Tundra biography

For most of the year, the tundrabiome is a cold, frozen landscape.

Tundra biography

This biome has a short growing season, followed by harsh conditions that the plants and animals in the region need special adaptations to survive.

Tundra form in two distinct cold and dry regions. Arctic tundra are found on high-latitude landmasses, above the Arctic Circle—in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia, for example—or on far southern regions, like Antarctica.

Alpine tundra are located at very high elevations atop mountains, where overnight temperatures fall below freezing.

Tundra regions typically get less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation annually, which means these areas are also considered deserts.

They have long, cold winters with high winds and average temperatures below freezing for six to ten months of the year. On average, only six to ten weeks of the year have sufficiently warm temperatures and long days for plant growth.

The soil in the Arctic