A presentation of the Arctic.

1. ICE WORLDS – THE ARCTIC

2. LOCATION
The Arctic is the polar region located at the North Pole of the Earth.
The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Alaska (United
States), Canada, Finland, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway,
Russia, and Sweden.

3. THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
The Arctic region consists of a vast ocean with a seasonally varying ice
cover. The area can be defined as north of the Arctic Circle (66° 33'N),
the approximate limit of the midnight sun and the polar night.
Alternatively, it can be defined as the region where the average temperature for
the warmest month (July) is below 10 °C.

4. ETYMOLOGY
The word Arctic comes from the Greek word arktikos, meaning bear.

5. TEMPERATURES
Average winter temperatures can be as low as −40 °C, and the coldest
recorded temperature is −68 °C.

6. PLANTS
Arctic vegetation is composed of plants such as dwarf shrubs, herbs,
lichens and mosses which all grow and form tundra.
Trees cannot grow in the Arctic, but in its warmest parts, shrubs are
common and can reach 2 m in height.
In the coldest parts of the Arctic, much of the ground is bare with a few
scattered grasses and forbs (like the Arctic poppy).

7. ANIMALS
Herbivores on the tundra include the Arctic hare, lemming, muskox,
and caribou. They are preyed on by the snowy owl, Arctic fox and
wolf. The polar bear is also a predator, though it prefers to hunt for
marine life from the ice.
There are also many birds and marine species endemic to the colder regions.
Other land animals include wolverines, ermines, and Arctic ground squirrels.
Marine mammals include seals, walrus, and several species of cetacean—
baleen whales and also narwhals, killer whales and belugas. An excellent and
famous example of a ring species exists and has been described around the
arctic circle in the form of the Larus gulls.

9. NATURAL RESOURCES
The Arctic includes natural resources like oil, gas, minerals, fresh
water, fish and forest. The interest of the tourism industry is also on
the increase.

11. ARCTIC WATERS
The most known Arctic waters are: Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Bering
Sea, Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay and Norwegian Sea.