The Arctic Tundra
Know what the Arctic tundra is — a vast, treeless landscape with permafrost (permanently frozen ground) just below the surface, a very short growing season in summer when mosses, lichens, and tough grasses burst into life, and home to caribou/reindeer, musk oxen, lemmings, and snowy owls
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe the tundra as a treeless landscape with permafrost (permanently frozen ground) beneath the surface
- Explain that the tundra has a very short summer growing season when mosses, lichens, and grasses grow quickly
- Name at least three tundra animals: caribou/reindeer, musk oxen, lemmings, or snowy owls
The lesson
The tundra is a huge, flat land near the Arctic. It has almost no trees. Deep under the ground, the soil stays frozen all year long. This frozen layer is called permafrost, which means "permanently frozen ground."
For most of the year, the tundra is cold and quiet. But for a few short weeks in summer, it comes alive. Mosses, lichens, and tough little grasses burst up fast, because they only have a short time to grow before winter returns.
Zoe visits the tundra in July. She sees purple flowers poking through the moss, a herd of caribou grazing nearby, and a snowy owl watching from a low rock. There isn't a single tree in sight.
Even in summer, only a thin top layer of soil thaws. Just below it, the ground stays frozen solid. That's why the tundra has no tall trees: roots can't dig down into frozen ground.
The tundra is a flat, treeless land with frozen ground below and a short burst of summer life above.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.