The New Childrens Encyclopedia

POLAR REGIONS

7171

Winter coats Some animals that live on

the tundra change their coat from brown

to white to hide them when it snows.

THE TUNDRA

Tundra is the name given to cold,

windy regions where the soil is

frozen most of the year. The plants

that grow here are low and stunted,

but mosses, lichens, and small shrubs

can survive the freezing conditions.

 CARIBOU scrape

away snow in search of

lichen and moss.

O

People have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years.

Native peoples, such as the Inuit and Yupik, have learned to

survive the cold and live on a diet of mainly fish and meat.

However, there is oil beneath the surface of the Arctic and

Antarctica, which makes them a target for prospectors.

Antarctica is protected from exploitation by treaty, but the

shrinking ice of the Arctic is opening it up for exploration.

Oil and gas pipelines already cross Alaska and Siberia,

which has led to oil spills and environmental damage.

HUMAN INFLUENCES

THE ANTARCTIC

The Antarctic differs from the Arctic

because there is land beneath the ice.

Nothing lives in the interior, and it is

classed as a cold desert because it is so

dry. Freezing winds help make it the

coldest place on Earth.

Migration Every summer huge herds of

elk and caribou cross the tundra in search

of food. Arctic foxes and hares stay all year.

A safe refuge

There are no predatory land mammals on

Antarctica, which makes it an ideal place

for colonies of seals, penguins, and

seabirds to breed. Despite it being so

cold, the water is full of plankton, krill,

and fish to feed their young.

SOUTH
POLE

AND ECOLOGYENVIRONMENT

(c) 2012 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.(c) 2012 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.