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North polar region is also called tundra
The word tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia means tree less plains
North frigid zones is located between the north pole and arctic circle
The northern hemisphere region includes arctic tundra and alpine tundra
South frigid zone lies between Antarctica and south pole
The southern hemisphere region includes Antarctica
Arctic TundraLocation
Arctic tundra is found around north pole , towards the north of the taiga belt. It includes vast areas of northern Russia and Canada
climate
Arctic tundra experiences two seasons
Summer with average temperature of 3-12 degree centigrade
winter with average temperature of -34 degree centigrade
Rainy season with average rainfall of 15 to 20cm average
During the summer months some times sun is visible at midnight .
This phenomenon is called midnight sun
The north pole and south pole experience six months of daylight and six months of darkness in summer and
winter respectively
Natural vegetation
Soil remains permanently frozen in this region and is called permafrostThe top layer thaws in summer monthsFew marshes, lakes and bogs are seen when the snow melts in summerVegetation hardly grows in this region
Wild life
Caribou(reindeer)
Snowy owls Arctic fox
Arctic hare Musk ox
Polar bears
These animals adapted themselves well to the harsh climate
Human activity Reindeer herding
Uses:TransportationMilk
Recently natural oil and uranium have been discovered in arctic region
They wear seal skin in summer and caribou skin in winter
Dress made of seal skin Dress made of caribou skin
They use sleds made of animal bones and skins pulled over snow and ice by dogs as transport
Traditional sled Snow mobiles presently replaced traditional sleds
Their chief occupation is fishing and hunting seals, walruses and fish
Fishing Hunting seals
Hunting walruses
The lifestyle of the Inuit's' has changed now with the introduction of health centers schools and permanent
settlements
Polar bears
Polar bears live in arctic regionThey have a thick layer of white fur to protect from cold and to camouflage themselves easily
Polar bears
polar bears are good swimmers
They can live with out food for many days as they
can store food in their fat
Polar bears can eat up to 68 kg of food
They love to eat ringed seals, berries and grass
Alpine Tundra
Location
Alpine tundra is found in high altitude regions all over the world (usually above 10,000 feet altitude)Large areas of the Tibetan plateau fall with in the alpine tundra zone
climate
This region is severely cold during winter
Summer with average temperature of 10 degree centigrade
winter with average temperature of -12 degree centigrade
It receives average precipitation of 30cm in a year.
Natural vegetation
Soil is well drained unlike arctic tundra soil
Tall trees do not grow in the alpine tundra region because it is very cold and it has very little rainfall
Wild life
Mountain goats sheep Elk Marmots
These are some of the animals that are found in alpine tundra region
Human activity The alpine tundra region is sparsely populated
Domestication of animals Fishing Mining
Antarctica
location
Antarctica is a region between south pole and Antarctic circle
Surrounded by water,It is permanently covered by ice and it is called largest cold desert of the world
Climate
Coldest driest and windiest place on the earthThe coldest temperature on the earth, -89 degrees has been recorded in Antarctica
Most of Antarctica gets two inches of snow fall each yearEast Antarctica is colder than west Antarctica because of its higher elevation
Human activities in Antarctica
Antarctica has no permanent human residents due to extreme weatherHowever scientific expeditions visit from several countriessome of the countries including India has built research centers in Antarctica