1,100-mile (1,800-kilometer) chain of Aleutian Islands.
Athabaskan Indians occupy portions of northern Alaska and
northwestern and north-central Canada. These First Tribes
people share ancient linguistic roots but are now divided
into many subgroups, such as the Gwich’in. These people live
inland, on the southern margin of the tundra and in the taiga
forest. They depend primarily on hunting caribou for their
70 Polar Regions
livelihood. The Eskimo are far and away the most numerous,
widely distributed, and best known of the North American
Arctic native peoples.
The Eskimo
Eskimo, or Inuit, culture is recognized by its relatively uni-
form language, dependence on marine resources, and coastal
residence. One must use caution, however, in stereotyping
an “Eskimo.” The image that no doubt comes to mind is of a
person living in a snow igloo, wearing a fur-fringed parka, and
traveling by kayak or dog sled. He is an avid and skilled hunter
who uses a harpoon to catch seals, whales, and other mam-
mals. Great pleasure is derived from eating blubber (could
this be the origin of our slang expression “chewing the fat” for
social conversation?) and raw meat. This composite Eskimo,
however, never existed. These images are a collection of traits
taken from throughout the Eskimo realm. Most Eskimos, for
example, never built or even saw an igloo!
In terms of their range and settlement, Eskimos are some-
what unique among the world’s native cultures. They occupied
an area greater than that of any other New World aboriginal
(first) peoples and in areal extent, they were exceeded only
by the Polynesian peoples of the Pacific Basin. Their territory
extends from the eastern tip of Siberia to eastern Greenland—
one-third the distance around the world! Eskimo villages in
northern Greenland are the world’s most northerly permanent
habitations. Southward, their settlements also are scattered
along the Labrador coast. Yet within this vast expanse, the total
area actually occupied is quite small. You will recall that much
of the interior is relatively inhospitable because of surface
water, swamps and marshes, insects, and other limiting factors.
Most settlements, therefore, are along the coast, leaving much
of the interior vacant.
In many respects, Eskimos were inventive geniuses. Few if
any traditional cultures can match their innovative skills. The
snow igloo is an architectural marvel based on the principle
Native Peoples 71
of the vaulted dome. Imagine taking snow to build a struc-

ture that is warm, comfortable, durable, and relatively easy to
construct! Much of our warm, lightweight, comfortable winter
wear—including headgear, clothing, gloves, and footwear—was
copied directly from what the Eskimos have made and worn
for millennia. Their secret was to use two layers of material
separated by duck down, thereby allowing air to serve as insu-
lation against the cold. The sturdy Eskimo kayak has become
a popular recreational and sport watercraft, and the effective-
ness of their dog-pulled sleds is illustrated each year in Alaska’s
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome (see
sidebar on the next page). Many polar explorers were successful
only after they adopted Eskimo cultural practices, including use
of dog sleds, clothing, diet, and other traits.
The Eskimo diet consists almost entirely of raw meat and
fat. Nutritionists are amazed that such a diet can be so healthy.
Eskimo hunting strategies rank among the world’s most effec-
tive. Their harpoon, used in hunting walruses, seals, and small
whales, has been called the world’s finest aboriginal weapon.
It consists of a detachable spear and shaft, both of which are
linked by long leather “ropes” to inflated animal bladders.
When the harpoon becomes imbedded in the animal, it sepa-
rates from the shaft. The float not only tires the struggling and
weakened animal but also keeps it from going under water.
Whereas marine life is the Eskimo mainstay, some groups
do occasionally venture inland to hunt caribou. With such
extremes between summer and winter, it is not surprising that
Eskimo society and culture are in tune to seasonal changes.
The amount of light, surface conditions, and the availability of
game are all factors that influence their activities.
During the cold, dark winter, most Eskimos can be found
in small coastal settlements. Winter is the preferred season.
It is a time of eating, sleeping, and socializing. Travel is easy
across the frozen surface, and the hordes of summer insects
are but a distant memory. The arrival of spring, despite its
environmental problems, is greatly anticipated. At that point,
72 Polar Regions
food supplies are becoming scarce, and various forms of

marine life (walruses, seals, and whales) begin to appear in
the cracks of open water that now can be seen between slabs
of retreating sea ice. Migratory birds arrive, and their eggs are
a delicacy that breaks the monotony of a diet based on raw
Alaska’s Iditarod
The “Last Great Race on Earth”
Imagine traveling 1,150 (average) miles (1,850 kilome-

ters)—the distance between Orlando, Florida, and Chicago,
Illinois—with a sled pulled by 12 to 16 dogs. Depending on
conditions, you must make the trip in as little as 9 or 10 days.
Your journey takes you across some of the world’s most diffi-
cult terrain. Between Anchorage and your destination in Nome,
you will pass through dense taiga forests, cross rugged moun-
tain passes, and pick your way through the wooden skeletons
of burned forest. Eventually, you reach the desolate tundra.
Along your route are a few small native villages. Temperatures
during the trip may drop far below zero. Howling winds add to
your misery, with their chilling effect and blinding blizzards.
Much of your trip is made in darkness. Your body and mind are
numb from lack of sleep. No wonder the Iditarod is called the
“Last Great Race on Earth”!
In addition to being the world’s most grueling competitive
event, it is unique in another way: Women and men compete
on even terms, and women have won on a number of occa-
sions. The mushers come from all walks of life. There are doc-
tors and lawyers, as well as loggers, miners, and fishermen.
The youngest person to participate was 18 and the oldest 86.
Whether male or female, young or old, winner or loser, the
race pits mushers and their dog teams against nature’s worst
and Alaska’s best. It is a wonderful tribute to the endurance of
Native Peoples 73
meat and fat. This is a time for gathering driftwood. Men will
often travel inland to hunt musk ox and caribou. Later, as
autumn’s chill and darkness descend upon the land, people
once again settle in for the long winter. Their new village may
be many miles removed from the previous winter’s site. Only
humans and their faithful dogs and to the competitive human

spirit. For more information on the Iditarod, see the official
Web site: http://www.iditarod.com
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is held each year in March and is
billed as the “Last Great Race.” The race, which starts in Anchorage
and ends up in Nome, Alaska, covers 1,150 miles and competitors
cross mountains, forest, tundra, and frozen rivers in hopes of claim-
ing a piece of the $750,000 prize. Pictured here is Bill Pinkham of
Colorado leading his team of dogs during the 2005 Iditarod.
74 Polar Regions
recently have the Eskimo begun living in permanently settled

communities.
EURASIAN PEOPLES
Native peoples of the Eurasian Arctic are rather loosely orga-
nized into numerous tribes that speak diverse languages.
Essentially, they are unified by two factors: dependence on
reindeer and avoidance of the coastal region. Most groups
migrate seasonally between the taiga forest and the treeless
tundra. Among the better-known groups, from west to east, are
the Sami (Lapps) of northern Scandinavia and adjacent areas
of Russia; Nenet (Samoyed) of northern Europe and Russia;
Evenk (Tungus), Yakut (Sakha) and Yukaghir (Odul) of north-
ern Siberia; and the Chukchi, who occupy far eastern Siberia,
across the Bering Strait from Alaska. Because of racial and
ethnic mixing, it is difficult to know how many native peoples
remain in Eurasia today. What is known is that the number is
very small, and they occupy a huge, desolate, and frigid land.
Population densities are among the lowest in the world.
For all these peoples, traditional culture revolved around
the reindeer. These animals were first domesticated from the
wild caribou of northern Eurasia several thousand years ago.
The idea of domestication and use of domesticated animals
is believed to have diffused northward from horse and cattle
breeders and herders of Central Asia. In the west, the Samis
have fully domesticated and tamed the reindeer. The animal
provides milk and meat. It is used to pull sleds and also serves
as a pack animal. It is even ridden by humans.
Reindeer have a considerable advantage over dogs. They
can graze, whereas dogs must be fed; they can travel over more
rugged surfaces and in worse weather; and in an emergency,
part of the team can be eaten! A full-grown reindeer can carry
up to about 150 pounds (68 kilograms) and cover a distance
of 50 miles (80 kilometers) in one day. In north-central Asia,
the reindeer is domesticated but is used only to pull sleds and
as a source of meat. Eastern tribes have not fully utilized the
Native Peoples 75
animals. Here, reindeer are semiwild and only hunted as much

as are the caribou of the American Arctic.
Reindeer migrate, often hundreds of miles, and most Asian
Arctic peoples follow these migrations. The winter months find
them in the sheltered environment of the taiga forest. These
peoples’ shelter, often a tent or crude pit house dug into the
earth and covered with animal skins, may seem ill-suited to
the region’s frigid temperatures. In the taiga, though, they have
ample wood for fuel, as well as for building and carving. During
the spring and summer, the herds migrate northward onto the
open plains of the tundra. They are followed, of course, by
hunters. Late in the summer, roots, tubers, and berries can be
gathered—a welcome change to a nearly all-meat diet.
The ways of living described in this chapter are but a
distant memory to most Polar World cultures. Midlatitude
peoples began arriving in their remote homelands at various
times in history and for a variety of reasons. Some native peo-
ples have all but given up their traditional culture. Others cling
to a way of life that they fear will be lost forever if the ways
of midlatitude people are adopted. Today, this clash between
past and present results in a collision between traditional and
modern values and lifestyles that reverberates throughout the
polar realm. In the following chapter, the arrival of midlatitude
peoples is highlighted.
6
European
Influences
W ith but few exceptions, the Polar World was a “last frontier”
for exploration, settlement, and exploitation by people of
European culture. Even today, most of the region lacks a signifi-
cant European presence, as indicated by population, landscape, or
cultural imprint. In fact, much of the region has never been seen
(from the surface) by nonnative eyes. Most contact between natives
and outsiders has been during the past century. Because of these
encounters, however, many native cultures are undergoing rapid—
and often extremely painful—changes.
Europeans have come to the Arctic for many reasons. The first
were the fearless explorers who ventured northward into cold,
uncharted lands. They were followed by fishermen, trappers, mis-
sionaries, and traders. Miners were attracted by the lure of mineral
wealth in some areas. Finally, scientists, adventurers, government
officials (including military), and a few permanent settlers were
drawn to the remote and frigid Arctic region. This chapter discusses
76
European Influences 77
the history, nature, and consequences of European influ-

ence within the Polar World. (In this and subsequent chap-
ters, “European” refers to nonnative Polar World peoples of
European culture, including Canadians and Americans.)
EUROPEAN CONTACTS
Pytheas of Massilia (c. 325 b.c.)
No one knows for sure who the first Europeans to reach the
Polar World were or, for that matter, when or where the earliest
contact occurred. The first documented account of European
travel to the Arctic region, however, is that of a Greek venturer,
Pytheas of Massilia. In about 325 b.c., Pytheas traveled north-
ward, to a land he called “Thule.” Historical geographers are
uncertain of the exact route he took, or the location of Thule.
He described a place six sailing days north of Britain that was
located one sailing day from the “frozen sea.” The area was
described as being neither land, nor sea, nor air, but a blend
of them, like a “sea lung” in which land and sea floated. He
reported that north of Thule, there was no darkness during the
summer months and no light during the winter.
Many Greeks (and later historians) doubted Pytheas’s
claims. Mediterranean peoples, after all, were totally unfamiliar
with Arctic conditions. The very they most questioned, though,
are those that now lend support to his account. Certainly, his
description of conditions in which land, sea, and air blend
together is very typical of fogbound, snow- and ice-covered
northern land and water surfaces. Anyone who has ever seen
surf rolling beneath a water surface of floating pieces of ice can
easily identify the source of the sea lung. As the ice-covered
water surface rises and falls with each passing wave, it gives the
appearance of “breathing.” And Pytheas’s account of the sum-
mer sunlight and winter darkness certainly describes condi-
tions in the far north. Many scholars now believe that Pytheas’s
travels took him to coastal Norway, in the vicinity of the Arctic
Circle. Although the exact location of Pytheas’s Thule remains
shrouded in mystery, the name lives on. Thule Air Force Base in
78 Polar Regions
northwestern Greenland, a U.S. military installation, is home to

the world’s largest satellite tracking facility.
Vikings (Ninth to Eleventh Centuries)

The next documented European explorers and settlers in the
Polar World were the Vikings from Scandinavia. These brave
Did a Bull Change History?
According to Viking sagas (stories), a group of about 160

Viking men and women from the Greenland settlement arrived
in Vineland (what is probably now Newfoundland) during the
summer of 1003. Here, under the leadership of Thorfinn
Karlsefni, they founded a small settlement they named Hop.
The Norse were quite happy to escape the cold, barren, deso-
late coasts of Greenland and settle in a land teeming with
wildlife, timber, and freshwater. According to the sagas, they
intended to create a permanent settlement that would eventu-
ally grow into a larger colony in this new land that offered such
great abundance. With permanence in mind, they even brought
livestock—including a bull owned by Karlsefni. And here
unfolds one of history’s strangest events!
Soon after their arrival, the Vikings began trading with a
group of people they called Scraelings. The relationship went
well until one day Karlsefni’s bull suddenly charged from the
forest. The Scraelings, who of course had never seen cattle,
were terrified of this huge, strange, enraged beast and fled in
terror. Soon thereafter, they returned and attacked the Viking
village. Several Norse were killed and a number of others were
injured. The Norse, realizing that they were outnumbered and
would never be safe in Vineland, decided to abandon Hop and
return to Greenland. Thus ended the Vikings’ attempt to per-
manently settle in North America. Did Karlsefni’s enraged bull
delay the permanent European settlement of the Americas for
and skilled voyagers reached and settled Iceland by a.d. 874.

By 984, under the leadership of Eric the Red, they reached
Greenland. His naming of the huge island suggests that
Eric was quite a con artist. Iceland, after all, is mainly green,
whereas most of Greenland is buried beneath ice. By naming
the island Greenland, Eric hoped to attract Norse settlers from
some 500 years? How different might the historical and cul-
tural geography of northern North America be had it not been
for Karlsefni’s bull?
L’Anse aux Meadows, which is today a National Historic Park, is the

only preserved Viking settlement in North America. Located on the
northern tip of Newfoundland, the settlement was discovered by
Norwegian explorer Dr. Helge Ingstad and his archaeologist wife, Dr.
Anne Stine Ingstad, in 1960.
80 Polar Regions
Iceland. Although Scandinavians disappeared from Greenland

by the thirteenth century, the island remains politically tied to
Denmark.
By around 1000, Vikings sailing westward from Greenland
reached a place they named Helluland (Rocky Land), an apt
description of the eastern coast of Baffin Island. A few days of
sailing southward brought them to Markland (Forest Land), no
doubt the coast of Labrador. Finally, they reached Vineland the
Good. For years, the location of Vineland was mere specula-
tion; in fact, most historians doubted that such a place actually
was reached by the Vikings. During the mid-twentieth century,
however, a Viking village was discovered and excavated. Today,
tourists can visit the reconstructed settlement at L’Anse aux
Meadows, a National Historic Park on the northern tip of
Canada’s Newfoundland.
Russian Cossacks (Seventeenth

to Nineteenth Centuries)
By 1581, Cossacks—fiercely independent peoples of Eastern
Europe—had crossed the Ural Mountains and conquered the
Kingdom of Sibir. Thus began a period of territorial expan-
sion from Moscow that within 70 years spanned Siberia and
ultimately reached far into North America. As was to happen
decades later in the North American Arctic, the chief attraction
was fur-bearing animals, particularly the Siberian sable (mar-
ten). During their expansion, the Cossacks explored, charted
new lands, contacted and interacted with Polar World peoples,
and even settled some areas. By 1650, they had reached the
Bering Strait and continued on into North America.
During the first half of the eighteenth century, Russian
explorers lay claim to what is now Alaska. (By 1812, they had
pushed as far south as Fort Ross, a Russian outpost located on
the California coast about 100 miles [160 kilometers] north of
San Francisco.) In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska
from Russia. The sale price for 586,412 square miles (1,518,800
square kilometers) was $7.2 million. At the time, the public
was outraged over such expenditure for a remote “polar ice-

box.” The purchase was dubbed “Seward’s Folly.” (William
Seward was the U.S. secretary of state who engineered the pur-
chase.) Today, however, the state of Alaska contributes more to
the U.S. economy daily than its purchase price! Also, can you
imagine how different the outcome of the cold war might have
been had Alaska remained in the hands of the Soviet Union?
Looking for a route

to the far east
The Polar World is one of the few remaining places on Earth to
which explorers are still attracted. Portions of Siberia and large
areas of Antarctica remain largely unseen and uncharted (from
the ground). Surprisingly, perhaps, the wealth of the tropical
Far East, particularly the East Indies and their treasured spices,
played a key role in Arctic exploration! When Columbus sailed
west to reach the east, he and many explorers who followed
encountered a huge barrier lying in their way—the Americas.
For several centuries, much of the exploration conducted in
the New World was motivated by an attempt to find a water
route through or around the Americas. Historical accounts of
polar exploration make for wonderful reading. Unfortunately,
space does not allow a detailed account of the many coura-
geous souls who braved the elements (and often died) in their
attempt to unlock the mysteries of the Arctic Ocean Basin.
The Northwest Passage

Most exploration for a water route around the Americas
focused on the Northwest Passage—a route through the
Canadian Archipelago and on to the Bering Strait. The incred-
ibly difficult task confronting explorers is evident when looking
at a map of the area lying between Greenland and Alaska. Add
to the incredible maze of channels and island barriers the fact
that nearly all of the Arctic was frozen most if not all of the year.
In addition, summers are very short and it was not possible for
sailing vessels to make the passage during a single season.
82 Polar Regions
As this present-day map of the Arctic illustrates, explorers of

the 1500 and 1600s were confronted with a difficult task in
their search for a northwest passage to Asia. Discovering an
all-season water route was nearly impossible, because much
of the Arctic Ocean is frozen throughout the year.
The search for a northern water route between the Atlantic

and Pacific oceans began in 1500, when Portuguese sailor
Gaspar Corte Real ventured into North Atlantic waters. He
sailed northward along both the east and west coasts of

Greenland, perhaps reaching as far north as the Arctic Circle.
Corte Real believed that he had reached the northeastern
coast of Asia. Nearly 75 years would pass, however, before
another navigator ventured into the treacherous waters west
of Greenland. Between 1576 and 1578, British sailor Martin
Frobisher explored the area of the Hudson Straight, the
water passage between the Atlantic Ocean and Hudson Bay.
Frobisher believed that he had discovered the long-sought
passageway. He assumed that Asia was the land to his right
and America that on his left. In 1585 and 1586, British sailor
John Davis explored much of the sea that bears his name—that
lying between Greenland and Baffin Island. His adventures
took him as far north as 73 degrees, which, at the time, was the
most northerly point yet reached by Europeans.
Henry Hudson is the best known of the early explorers who
sought the increasingly elusive Northwest Passage. Hudson was
British, but his 1608–1609 voyage in his ship, the Half Moon,
was financially backed by the Netherlands. After exploring the
area around the mouth of the Hudson River, he sailed north-
ward. His tragic end is well documented. After reaching Baffin
Island and turning west into the huge bay that now bears his
name, his crew mutinied. They put Henry, his son, and a few
sick or injured sailors in a small dingy and set them free in the
bay to perish. No trace of Hudson was ever found.
The search for the elusive Northwest Passage would con-
tinue for two more centuries. With each new venture, it became
increasingly apparent that no all-season water route existed.
Amazingly, it was not until 1903–1906 that Norwegian Roald
Amundsen and his ship, the Göja, finally navigated the passage.
No American vessel made the crossing until 1950, when it was
achieved by a Coast Guard icebreaker. Today, although the pas-
sage has been made on a number of occasions, the route is of lit-
tle commercial use. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline was constructed
because it was impractical to transport petroleum from Prudhoe
Bay, through the Bering Strait, and into the Pacific Ocean.
84 Polar Regions
In the 1600s, Englishman Henry Hudson was one of several

explorers who failed in their attempts to find a northwest
passage to Asia. On his third voyage, Hudson’s crew muti-
nied and sent him, his son, and a few sick crew members
adrift in a small boat. Hudson was never heard from again
and a northwest passage was not discovered until the early
1900s.
Attempts to find and navigate a water route to Asia by

way of a northeast passage proved to be equally elusive. From
the initial attempts during the early sixteenth century, nearly
350 years passed before the difficult passage was conquered.
In 1878–1879, a Scandinavian explorer, A. E. Nordenskiöld

and his vessel, the Vega, sailed from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Pacific, following the northern coast of Eurasia. This route
has been used by Russians since 1934 for both military and
commercial purposes. It is now kept open during the winter
months using powerful atomic-powered icebreakers.
Race to the Poles

By the dawn of the twentieth century, a race was under way to
be the first to reach the North and South poles. Although these
adventures are of historic and scientific interest, they had very
little geographic impact other than in the context of explora-
tion itself.
The adventures of such explorers as Robert E. Peary, Roald
Amundsen, and Ernest Shackleton are amazing tales of daring,
skill, and endurance. Hardships endured by many of them,
such as Shackleton and his well-documented struggle to sur-
vive, stagger the imagination. Several of the more successful
explorers were those adopting Eskimo methods.
American Robert Peary was long believed to have been
the first person to reach the North Pole. He reached what he
believed to be 90 degrees north latitude in 1909. Much of his
success can be attributed to the fact that he had Eskimo guides,
used dog sleds, wore Eskimo clothing, lived off the land, and
even built igloos. Recent analyses of Peary’s records, however,
suggest that he fell some 25 miles (40 kilometers) short of his
goal. In 1926, American Admiral Richard E. Byrd believed
that he flew over the North Pole. His claim, too, is questioned
by some skeptics on the basis of evidence drawn from his
diaries. The North Pole was not reached on foot until 1968,
when Wally Herbert, of Great Britain, finally achieved the feat.
The South Pole, though colder, could be reached by land rather
than over a rugged and treacherous ice surface. A Norwegian
party headed by Roald Amundsen reached 90 degrees south
latitude in December 1911 (five years after he had been the first
to traverse the Northwest Passage).
86 Polar Regions
EUROPEAN EXPLOITATION
AND SETTLEMENT
With but few exceptions, European exploitation and settle-
ment within the Arctic has been recent and temporary. People
have been drawn to the region for a variety of reasons. Most
“invaders” have been lured to the region hoping to profit from
its vast wealth of natural resources. Some came (usually reluc-
tantly) as government administrators or military personnel, or
for some other political or strategic reason. Still others came as
scientists hoping to unlock the region’s many unsolved myster-
ies. Only during the past century have significant numbers of
people come north to make a home and stake their future. The
following is a brief discussion of the primary activities that
drew Europeans to the Arctic.
Whaling
Whaling brought hunters to northern waters as early as the
seventeenth century, and the practice continued as perhaps
the chief economic activity until the dawn of the twentieth
century. Because it was conducted in open water, whal-
ing had little impact on Polar World landscapes or peoples.
Economically, however, it was of great importance. Whale
oil (from the blubber, or fat) was a chief source of fuel until
replaced by petroleum during the late 1800s. Whalebone
(baleen) was used in making corset stays. In some countries,
whale was a chief source of meat. Hunting was so successful
that many species of whales faced extinction. Today, they are
protected by law.
Trapping
The trapping of fur-bearing animals has been important
throughout nearly all of the polar region for centuries. It was
furs, you will recall, that drew the Cossacks across Siberia to
the shores of the Bering Strait by 1650. From the seas came
the valuable pelts of seals, walruses, and sea otters. A variety
of land animals, including Arctic fox, sable, and beaver (only
in the taiga forests), also contributed greatly to what became

an economic mainstay of the region. The fur trade brought
Europeans and native peoples together, often for the first time.
Trade routes were opened, forts and trading posts sprouted in
the wilderness, and commercial enterprises such as Hudson’s
Bay Company were established.
The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was founded in 1670
at Churchill, on the western shore of Hudson Bay, for two
purposes: to trade with Canadian Eskimos and Indians for
pelts and to search for the Northwest Passage. The company’s
owners found the fur trade so lucrative, however, that the quest
for the passage was quickly forgotten. HBC played a major role
in exploring, charting, and opening northern Canada to settle-
ment and eventually other types of development. Economically,
HBC was one of Canada’s most powerful economic forces for
several centuries. Today, some trapping continues, particularly
of seals, but the industry has fallen onto hard times because of
changing styles and public sentiment against killing animals.
Fishing
The Grand Banks in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of
Newfoundland, have long been one of the world’s most pro-
ductive fishing waters. Some historical geographers believe
that Portuguese and perhaps other Europeans were fishing
these waters long before Columbus’s epic voyage. Today, com-
mercial fishing has fallen on hard times. Overharvesting has
severely depleted populations of cod, salmon, halibut, and
other important species. Nonetheless, waters of the North
Atlantic, North Pacific, and Arctic Ocean continue to be
among the world’s most productive fishing grounds.
Missionaries
As European influences spread across the dark taiga and into
the bleak tundra, Christian missionaries followed. Russian
Orthodoxy spread across Siberia and into Alaska, where dis-
tinctive Orthodox churches and crosses still can be found in
88 Polar Regions
some communities. Roman Catholicism and several Protestant

faiths are practiced by native peoples throughout much of
Northern America.
Minerals
Prospecting for and the extraction of mineral resources is a
rather recent development in the Polar World. Both tasks are
made difficult by the region’s isolation, lack of transportation
facilities, distance from markets, and permafrost. These and
other factors add to the difficulty and cost of searching for, pro-
ducing, and transporting minerals. Nonetheless, it is almost cer-
tain that the Arctic region holds much of the world’s remaining
mineral reserves. Its geologic secrets have only recently begun
to be revealed, many of them resulting from aerial surveys.
Nothing attracts wealth-seekers like the prospect of find-
ing gold. Rich gold deposits drew prospectors to Alaska and
Canada a century ago. “Black gold” (petroleum) continues to
be an economic mainstay of this region today. Some of the
world’s leading deposits of iron, uranium, lead and zinc, petro-
leum, and natural gas are known to exist in the region.
Strategic Importance
The cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States
and its allies catapulted the Polar World into the limelight as
a major strategic location. By 1940, developments in navi-
gation made transpolar flight possible and soon thereafter
long-range missiles joined the military arsenal. “Great circle”
routes crossing the polar region significantly reduced travel
distance between North America and Eurasia. (Any great circle
route—the shortest distance between two points—can be
determined by using a piece of string and a globe. For example,
place one end of string on the U.S. Middle West and the other
on the Soviet [now Russian] heartland, and it crosses the polar
region.) Both the United States and Soviet Union placed a
series of radar warning networks and military bases in the
Arctic. In North America, many radar stations were staffed by
In 1896, gold was discovered in the Klondike region of Canada,

and over the next couple of years approximately 100,000 people
made the treacherous journey north in search of riches. Pictured
here is a camp at Lake Bennett, in British Columbia, during the
construction of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad in 1897, which
connected Skagway, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon.
Inuit or other Native Americans. American military bases also

extended from the Aleutians to Greenland.
Polar Scientific Research

Because of its unique conditions, the polar regions have long
intrigued scientists. Much of the research has focused on vari-
ous aspects of the natural environment, but human activities
such as agriculture, developing and testing cold weather gear,
and transportation have all been studied extensively. Because
90 Polar Regions
so much of their country lies in the Arctic or sub-Arctic zone,

Russians have long been world leaders in cold-lands research.
Billions of research dollars have been spent in the study of
permafrost alone.
Several countries have research stations in Antarctica.
Scientists are fascinated by the continent and its many secrets.
Antarctic geology, properties of ice, and the tolerance of vari-
ous materials and types of equipment to extreme cold are some
of the things studied. Cores drilled through the continent’s
icecaps reveal much about past climates and composition of
the atmosphere. Antarctica may even help reveal mysteries of
the universe—scientists have found the continent’s ice to be a
treasure chest of meteorites!
Political Administrators
As midlatitude economic involvement in the Arctic grew,
the region also began to be drawn into the sphere of outside
political control. Military personnel, police, and others were
assigned to remote northern outposts to safeguard American,
Canadian, and Russian interests. Today, all Arctic lands are
either independent (as is Iceland), semi-independent territo-
ries (such as Denmark’s Greenland), or simply a part of some
country (as Alaska, the Canadian north, or Siberia are).
CHANGES IN ABORIGINAL WAY OF LIFE

The old Polar World way of life is gone forever, and in many
ways, this is sad. Change, however, has removed much of the
harshness from Arctic living. All native peoples of the region
have experienced at least a partial loss of their aboriginal cul-
ture. Few, if any of them, however, would want to return to
their traditional way of living, or the life experienced before
Europeans arrived. Change has occurred at different times in
different places. Europeans arrived centuries ago in Iceland,
southern Greenland, coastal Labrador, around Hudson Bay,
and in parts of northern Eurasia. Some remote groups, on the
other hand, were not reached by midlatitude peoples or their

cultural influences until well into the twentieth century.
Culture change is always accompanied by turmoil, unrest,
and social upheaval (a reality well illustrated by the experience
of Native American peoples in the United States). Religion,
for example, is the single most important element of many
cultures. It can govern nearly every aspect of people’s lives.
When Europeans introduced new Christian faiths, the very
foundation of many traditional societies was stripped away.
Europeans also introduced many diseases, against which New
World peoples had no resistance. In some extreme cases, entire
populations were wiped out.
Europeans also introduced jobs and a cash economy.
Within a single generation, many native peoples were forced
to make a huge economic change. Traditionally, they were self-
sufficient. They lived off the land, practicing a folk economy
in which hunting, fishing, and gathering provided their needs.
Europeans, however, brought wage-paying jobs to the region.
Suddenly, natives were thrown into a commercial economy
based on employment and cash. With money to spend, they no
longer needed to do those things for themselves that their fore-
fathers had done for millenia. Rarely in all of human history
have a people undergone such extreme culture change—and
cultural shock—in such a short period of time.
The introduction of the rifle serves as an excellent example
of the impact a single new technology can have on a culture.
The rifle, perhaps more than any other material trait of a cul-
ture, helped destroy traditional Inuit culture (as well as that
of many other Polar World peoples). For thousands of years,
Eskimo males devoted much of their time to hunting. About
a century ago, rifles became available (for cash payment).
Armed, a hunter could kill, in a very short time, enough seals,
caribou, or other game to provide food and clothing to his
family for an entire year. In many places, game animals even
became scarce and in some locations extinct.
92 Polar Regions
What would hunters now do with all their newly found

spare time? With cash, of course, came stores, where not
only guns and ammunition could be purchased, but many
other items as well—including alcohol. With so much idle
time, natives turned to drink, and drinking (and later drugs)
became an epidemic. In some villages, up to 90 percent of all
males are alcohol or drug dependent. Throughout much of the
region, these conditions are the leading cause of death (fol-
lowed closely by suicide). Suicide rates in Arctic native villages
rank the highest in the world. In addition, store-bought food
has caused many health problems never before experienced
by Arctic peoples. Diabetes, cancer, and heart-related diseases
have increased tremendously. So have obesity, tooth decay, and
digestive problems. Store-bought shoes and clothing are no
match for frigid Arctic temperatures. Today, for the first time
ever, many natives suffer from frostbite!
Change is inevitable in a rapidly evolving world in which
“progress” has assumed the importance of a sacred mantra.
Time, it is said, cannot stand still; neither can cultures. For
many traditional societies, however, change comes with a tre-
mendous price tag—the loss of cultural identity. Today, many
Polar World people own basically the same electronic gadgets
and conveniences that people from midlatitudes possess. On
the other hand, imagine yourself living in a village of several
hundred people, with no link to your closest neighbors, who
are located several hundred miles away. In the modern world,
extreme isolation (whether social, cultural, or physical), with
its accompanying loneliness, is one of the chief problems faced
by many remote cultures. We will discuss some of these issues
in the next chapter.
7
Contemporary
Conditions
and Regions
M ost of the polar realm remains geographically remote. It is also

a huge blank spot on the global “mental map” of most North
Americans. Nonetheless, it is a region of growing importance and
increasing attention. Most Americans are aware of the heated Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) controversy—which is most
important, petroleum or wildlife habitat? Canadians certainly are
aware of native (both Inuit and First Nations) drives toward political
independence. Will the success realized by the Inuit in gaining their
own semiautonomous territory be played out by others elsewhere?
What percentage of Earth’s remaining mineral wealth lays locked
away in the frozen tundra? These are just some of the questions that
are beginning to be asked with increasing frequency.
CONTEMPORARY CONDITIONS
Problems relating to social and cultural change have been discussed
previously. Here, attention is focused on such conditions as the
93
94 Polar Regions
region’s sparse population, isolation, economic development,

and political trends.
A Sparse Population
Polar World lands occupy about 16 percent of Earth’s sur-
face, yet the region is home to only an estimated 8 million
people. Excluding Antarctica, the land area drops to 7 percent
of Earth’s surface, whereas the population figure remains the
same. This amounts to about .0012 percent of all humans liv-
ing in an area nearly twice the size of the lower 48 U.S. states!
Expressed in density, the Arctic region has about two people
per square mile (less than one per kilometer). Density figures,
of course, are extremely misleading. Vast areas remain totally
uninhabited, whereas several Russian Arctic cities have popu-
lations exceeding 200,000.
Extreme Isolation
Isolation remains a tremendous problem throughout most of
the Arctic. Permafrost, surface lakes and streams, spongy mus-
keg (marshes), and other obstacles severely limit land travel.
Ice ridges, open leads, and other hazards limit travel over ice.
Few rivers are navigable. Except in Scandinavia and western
European Russia, not a single railroad penetrates the region,
and only one road—the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to
Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay—crosses the tundra to reach the Arctic
shore. Siberia, an area roughly the size of the lower 48 U.S.
states, has not a single mile of road for automobiles! Nearly
all travel within the Arctic is either by modern aircraft or the
ancient technology of dog or reindeer sled! (During recent
decades, traditional means of travel have rapidly given way to
snowmobiles.)
On the other hand, today, most of the region has access
to satellite-based telecommunications. Television, radio, tele-
phone, and in some places even Internet communications now
deliver news, information, and entertainment to even the most
remote communities.
Contemporary Conditions and Regions 95
These conveniences, though serving as a link to the out-

side, are a mixed blessing. Realizing what life is like on the
“outside” can create expectations and desires that cannot be
fulfilled in the remote villages. This is a particularly critical
problem for many young people. Some studies suggest that
the resulting frustrations are partially responsible for the tragi-
cally high suicide rates among young adults. In addition, many
youngsters are raised in the sheltered environment of a closely
knit traditional society and remote village. Should they move
to a city, they often lack the knowledge, experience, and social
skills needed to successfully adapt to urban jobs and lifestyles.
Conditions Contributing to Development

As discussed in the preceding chapter, people have come to
the Arctic for a variety of reasons. In the polar realm and
elsewhere, people are drawn to opportunity, particularly the
prospect of economic gain. In turn, development (transporta-
tion, commerce, various services, and other amenities) follows
people and money. Obviously, all three elements—economic
potential, population growth, and regional development—are
closely intertwined.
In Alaska, for example, the Prudhoe Bay petroleum project
nearly doubled the state’s population. As a result, the state’s
economy boomed, as did development of various kinds (for
instance, building the very costly highway to Prudhoe Bay
became economically justified). Most Alaskan communities
of any size now offer the same amenities and services that one
would expect to find in the “lower 48” states.
Economic Potentials and Problems

Just as society and culture are changing throughout the
Polar World, so, too, are the region’s economic and political
structures. Resource-hungry midlatitude peoples are gazing
increasingly toward the Arctic as a possible source of metals,
fuels, and timber. Huge reserves of many resources are known
to exist. In some instances, they are already being extracted.
96 Polar Regions
The Trans-Alaska pipeline winds its way through the interior of

Alaska, from Prudhoe Bay in the north to Valdez in the south. The
pipeline travels 800 miles (1,290 kilometers) and has transported
more than 15 billion barrels of oil since it was completed in 1977.
Examples include rich deposits of iron ore in Labrador and

northern Sweden, petroleum in Alaska, and natural gas in
western Siberia.
Throughout much of the region, however, production
is not yet economically feasible. Developing resources such
as mines, oil fields, or timber is both difficult and extremely
expensive in the Arctic. Even where production may be fea-
sible, throughout most of the region the cost of transporting
resources to market would be extremely difficult and costly.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which is 800 miles (1,290 kilome-
ters) in length, cost $8 billion to construct, or $1 million per
mile ($390,000 per kilometer)!
Economic development faces many other challenges, as
well. Low populations mean a lack of laborers. Nearly the
entire workforce involved in developing Alaska’s petroleum
resources was brought in from the lower 48 states. This, of
course, is extremely costly. In 2006, the average annual sal-

ary of an employee in Alaska’s oil and gas industry was about
$100,000. Canada and Russia face similar challenges in devel-
oping petroleum and natural gas reserves.
Political Integration
Political geographers have long realized that it is difficult for
governments to control remote regions, and they do so with
limited access. In order to gain favor of voters, governments
must devote most resources to areas where the greatest num-
ber of people will benefit. Why spend money on “them” living
“way out there”? This problem is magnified when those liv-
ing far away from effective national control are of a different
culture. Most of the Polar World meets both conditions. It is
little wonder, then, that many native groups have sought or are
seeking greater independence. In fact, it is a problem that in
varying degrees plagues all seven countries that have territory
and citizens living in the Polar World.
THE AMERICAN REALM

The American realm of the Polar World includes Alaska,
Canada, and Greenland. Inuit is the dominant native culture
from Alaska to eastern Greenland. Smaller groups of Aleut
and Indians (by various preferred names) also inhabit the
region. Population is extremely sparse, with no more than
250,000 people inhabiting an area of about 2 million square
miles (5.2 million square kilometers). To visualize this distri-
bution, imagine the population of Bakersfield, California, or
Lexington, Kentucky, spread out across the United States, west
of the Mississippi River!
Alaska
Paradoxically, Alaska almost certainly was the first place in
the Americas to be reached by Old World peoples—yet the
state proudly boasts of being the “Last Frontier.” Alaska was
admitted to the union as the forty-ninth state in 1959. Roughly
98 Polar Regions
the northern half of the state lies within the Polar World.
Fairbanks, a modern city with a population of about 35,000, is
the continent’s northernmost large urban center. It lies at the
southern edge of the Polar World.
Natural resources have always been the backbone of the
Alaskan economy. Between 1850 and 1915, thousands of
prospectors headed north to Nome, the Kenai Peninsula, the
Fairbanks area, and elsewhere to seek their fortune in gold.
During recent decades, as was discussed earlier, petroleum has
spurred the state’s economy and population growth. In 1977,
oil began to flow from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, a port on the
Gulf of Alaska, through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
The state’s petroleum-based economic future depends
upon decisions made thousands of miles away, in Washington,
D.C. An estimated 5 to 11 billion barrels of oil are believed to
lie beneath the tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
People concerned about safeguarding ANWR’s pristine envi-
ronment are opposed to opening the refuge to drilling (even
though it would affect only about 2 to 3 percent of the total
area). They are concerned about such problems as pollution
and disturbing the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou
herd. Others are more worried about the nation’s dependence
upon foreign oil sources and the price of gasoline. They, of
course, want to drill. In December 2005, the Senate once again
voted against development—at least for the time being.
The controversy is stirring a heated local debate, as well.
Coastal Inupiat Eskimos strongly support drilling. For three
decades, they have benefited immensely from Alaska’s North
Slope oil boom. Now, with Prudhoe Bay production in decline,
these locals are eager to see the ANWR reserves tapped. They
believe drilling in ANWR will help the region’s economy to
continue to prosper. Inland, however, the 7,000 or so Gwich’in
Indians are strongly opposed to development. For thousands
of years, they have depended on caribou meat, which they eat
almost daily, as the mainstay of their diet. Much of their cul-
ture, in fact, is tied in one way or another to the region’s now-
dwindling and increasingly threatened caribou herds. If the

caribou die out, so will much of their traditional culture.
Canada
The Canadian Arctic occupies an area of roughly one million
square miles (2.5 million square kilometers), a region about
the size of the United States, east of the Mississippi River.
Much of the land is low-lying and relatively flat. In many
places, more than 60 percent of the surface is covered with
water during the summer months. Surface travel under such
conditions is all but impossible. Only one road penetrates
the region. The Dempster Highway reaches Inuvik, a town
of about 3,200 people located 140 miles north of the Arctic
Circle, near the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Most of the
region is accessible only by air or, in some locations, by water
(or on winter ice).
Natural resources have been the key to both native and
European economic survival in the region. Native peoples
depended upon marine life and game animals such as the cari-
bou for their survival. Early Europeans were attracted to the
rich fishing banks off Canada’s east coast, possibly even before
Columbus’s voyage. By the seventeenth century, fur-bearing
animals became the focus of economic attention. By 1670, the
Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was organized at Churchill, on
the western shore of Hudson Bay. Its network spread through-
out much of Canada, and HBC soon became one of the coun-
try’s most powerful and influential corporations.
Yukon, Klondike, and Dawson are well-known names in
Canada and beyond. In 1896, gold was discovered along the
Yukon and Klondike rivers. The Klondike gold rush drew
prospectors from throughout the world. Because of the rush,
the community of Dawson prospered. At its peak, the city’s
population soared to 40,000, making it Canada’s largest com-
munity west of Winnipeg, Manitoba! Mining, however, is
a boom-and-bust economic activity, particularly in a cold,
remote region. When the ores began to run out, the population
100 Polar Regions
Nunavut is Canada’s largest and newest province; it was

carved from the Northwest Territories in 1999. The prov-
ince’s capital, Iqaluit, is located on the southeastern part of
Baffin Island.
sharply declined. Today, Dawson is a community of about 2,000

people, who rely primarily on a thriving summer tourist trade
and memories of a bygone golden era.
Imagine a territory occupying an area of about 750,000

square miles (2 million square kilometers)—the size of western
Europe, or nearly three times the size of Texas—with a popu-
lation of only 29,000. Stretch the territory over nearly 2,000
miles (3,000 kilometers), in both north-south and east-west
directions. If this territory were a country, it would have the
world’s lowest population density, even lower than Greenland.
Now, take about half the area and scatter it over several dozen
large islands and hundreds of smaller ones. No railroads or
highways reach the territory, and water access is frozen over
during much of the year. Most of the area can be reached only
by plane, or by ship during the short summer. The capital and
largest city is home to about 6,000 people. Politically, however,
the capital is at a great disadvantage because it is located on a
remote island perched at the very edge of the territory. It has
very little economic activity and depends heavily on support
from the country of which it is a part. Welcome to Nunavut
and its capital city, Iqaluit!
Nunavut is a political and ethnic experiment on a grand
scale. It was carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1999 as
an Inuit-governed territory. About 85 percent of the popula-
tion is native, and most are Inuit. In fact, the name Nunavut
means “our land” in the Inuit language. Despite its many
unique and seemingly insurmountable hurdles, the citizens of
Nunavut and Iqualuit are eager to show that they can govern
their own land—and they are very optimistic that they will
succeed!
Greenland
Northwestern Greenland lies only 16 miles (26 kilometers)
from the northern tip of Nunavut’s Ellsemere Island. More
than 80 percent of the island lies buried beneath the world’s
second-largest glacial ice cap. Its 56,000 people, about 85
percent of whom are Inuit, live in widely scattered small
villages clinging to the coast. A quarter of all Greenlanders
live in the capital, Nuuk (formerly Godthab), located on the
102 Polar Regions
southwestern coast. In 1979, Greenland freed itself from

Danish control to become a self-governing territory. Denmark
continues to control Greenland’s foreign affairs.
The View From Iqaluit,

Nunavut’s Capital City
Nunavut’s capital and largest city, Iqaluit, is home to about

6,000 people. Perhaps no capital in the world is at a greater
disadvantage in terms of its location—it is located on remote
and frigid Baffin Island and at the very far eastern edge of the
territory it governs. Other than its governing function, the city
has very little economic activity. It must depend heavily upon
support from the Canadian government. Nonetheless, as the fol-
lowing comments from the city’s official Web site suggest, the
residents of Iqaluit are very optimistic that they will succeed.
It’s hard to imagine anywhere in Canada with greater pros-

pects. The city’s alive with the anything’s-possible attitude
of a young community. Bursting with new growth [and] excit-
ing economic and social opportunities, this bustling Arctic
capital is home to a diverse mix of people enjoying the lead-
ing edge of development and phenomenal potential. Young
and old are working to create a future that will preserve the
strengths of traditional culture, while embracing the surging
changes of the 21st century.
Even though it’s located on the remote Arctic tundra,
Iqaluit aims to be every inch a capital city, with the ame-
nities and quality of life to rival any in Canada. Iqaluit’s
economy—based mainly on a government that has expanded
rapidly since the city became the capital of Nunavut in
1999—is growing by leaps and bounds. The city’s infrastruc-
ture is developing at a steady clip, trying to catch up with
population growth. As well as being Canada’s newest and
Several settlements in northwestern Greenland are the

world’s northernmost permanently occupied communities. The
United States, in cooperation with several other countries, main-
most northerly capital, Iqaluit is also Canada’s fastest-grow-

ing community.*
* Available online at the Official Government Web site of the City of Iqaluit:
www.city.iqaluit.nu.ca/
Iqaluit is home to about 6,000 people (60 percent of whom are

Inuit). The town has an Arctic climate—temperatures stay below
freezing for eight months a year and it receives less than 20 inches
(500 millimeters) of precipitation annually.
104 Polar Regions
tains its northernmost (near 77 degrees north latitude) military

facility, Thule Air Base, on Greenland’s northwest coast.
Most of Greenland’s economy is based on government aid.
For centuries, most Greenlanders turned to the sea, where they
depended on fish, whales, seals, and other marine life for their
survival. This tradition continues today; fish and shrimp make
up about 95 percent of the country’s exports. Many people
would enjoy visiting Greenland. In addition to its Inuit culture,
the island offers a unique environment and some of the world’s
most spectacular scenery. Unfortunately, the tourist industry is
very limited. The season is short, there are few tourist facilities,
and travel to and around the island is extremely expensive.
THE EURASIAN REALM

Northern portions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia
lie partially within the Eurasian realm of the Polar World. The
area covered is similar to that of the American realm, as are
general environmental conditions in the respective regions.
Several major differences between the two realms do stand
out, however. First, more than 90 percent of all Polar World
people reside in Eurasia and about 75 percent of them in
Russia. Second, cultural diversity is considerably greater in
Eurasia than in the Americas. Finally, portions of the Eurasian
Arctic are much better developed than are most areas of the
American realm.
Samiland (Lappland)
Samiland occupies northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland,
and Russia’s Kola Peninsula. The region is home to the Sami,
formerly called Lapps or Lapplanders, who, for several thou-
sand years, have carried the nickname “The reindeer people.”
At one time, nearly all Samis were nomadic and depended on
the reindeer for their survival. You will recall that reindeer,
unlike their caribou cousins, are domesticated animals. They
are milked, ridden, herded like cattle or sheep, and they pull
sleds.
Although only approximately 10 percent of the Sami people still

practice reindeer herding, some still take tourists on sleigh rides
or photograph them alongside the animals. Pictured here are two
tourists in the Finland town of Muonio with two Samis.
Traditionally, during winter months, the Samis lived in

stationary settlements located inland, usually within the shelter
of the dense taiga forest. There, they were protected from the
fierce winds, and plenty of wood was available for building and
for fuel. As conditions began to warm and daylight lengthen, a
sense of restlessness set in. Families gathered their herds, secured
their belongings on a reindeer-pulled sled, and began a centu-
ries-old custom: the annual nomadic trek, in search of better
pastures for their reindeer. Nomads have never “just wandered.”
Rather, they are keenly aware of where good grazing conditions
can be found for their herds. In Samiland, the migration was to
the coast, where lush grasslands can be found during the sum-
mer months. Then, with the approaching darkness and cold of
winter, they once again turned inland to the taiga.
106 Polar Regions
Today, an estimated 85,000 Samis inhabit the region, about

half of whom live in Norway. Of all Polar World regions,
Samiland is the most densely settled, the most accessible, and
the best developed economically. As might be expected under
such conditions, European Scandinavians and native peoples
have long been in contact with one another. This has resulted
in a sharp decline in the traditional Sami culture during the
past century. Today, for example, very few Samis are involved
in any way with reindeer—other, perhaps, than taking tourists
on a sleigh ride, or allowing themselves to be photographed
next to one of the animals. Because this cultural loss is now
recognized, many efforts are now under way to restore and
promote Sami language and culture.
Mining, particularly of rich deposits of iron ore at Kiruna,
in northern Sweden, and a variety of ores, including copper
scattered elsewhere, have boosted the region’s economy. Today,
tourism—much of which is based on a growing interest in Sami
culture and history—is becoming increasingly important.
Russia
It seems unfair to include an area that spans 11 time zones
within a single geographic region. Some differences, of course,
do exist within the Russian Arctic. For example, European
Russia is more accessible and better developed than is most of
Siberia. The way reindeer are used (herded in the west, hunted
in the east) varies, as well.
Much of the region, however, remains a huge “blank spot”
on most peoples’ (including geographers’) “mental map.”
During the Soviet era, little if any information was available
on this or any other part of the USSR. Siberia also remains the
world’s largest area (outside of Antarctica) of very low popula-
tion density. Finally, not a single road or railroad exists in the
entire Siberian Arctic. Much of the area has never been seen by
people of European culture, except from planes or in satellite
images.
As was discussed in Chapter 5, the Siberian Arctic is home

to a number of different native peoples. Because of their isola-
tion and information blackout during the Soviet era, little is
known about them. Geographers Bella Bychkova-Jordan (who
is native to the Sakha Republic) and her husband, the late Terry
Jordan-Bychkov, wrote a splendid book describing the region
and a Siberian village in great detail.
With few exceptions, cities hug the coast. Murmansk, with
an estimated population of 310,000, is the Polar World’s largest
city. Because of the warm North Atlantic Drift, the sea remains
relatively ice-free throughout the year. As a result, the city is an
important port for the Russian Navy and is also used commer-
cially. To the east, in the coal-producing Pechora Basin, located
near the northern tip of the Ural Mountains, is Vorkuta. The
city had a rather notorious origin, having been built in the
early 1930s as a GULAG (an acronym for the Russian term for
Soviet concentration camp). Economically, Vorkuta was an
important mining community. Because of high costs, though,
the mines closed during the 1990s, and the city’s population
has dwindled from a high of perhaps 225,000 to the most
recent (1989) figure, 116,000. Obviously, a community located
north of the Arctic Circle will have difficulty attracting resi-
dents. Add to this problem a history of prison camp brutality
and closed coal mines, and the city’s large drop in population
is easily understood!
Moving across the Urals into Siberia, the first Arctic city
of any size is Salekhard. Founded in 1595, the community of
about 32,000 is a seaport located near the mouth of the Ob
River. In addition to serving as a river port, Salekhard has
lumber mills, fish canneries, and shipyards. To the east, near
(but not on) the mouth of the Yenisey River, is the city of
Norilsk. The urban center of about 175,000 people holds two
distinctions: It is Russia’s northernmost large city and, after
Murmansk, the world’s second-largest city north of the Arctic
Circle. Mining, natural gas, and hydroelectric production are
108 Polar Regions
the primary economic activities of the area. From the Yenisey

River eastward across the vast expanses of frigid Siberia, there
are very few communities. Those that do exist are regional
administrative centers, Russian military bases, or towns of
some local or regional economic importance.
All of Siberia, and certainly the portion lying in the Polar
World, offers tremendous resources and other potentials for
development. The area has been home to humans for tens of
thousands of years. Obviously, people can and do live here.
Russia has a long way to go, however, before Siberia can be
made an attractive place to live.
As this chapter draws to a close, let us journey a bit far-
ther eastward to the Bering Strait. Here, we will have come
full cycle in our hurried west-to-east trip through the Polar
World’s various regions. For decades, the West and East
(dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union) were
locked in the struggle of the cold war. Economically, politically,
and socially, the antagonists were worlds apart. In the Bering
Strait, though, there are two very small islands: Big Diomede
and Little Diomede. The larger island belonged to the USSR
(now Russia) and the smaller, as a part of Alaska, to the United
States. What is most amazing about the islands is that they lie
only about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) apart. Also, during even the
most heated years of the cold war, native peoples passed freely
between the islands—and the two countries.
8
Future
Prospects for
the Polar World
“T he future is hard to predict,” according to baseball legend Yogi

Berra, “because it hasn’t happened yet!” This certainly is true
with regard to predicting what is likely to happen in the Polar World
during coming decades. There simply are too many unanswered
questions: Will the earth continue to warm? Will the Atlantic “con-
veyor belt” break down and plunge the Arctic region into another
ice age? What impact might continued population growth have on
migration to the Arctic? Will it become economically feasible to
reach and extract more of the region’s many natural resources? Will
new resource deposits be discovered? How will the growing desire
by native peoples to be self-governing affect the region’s political
landscape? What does the future hold in terms of native cultures?
Will they be able to adapt contemporary lifestyles while retaining
many valued aspects of their own ancient cultures? These are just
a few of the questions that must be asked with regard to the polar
region’s future.
109
110 Polar Regions
THREAT OF temperatures WARMING

Climatic change is part of nature’s many ongoing cycles.
Ice ages come and go, each followed by a period of extreme
warming. In times past, Earth has been much warmer than it
is today. During the 1970s, when global temperature records
were first being compiled, many scientists were predicting the
onset of another ice age! Now Earth is warming at a rapid rate,
and temperatures are rising in the Polar World twice as fast as
they are elsewhere. Whether it is occurring as result of a nor-
mal climatic cycle (or cycles) or because of human pollution of
the atmosphere is not yet confirmed. In addition, some scien-
tists now see signs of a possible link between global warming
and global cooling. As atmospheric heating causes glacial ice to
melt, freshwater is added to the North Atlantic. This, they fear,
may cause the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift to weaken
or even disappear. Were this to happen, much of the Northern
Hemisphere and particularly northern Europe could experi-
ence a catastrophic drop in temperatures.
If, indeed, warming is occurring, higher temperatures
will bring many changes to the Arctic. On the positive side,
northern waters—including the Northwest and Northeast
Passages—will be open to navigation much of the year.
Negative effects seem to heavily outweigh the positive, how-
ever. The dire consequences of thawing permafrost have been
discussed elsewhere. Sea ice will thin in some places and
disappear in others. Polar bears may disappear entirely, and
walruses and seals, upon which many native peoples have long
depended, may decline in number. Melting glaciers will cause
a worldwide rise in sea level. If all ice were to melt, the oceans
would rise about 200 feet (60 meters). Many fertile coastal
plains would be under water, as would a number of the world’s
great cities. Thawed surfaces, reduced permafrost, and melted
sea ice would make both summer and winter land travel all but
impossible in many places. There would be huge changes in the
plant and animal life of the Arctic region.
Future Prospects for the Polar World 111
In recent years, warming temperatures have begun to take a toll

on the Arctic region. Melting glaciers, warmer water temperatures,
and the thawing of permafrost are all signs that the Arctic environ-
ment is beginning to be adversely affected.
112 Polar Regions
RESOURCE EXPLOITATION AND

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE
Harvesting the region’s abundant store of natural resources
almost certainly will continue to be the chief source of eco-
nomic development and human settlement within the region.
Nearly all areas of the Polar World have one or more resources
that can be tapped when needed. As the world population
grows, so will the need for additional resources (and living
space). It is very likely that during the twenty-first century,
midlatitude peoples will be looking northward for both. In
the past, people have looked at the Arctic as a remote frontier,
about which they cared little. The attitude has been one of “If
it is damaged, so what?” The development of the Arctic has
caused many problems. The environment is fragile and very
slow to mend when damaged. Vehicle tracks across a tun-
dra surface, for example, can be visible for decades. As more
people are drawn to the region and more pressure is placed on
the environment, often irreparable damage increases as well.
Waters are polluted, vegetation and animal life are threatened,
and forests are destroyed.
CHANGING NATIVE CULTURES

Certainly changes in traditional ways of life that have taken
place during the past century will continue at an accelerated
pace. People may look to their past with a longing for the
“good old days,” but few if any would really want to return to
them and their many hardships. What will happen—and there
are many signs that it is already occurring—is that people will
begin taking great pride in their culture’s traditions. They will
teach their language in schools, as are the Samis and in some
places the Inuit. Many folkways, such as arts and music, will be
preserved. Museums will take pride in displaying traditional
items that were used by the people in times past. Universities
will begin teaching courses focusing upon the traditional cul-
ture. The people themselves, however, will become increasingly
integrated into the contemporary cultural mainstream.
Future Prospects for the Polar World 113
CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPES

It is quite doubtful that any major changes will occur in the
primary political landscape of the region, that is, the countries
themselves. Canada is the one giant question mark in this
regard. What would happen to the rest of Canada, particularly
the eastern Maritime Provinces, if French Quebec gained its
independence? It is possible that within several countries, some
political changes will occur. What the Canadian Inuit achieved
in gaining some political autonomy may happen elsewhere.
Politically, the region gained strategic military, hence polit-
ical, importance during the cold war, when the United States
and the Soviet Union menacingly faced one another across the
Arctic Ocean. Today, the region’s military significance is being
replaced by its civilian importance. International airlines regu-
larly fly polar routes. If you ship a parcel by air to a destination
in Africa, Asia, Australia, or Europe, chances are it will go to
Anchorage, Alaska, for further routing.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
AND POPULATION GROWTH
By 2050, the world’s population is projected to reach 9 to 10
billion, nearly half as many people as inhabit our planet today.
Where will they turn for space, resources, opportunity, and a
future? People have lived in the Arctic region for thousands
of years. Cities such as Fairbanks, Alaska—located just a few
degrees south of the Arctic Circle—are modern in every way.
People can live comfortably in the Arctic. They simply need a
reason to do so: development of some kind.
Taking a final peek into the crystal ball in an attempt to
foresee the Polar World’s future, the northern mists begin
to vanish, and another vision begins to appear. As the sea
smoke fades, the image clears: The world’s “Last Frontier” is
on the brink of becoming the twenty-first century’s “Land of
Opportunity.”
Historical Geography
at a Glance
75,000–12,000 ybp* Glacial ice covers much of Polar World.

35,000 ybp Humans are present in the Arctic coastal
region, near the mouth of the Tana River in
northeastern Siberia.
Pre-12,000 ybp Humans migrate from Asia to the Americas for
the first time; dates vary greatly, with some evi-
dence suggesting that humans may have crossed
Beringia, possibly closely following the coast,
rather than through an “ice-free corridor,” as
early as perhaps 40,000 years ago.
12,000–10,000 ybp Glacial ice caps and sheets attain approximately
their present-day distribution.
325 b.c. Greek explorer Pytheas travels north to a land
he called Thule believed by some to possibly
have been coastal Norway, near the Arctic
Circle.
a.d. 984 Vikings reach Greenland.
1000 Vikings reach “Vineland the Good” (North
America).
1003 Vikings settle at village called Hop, believed to
have been L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland.
1581 Russian Cossacks cross the Ural Mountains and
conquer the Kingdom of Sibir.
1500–1600 Following Columbus’s voyages, a number of
European explorers begin the search for a water
passageway, through or around the Americas, to
the Far East; much of the resulting exploration
114
Historical Geography at a Glance 115
focuses on the quest for a northwest or north-

east passage.
1600s–1900s Commercial whaling in Arctic waters is popular.
1608–1609 Henry Hudson searches for Northwest Passage
and discovers bay bearing his name; his crew
mutinies, and he is set adrift and lost.
1650 Russians reach Bering Strait.
1670 Hudson’s Bay Company formed in Canada,
with headquarters at Churchill, on the shores of
Hudson Bay.
1850–1915 Thousands of fortune seekers flood Alaska and
Canada’s Yukon and Klondike river valleys after
gold is discovered.
1867 United States purchases Alaska from Russia for
$7.2 million, in a transaction that came to be
called “Seward’s Folly.”
1878–1879 Scandinavian explorer A. E. Nordenskiöld, on
his vessel, the Vega, makes first trips through
the Northeast Passage, sailing from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Pacific following the northern
coast of Eurasia; this route has been used by
Russians since 1934.
1903–1906 Norwegian Roald Amundsen, on his ship, the
Göja, finally navigates the Northwest Passage.
1909 American Robert E. Peary believes he has
reached the North Pole; subsequent research
suggests that he fell short of his goal.
1911 A Norwegian party headed by Roald Amundsen
is first to reach the South Pole.
1940 Advances in technology make flying polar
routes possible, thereby considerably shorten-
ing the distance between North America and
Eurasia.
1959 Alaska admitted to the union as the forty-ninth
state.
116 Historical Geography at a Glance
1968 Wally Herbert, of Great Britain, becomes first

person to actually reach the North Pole on foot.
1977 Oil begins flowing through Trans-Alaska
Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast
to Valdez on the Gulf of Alaska.
1979 Greenland gains semiautonomy from Denmark.
1999 Nunavut becomes an Inuit-governed Canadian
territory.
2000 “B-15” ice island with an area of about 4,500
square miles (11,655 square kilometers) breaks
away from Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf.
* years before present

Bibliography
Armstrong, Terence, George Rogers, and Graham Rowley. The

Circumpolar North. London: Methuen, 1978.
Baird, Patrick D. The Polar World. New York: John Wiley, 1965.
Berreby, David. “Running on Tundra.” Discover (June 1996): pp.
74–81.
Bruemmer, Fred. “Life Upon the Permafrost.” Natural History
(April 1987): pp. 31–39.
Walker, Harley J. Man in the Arctic: The Changing Nature of His
Quest for Food and Water as Related to Snow, Ice, and Permafrost.
ADTIC Publication A-107. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama:
Arctic, Desert, Tropic Information Center Research Studies
Institute, 1962.
Wallace, Scott. “ANWR: the Great Divide.” Smithsonian (October,
2005): pp. 48–56.
117
Further Reading
Bychkova-Jordan, Bella, and T. G. Jordan-Bychkov. Siberian Village:

Land and Life in the Sakha Republic. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 2001.
Dando, William A., et al. Russia second edition. Philadelphia:
Chelsea House, 2007.
Desaulniers, Kristi L. Canada. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003.
Freuchen, Peter. Book of the Eskimos. New York: Bramhall House,
1961.
Henry, J. David. “Northern Exposure.” Natural History (February
2005): pp. 27–32.
Jenness, Diamond. The People of the Twilight. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1959 (reprint of 1928 1/e).
Kimble, G.H.T., and Dorothy Good, eds. Geography of the
Northlands. New York: American Geographical Society and John
Wiley, 1955.
MacQuarrie, Bob. The Northern Circumpolar World. Edmonton,
Alberta: Reidmore Books, 1996.
McNeese, Tim. The Yukon River. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004.
Nansen, Fridtjob. In Northern Mists: Arctic Exploration in Early
Times. London: W. Heinemann, 1911.
Nordenskjold, Otto, and L. Mecking. The Geography of Polar
Regions. New York: American Geographical Society, 1928.
Pelto, Pertti J. The Snowmobile Revolution: Technology and Social
Change in the Arctic. Menlo Park, Calif.: Benjamin/Cummings,
1973.
Riches, David. Northern Nomadic Hunters-Gatherers. London:
Academic Press, 1982.
118
Further Reading 119
Sandness, Roger K., and C. F. Gritzner. Iceland. Philadelphia: Chelsea

House, 2003.
Sauer, Carl O. Northern Mists. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University
of California Press, 1968.
Smith, Kathleen Lopp, ed. Ice Window: Letters from a Bering Strait
Village, 1892–1902. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 2001.
Stefansson, Viljalmur. Arctic Manual. New York: Macmillan, 1944.
–––––. The Friendly Arctic: The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions.
New York: Macmillan, 1921.
–––––. My Life with the Eskimo. New York: Macmillan, 1951.
Web sites
The World Factbook
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html.
Water Science for Schools. Glaciers and Icecaps, Storehouses of
Freshwater. USGS Web site.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthglacier.html.
Circumpolar Arctic Geobotanical Atlas
http://www.geobotany.uaf.edu/arcticgeobot.
Who are the Sami? Scandinavica.com Web site
http://www.scandinavica.com/sami.htm.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Aurora: What are the north-
ern lights, the aurora borealis? Athena Curriculum: Space.
http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/space/aurora/aurofaq1.html.
Picture Credits
page:
2: © Infobase Publishing 63: Associated Press, AP
8: Associated Press, AP 67: Index Stock Imagery
14: Associated Press, AP 79: © Wolfgang Kaehler/CORBIS
18: www.shutterstock.com 82: © Infobase Publishing
25: Associated Press, AP 84: Associated Press, AP
32: Associated Press, AP 100: © Infobase Publishing
44: © Momatiuk-Eastcott/Corbis 111: Associated Press, AP
48: www.shutterstock.com
50: © Infobase Publishing cover: © Luciana Whitaker/Getty
56: Associated Press, AP Images
120
Index
A bird life, 58–59

aborigines. See native peoples blizzards, 29, 35
adaptations of humans, 7–8, 62–63 boreal forest. See taiga
advection fog, 29–30 Bychkova-Jordan, Bella and Terry,
agonic line, 10 107
Alaska, 80–81, 95, 97–99 Byrd, Richard E., 85
alcoholism, 92
Aleuts, 69 c
algae, 52, 53 Canada, 99–101, 113
alpine glaciers, 40, 49–50 Canadian Archipelago, 47
American polar regions. See Alaska; caribou, 55, 98–99
Canada; Greenland carnivores, 56–57
Americas, first humans in, 64–66 climate. See also weather
Amundsen, Roald, 83, 85 climactic regions, 17–19
animal life defined, 16
global warming and, 110 precipitation levels, 26–28
human dependence upon, 54–55, summer and winter conditions,
68–69, 74 23–26
species present, 54–59 temperature control factors, 20–22
Antarctic Circle, 21 coastal migration route, 65–66
Antarctic ice cap, 37 Columbia Icefield, 38
Antarctica, 8–9, 27, 29 compass headings, 10–11
Arctic Circle, 9, 21 construction on permafrost, 43–45
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contemporary conditions in polar
(ANWR), 14–15, 93, 98 world, 93–97. See also specific
Arctic Ocean Basin, 46–47 regions, e.g., Alaska
Arctic Ocean, sea ice in, 40–41 continental glaciers, 36–40
Athabaskan Indians, 69 Corte Real, Gaspar, 82–83
aurora australis, 32 Cossack exploration, 80–81
aurora borealis, 32–33 cultural ecology, 12
culture of native peoples
b characteristics, 68–69
Bering Strait, 64–65, 108 European influence on, 90–92,
Beringia, 64–65 94–95, 106, 112
Berra, Yogi, 109 preservation of traditions, 112
121
122 Index
d fog, 29–30
Dalton Highway, 45, 94 freshwater reserves of polar region,
Davis, John, 83 40, 42
Dawson, Canada, 99–100 frigid zone, 9
Dempster Highway, 99 Frobisher, Martin, 83
Denali (Mount McKinley), 47 fur trade, 86–87
deserts, 26–27 future prospects in polar world,
development, 95–97, 113 109–113
diet, Eskimo, 71, 72–73
driftwood, 30–32 g
drug abuse, 92 glacial erratics, 49
drumlins, 49 glacial ice caps and ice sheets, 17,
36–40
e glacial ice, formation of, 20, 36
economic development, 95–97, 113 glacial till, 49, 50
economic structure of native cultures, glaciers, 38–40, 48–51
69 global cooling, 110
ecosystems, 52–54 global warming, 42, 45, 110–111
elevation, and temperature, 22 Göja, 83
environmental damage, 15, 112 gold prospecting, 88, 98, 99–100
Eric the Red, 79 great circle route, 88
eskers, 49 Greenland, 47, 79–80, 101–104
Eskimo (Inuit), 7, 34, 67–68, 70–74, ground fog, 29
91–92
Eurasia, northwest passage of, 84–85 h
Eurasian peoples, 74–75 Half Moon, 83
Eurasian polar regions. See Russia; hanging valleys, 50
Samiland; Siberia harpoons, 71
European influences health problems of native peoples, 92
on aboriginal way of life, 90–92, Herbert, Wally, 85
94–95, 106, 112 herbivores, 55–56
early contacts, 77–81 Hudson, Henry, 83
exploitation and settlement, 76–77, Hudson Bay, 49
86–90 Hudson’s Bay Company, 87, 99
search for Northwest Passage, hunting, 71, 73
81–86 hydrosphere, defined, 33
exploration, 13, 76–77, 81–86
i
f ice. See also glaciers
Fairbanks, Alaska, 98, 113 area coverage by, 36
Far East, search for route to, 81–86 glacial ice caps and ice sheets,
fast (shelf) ice, 41 36–40
fauna, 54–59 lake and river ice, 42
fishing industry, 87 sea ice, 40–42
floe ice, 41 travel over, 41–42
flora, 52–54 words for, 34
Index 123
ice age humans, 63–64 missionaries, 87–88

ice caps, glacial, 36–40 moraines, 49, 50
ice fog, 29 mountain glaciers, 40, 49–50
ice islands, 41 mountains, 47
ice sheets, glacial, 36–40 Murmansk, Russia, 107
icebergs, 38–40 musk ox, 55
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, 72–73 muskeg, 44
Indians, 67, 68, 69 myths and misconceptions, 19–20
insects, 59
Inuit (Eskimo), 7, 34, 67–68, 70–74, n
91–92 native peoples
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, 101, adaptations of, 7–8, 62–63
102–103 cultural characteristics of, 68–69
isolation, 94–95 of Eurasia, 74–75
of ice age, 63–64
k lifestyle changes in, 90–92, 94–95,
Kalaallit, 68 106, 112
Klondike gold rush, 99–100 of North America, 69–74
old world–new world exchanges,
l 64–66
lake ice, 42 tribal names of, 66–68
lakes, 59–60 natural resources, 14–15, 88, 95–96,
landforms 106, 112
continental, 46–47 nomadic lifestyle, 68–69, 105
glaciation effects on, 48–51 nonnative influences. See European
landform regions, 47–48 influences
patterned ground, 51 Nordenskiöld, A. E., 85
L’Anse aux Meadows, 80 Norilsk, Russia, 107
Lappland (Samiland), 104–106 North American peoples, 69–74
Lapps (Sami), 67, 68, 74, 106 North European Plain, 47
latitude, and temperature, 20–21 North Pole, race to reach, 85
lemmings, 56 northern lights, 32–33
lichens, 52, 53 Northwest Passage, 81–85
life, distribution of, 51–52. See also Nunavut, Canada, 101
animal life; plant life
o
m ocean currents, and temperature, 22
Mackenzie River, 60 oil resources, 88, 96, 98
magnetic declination, 11 old-world peoples, in settlement of
magnetic north, 10 Americas, 64–66
McKinley, Mount (Denali), 47 organic decay rate, 30–32
migrations of humans to Americas, otters, sea, 58
64–66
military significance of Arctic, 88–89, p
113 pack ice, 41
mineral resources, 88, 95–96, 106 patterned ground, 51
124 Index
Peary, Robert E., 85 snow

permafrost, 9–10, 34, 42–45 accumulation of, 19–20, 36
petroleum resources, 88, 96, 98 characteristics and prevalence of,
pingo, 51 35–36
plains, 47–48 uses of, 35–36
plant life, 52–54 words for, 34
Pleistocene ice caps, 36–37, 38 social structure of native cultures, 69
polar bear, 57–58 South Pole, 85
polar hare, 56 strategic importance of Arctic, 88–89,
polar ice caps, 17, 36–40 113
Polar World, defined, 8–12 subarctic region. See taiga
political administration, 90, 97, 113 subpolar region. See tundra
population, 94, 113 suicide rates, 92, 95
precipitation, 19–20, 26–28 summer weather conditions, 24
Pytheas of Massilia, 77–78 sunlight duration, and temperature,
20–21
r surface color, and temperature, 22
radiation (ground) fog, 29
reindeer, 55, 74–75 t
reindeer people. See Sami taiga, 18–19, 28, 54
research stations, 90 telecommunications, 94–95
resources. See natural resources temperature
rifle, introduction of, 91–92 as defining factor of region, 7
river ice, 42 factors controlling, 20–22
rivers, 60–61 increasing trends in, 42, 45, 110–111
Russia, 90, 106–108. See also Siberia recorded highs and lows, 23–24
Russian Cossack exploration, 80–81 temperature inversions, 25–26
temperature-related phenomena,
s 24–26
Salekhard, Russia, 107 terminal moraines, 49
Sami (Lapps), 67, 68, 74, 106 Thule, 77–78
Samiland (Lappland), 104–106 Titanic, 39–40
scientific research, 89–90 traditions of native peoples, 112
sea ice, 40–42 Trans-Alaska Pipeline, 96
sea level, rise in, 110 trapping, 86–87
sea mammals, 58 travel, 35–36, 41–42, 68, 94
sea otters, 58 treeline, 10
sea smoke, 30 trees, 53, 54
seals, 58 tribal names, 66–68
settlement, 13–14 true north, 10
Seward’s Folly, 81 tundra, 17–18, 27–28, 52–53
shelf ice, 41
ship navigation, sea ice and, 42 v
Siberia, 23–24, 28, 47, 48, 106–108 Vega, 85
six-month night, 20 Verkhoyansk, Siberia, 23–24, 28
Index 125
Viking explorations, 78–80 precipitation, 19–20, 26–28

Vineland settlement, 78–79, 80 temperature-related phenomena,
Vorkuta, Russia, 107 24–26
wind and windchill, 29, 30–31
w Western Siberian Lowland, 47, 48
walrus, 58 whales, 58
water, bodies of whaling, 86
lakes and rivers, 59–61 white-out conditions, 35
and temperature, 21–22 windchill, 30–31
water, drinking, scarcity of, 61 winds, 29
waterfowl, 58–59 winter weather conditions, 25–26
weather. See also temperature woodland ecosystem. See taiga
extreme conditions, 23–24
fog, 29–30 y
myths and misconceptions, 19–20 Yukon River, 60
About the Author
Charles F. Gritzner is distinguished professor of geography at South

Dakota State University in Brookings. He is now in his fifth decade
of teaching at the college level, conducting scholarly research, and
writing. In addition to teaching, he enjoys traveling, writing, work-
ing with teachers, and sharing his love of geography with classroom
students and readers alike. As series editor and frequent author
for Chelsea House’s Modern World Nations and Modern
World Cultures series, and now author of the three-volume
set Geography of Extreme Environments, he has a wonderful
opportunity to combine each of these “hobbies.”
Professionally, Gritzner has served as both president and execu-
tive director of the National Council for Geographic Education. He
has received numerous awards in recognition of his academic and
teaching achievements, including the NCGE’s George J. Miller Award
for Distinguished Service to geography and geographic education,
the Association of American Geographers Award for Excellence
in Teaching, and the Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic
Education.
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What are some of the main challenges of living in polar regions?

What are some of the main challenges of living in polar regions?

What are the main landforms and ecosystems found in polar regions?

What are the main landforms and ecosystems found in polar regions?

Geography of Extreme Environments

Copyright ©2007 by Infobase Publishing

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Series design by Keith Trego

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

1 Introducing the Polar World 7

2 Weather and Climate 16

3 Snow, Ice, and Frozen Ground 34

4 Landforms and Ecosystems 46

7 Contemporary Conditions and Regions 93

8 Future Prospects for the Polar World 109

Historical Geography at a Glance 114

W elcome to Earth’s last great frontier—the Polar World! Here, in

Three Inuit girls play a traditional game during the celebration of

learned long ago how to survive—and actually thrive—in this

LOCATING THE POLAR WORLD

has no native or permanent population and has no economic

n The Polar World is located poleward of the Arctic Circle.

Polar World falls below 50°F (10°C). Severity of tem-

Nearly all of the Polar World is underlain by this condi-

Using a Compass in the Polar World

Does your compass always point to true north or to the North

in which the warmest monthly temperature falls below

All these factors contribute to the uniqueness of the Polar

Magnetic declination is defined as the difference between true

(66 1/2 degrees north latitude) are inadequate determiners.

n Living in the Polar World involves cultural adaptation

Most people think of the polar region as the world’s most

Ninety degrees north latitude, or the North Pole, occupies the

Due to its frigid climate, the Polar Region is sparsely inhabited.

outside influences is relatively recent. Alaska did not become

wildlife? It is a conflict being played out with various themes,

time and throughout most of the region. By our standards, the

Polar Ice Cap

The taiga is a subarctic forest largely made up of needleleaf conif-

of North America and Eurasia. Although the region has been

(25 and 75 centimeters). The subarctic covers much of Alaska,

MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

Cold, Frozen Wasteland

Vast Quantities of Snow

of building material used, native peoples in California’s Sierra

directly. At poleward latitudes, however, it strikes the sloping

Land and Water Distribution

Lowest Highest Extreme Extreme

Nome 6 (–15°C) 51 (11°C) –54 (–48°C) 86 (28°C)

Fairbanks –10 (–23°C) 62 (16°C) –66 (–54°C) 89 (31°C)

page). The impact of land and water on temperatures can be

elevation basin surrounded by mountains on three sides. Cold

until temperatures drop into the –40 to –50°F (–40 to –46°C)

an optical illusion in which distant objects located below the

of the Polar World. Another definition of deserts, however,

86° (30°C) 20 (500)

68° (20°C) 16 (400)

This climograph of Barrow, Alaska, illustrates how light the