The Arctic is a large, cold area around the North Pole. It is not a clearly defined area, but includes the Arctic Ocean, many islands, and parts of the mainlands of Asia, Europe, North America.
Arctic comes from the Greek word "Arktos," which means bear, so the Arctic is the land of the bears, and Antarctica is the land without bears.
The Arctic Ocean is the world's smallest ocean and the shallowest. It is mostly covered by solid ice, ice floes, and icebergs.
During winter the Arctic ice pack grows to up to 16 million square kilometres (6.1 million square miles), almost the same size as Russia. In the summer it shrinks to half that size.
The skin of arctic tribes people are dark because they get all their vitamin D from fish instead of sunlight. Their skin does not need to lighten to try and get more sun for vitamin D production.
Sound carries so well in the Arctic that on a calm day, a conversation can be heard from 1.8 miles (2.9 kms) away.
Long before Europeans reached the Arctic, much of the region had a scattered population; Iceland was a notable exception. The indigenous peoples were of many ethnic groups, using various languages, but all had originated in Asia.
The Greeks of the 4th century BC were aware of the Arctic Regions, parts of which had by then been settled by Inuit and Indians.
Irish monks may have visited Iceland before AD 800. Vikings, or Norsemen, from Scandinavia reached there later in the century.
About 982, the Norse explorer Eric the Red sighted and named Greenland. During the next four centuries, Norsemen probably visited the Canadian Arctic.
Subsequent Arctic exploration was largely motivated by the European need for sea routes to the Orient—the Northeast Passage along northern Asia and the Northwest Passage through the Arctic islands of North America.
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen reached 86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous farthest north mark on April 7, 1896.
A Soviet station, North Pole-1, became the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean in 1937.
In 2007, Russia used a mini-submarine to plant the country's flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean in an attempt to claim the region and its natural resources, a move that was rejected by the United Nations.
Arctic explorers need to consume around 5,000 calories a day, as burning them off generates body heat to help the intrepid travelers survive he sub-zero temperatures.
The Arctic Circle marks the border of a zone in which the sun never rises during at least one day in winter and never sets during at least one day in summer.
The reason why the Canadian Arctic is called the "Land of the Midnight Sun" is because during the summer many communities have light 24 hours of the day.
Winter in the Arctic is long and cold, and summer is short and cool. On the Greenland ice cap average midwinter temperatures are –33° C (–27.4° F), whereas adjacent coastal settlements, the climates of which are moderated by the relatively warm ocean, typically have a mean temperature of –7° C (19.4° F) in the same period.
The North Pole is not the coldest spot in the Arctic, because its climate is moderated by the ocean. Oymyakon, in North East Siberia, holds the record low temperature of –68° C (–90.4° F)
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| The nations with land within the Arctic region. |
Arctic comes from the Greek word "Arktos," which means bear, so the Arctic is the land of the bears, and Antarctica is the land without bears.
The Arctic Ocean is the world's smallest ocean and the shallowest. It is mostly covered by solid ice, ice floes, and icebergs.
The skin of arctic tribes people are dark because they get all their vitamin D from fish instead of sunlight. Their skin does not need to lighten to try and get more sun for vitamin D production.
Sound carries so well in the Arctic that on a calm day, a conversation can be heard from 1.8 miles (2.9 kms) away.
Long before Europeans reached the Arctic, much of the region had a scattered population; Iceland was a notable exception. The indigenous peoples were of many ethnic groups, using various languages, but all had originated in Asia.
The Greeks of the 4th century BC were aware of the Arctic Regions, parts of which had by then been settled by Inuit and Indians.
Irish monks may have visited Iceland before AD 800. Vikings, or Norsemen, from Scandinavia reached there later in the century.
About 982, the Norse explorer Eric the Red sighted and named Greenland. During the next four centuries, Norsemen probably visited the Canadian Arctic.
Subsequent Arctic exploration was largely motivated by the European need for sea routes to the Orient—the Northeast Passage along northern Asia and the Northwest Passage through the Arctic islands of North America.
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen reached 86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous farthest north mark on April 7, 1896.
 |
| Artist's impression of Nansen and Johansen's northernmost camp, 86°13.6′N |
A Soviet station, North Pole-1, became the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean in 1937.
In 2007, Russia used a mini-submarine to plant the country's flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean in an attempt to claim the region and its natural resources, a move that was rejected by the United Nations.
Arctic explorers need to consume around 5,000 calories a day, as burning them off generates body heat to help the intrepid travelers survive he sub-zero temperatures.
The Arctic Circle marks the border of a zone in which the sun never rises during at least one day in winter and never sets during at least one day in summer.
The reason why the Canadian Arctic is called the "Land of the Midnight Sun" is because during the summer many communities have light 24 hours of the day.
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| Midnight Sun over Arctic Ocean |
Winter in the Arctic is long and cold, and summer is short and cool. On the Greenland ice cap average midwinter temperatures are –33° C (–27.4° F), whereas adjacent coastal settlements, the climates of which are moderated by the relatively warm ocean, typically have a mean temperature of –7° C (19.4° F) in the same period.
The North Pole is not the coldest spot in the Arctic, because its climate is moderated by the ocean. Oymyakon, in North East Siberia, holds the record low temperature of –68° C (–90.4° F)
Sources Funk & Wagnells Encyclopedia, GreatFacts.com
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