The Arctic is mostly ice and snow with many animals. When the tundra comes many plants grow. The word “tundra” means treeless plain. The growing season is very short, so soon animals leave and plants die. The Arctic is very cool!

It is very, very cold in the Arctic. The tundra isn’t much warmer. Most of the year the Arctic tundra is covered with snow. In the winter temperatures can get to 40 to 50 degrees below zero. The tundra is near the North Pole. Trees do not grow there. Winters are very cold. Summers last for a very short time. Under the soil the earth is frozen and never melts.

Many animals live in the Arctic. Polar bears are one of one of the most common. Arctic foxes may follow polar bears around to get food. Arctic hares change color and so do Arctic foxes. They use their coats to hide in the summer but are white in the winter.

Most of the year there are no plants in the Arctic. But many plants live in the tundra in the summer. There are about 228 species of plants in the tundra. Pasque flowers are pretty while Caribou moss is plain white. Bearberry is mostly green. Many animals eat the wonderful plants.

Sometimes Arctic foxes follow polar bears to get food. The polar bears don’t seem to mind. In return, the Arctic foxes might bark a warning if the polar bear is in danger by a killer whale. The two help each other. We had a lot of fun learning about the Arctic.