Located at the northernmost part of the Earth, the sparsely populated Arctic regions were at one time of interest largely to explorers, traders, and Inuit, or Eskimo, hunters. The Arctic's value to scientists has become increasingly important, however. GeographyThe Arctic regions are centered on the North Pole. They include the northern reaches of Canada, the United States, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Atlantic Ocean, most of Iceland, the Bering Sea, and Greenland. About two thirds of the area consists of the Arctic Ocean, the smallest of the world's oceans. The Arctic land area surrounding the ocean is generally flat and low lying. More than three fifths of the Arctic's land surface is ice free. The mountains of the region are covered with snow all the year round, particularly in Greenland. The tundra, or treeless grassy plain, has a light covering of snow in winter. Three of the world's longest rivers, the Ob, the Yenisey, and the Lena, flow northward through the Russian Arctic. The Ob and the Yenisey empty into the Kara Sea of the Arctic Ocean. The Lena drains into the Laptev Sea. At the North Pole the sun does not rise above the horizon for six months of the year. Hence it is dark most of the time during this period. In the other half of the year, the sun never sinks below the horizon. This period is marked by long hours of daylight. The periods of continual darkness and continual daylight grow shorter south of the pole. ClimateThe most extreme winter cold and summer heat in the Arctic are not at the pole. The Arctic Ocean prevents extremes because the water absorbs heat during the summer and gives it out in the winter. Greater extremes occur near the Arctic Circle. Alaska has had a winter temperature of -80° F (62° C). In summer the temperature has reached 100° F (38° C). The coldest weather in the Arctic regions occurs near Verkhoyansk in Siberia. The January temperature there can reach -90° F (-68° C). The Arctic is warmer than Antarctica, or the region around the South Pole. The Arctic regions receive very little snow or rain, and most of the zone is dry. Annual precipitation is generally less than 5 inches (130 millimeters) in the inland. The coastal areas receive an average of about 10 inches (260 millimeters) of precipitation annually. Severe storms, including cyclones and blizzards, are common. Plants and animalsMuch of the land in the Arctic is covered with tundra. In summer, flowers and grasses grow in some places. The important trees found in the Arctic regions include spruces, larches, pines, and firs. Plants in the Arctic regions face a harsh environment of low temperatures, periods of continuous summer daylight and winter darkness, infertile soil, and permanently frozen ground. Animal life in the Arctic is affected both by the vegetation and by the climate. The main animals found in this region are polar bears, caribou, musk-oxen, reindeer, arctic wolves, arctic foxes, arctic weasels, arctic hare, brown and collared lemmings, ptarmigan, gyrfalcons, and snowy owls. Seals and walrus live in the water and crawl out on the ice to breed. Several species of whales come to the Arctic during the summer. The rivers and lakes are full of fish, especially salmon and trout, while the seas contain cod and halibut. Insects such as land bees, flies, mosquitoes, and butterflies are found in the summer. Of the birds, the raven and the snowy owl stay through the darkness of the winter. Other birds include little auks, guillemots, kittiwakes, and puffins. Apart from the wood frog, no other reptiles are found in the Arctic regions. People and cultureThe Arctic regions are among the most sparsely populated areas of the world, though settlement patterns are varied. Greenland and the islands of Svalbard, for instance, have towns with native populations of less than 10,000. On the other hand, a number of places in the Arctic have considerably larger settlements built by Europeans. In the Russian Arctic are mining towns with populations of more than 100,000. Russians constitute the largest ethnic group in the Arctic. The main native population groups are the Sami of Europe, the Nenets of western Russia, and the Inuit and Yupik (Eskimos) of North America. Other inhabitants are the Nordic Caucasians of Iceland, the Greenlanders of Greenland, and the Yakuts, Evenk (Evenki), Yukaghirs, and Chukchis of eastern Russia. In the 1930s people from outside the area started settling in the Arctic regions. They now outnumber the native population. The traditional way of life has largely disappeared from much of the Arctic. The Inuit, for example, once built their homes of stone and earth or lived in tents made of skins. Many of them now live in wooden houses. EconomyThe native people of the Arctic generally depend on the sea for their resources. The Barents, Greenland, and Bering seas are rich in fish, jointly providing about 10 percent of the world marine catch. The Russian fishing industry has its major base at Murmansk. International companies extract oil and other minerals from the Arctic. Northwestern Siberia and Alaska are two of the world's major areas for the production of oil and natural gas. Hard-rock mining is also well developed, particularly in Russia. The tourism industry, especially in the North American sector, grew in the second half of the 20th century. History of explorationThe Arctic regions have been inhabited for at least 7,000 years. The first recorded European exploration of the area did not occur until the 16th century, however. (The Vikings from Norway had settled Iceland in the late 9th century, but they left few records of their voyages.) Search for trade routesMuch of the discovery of the Arctic was prompted by economics. In the 16th century the English and Dutch sought new trade routes to the Far East. In their search for a Northeast Passage and a Northwest Passage from Europe to Asia, they explored and mapped much of the Arctic coast. Whalers and other sailors from several countries also contributed to maps of the coasts. Similarly, the fur trade helped to open the interiors of Arctic lands. The Hudson's Bay Company was established after explorers sailed into Canada's Hudson Bay in search of the Northwest Passage. One of the most ambitious Arctic explorations was a Russian expedition of 1733. Led by Danish navigator Vitus Bering, the trip lasted more than ten years and mapped much of the Arctic coast of Siberia. Many other expeditions followed. Scientific explorationThe early expeditions gathered a great deal of scientific data. They studied the plants, animals, and minerals of the region in addition to mapping the lands that were being discovered. By the mid-20th century most of the land had been discovered, and the focus shifted to scientific work exclusively. In 1937 the Soviet Union landed an airplane equipped with skis on Arctic ice and established a scientific station. In 1945 scientists from the United States and Canada founded the Arctic Institute of North America for polar research; it later became part of the University of Calgary. In the late 20th century scientists studied how climate changes were affecting the landscape and the lives of Arctic dwellers. Average temperatures in some parts of the Canadian North were rising at a rate of about 1.8° F (1° C) each decade. Scientists also reported a thinning of the polar ice cap. |