Where the taiga has already ended, but the Arctic has not yet begun, a tundra zone stretches. This territory occupies more than three million squares and has a width of about 500 kilometers. What does the tundra look like ? This is a permafrost zone, there are almost no plants, very few animals. Many mysterious secrets are kept in this mysterious territory.
Tundra zone
The tundra zone stretches along the shores of the northern seas. Wherever you look, a cold plain stretching for thousands of kilometers, completely devoid of forests. The polar night lasts two months. Summer is very short and cold. And even with the onset of the polar day, frosts often occur. Cold sharp winds walk on the tundra annually. For many consecutive days in winter, the snowstorm is the mistress of the plains.
The topsoil thaws only 50 centimeters in depth during the cold awkward summer. Below this level lies a layer of permafrost, which never melts. Neither melt nor rain water passes into the depths. The tundra zone is a huge number of lakes and swamps, the soil is moist everywhere, because due to low temperatures the water evaporates extremely slowly. Very severe climate in the tundra, creating almost unbearable conditions for all living things. However, life here is somewhat more diverse than in the Arctic.
Vegetable world
What does the tundra look like? Its surface for the most part is very large tubercles. Their size reaches a height of up to 14 meters and up to 15 meters wide. The sides are steep, they are made of peat, the inside is almost always frozen. Between the knolls in the intervals up to 2.5 meters there are swamps, the so-called Samoyed ersei. The sides of the hillocks are covered with mosses and lichens, often cloudberries are immediately found. Their body is formed by mosses and tundra shrubs.
Closer to the rivers, to the south, where you can observe the forests of the tundra, the hilly zone passes into sphagnum peatlands. Cloudberries, baguette, cranberries, gonobol, and birch yernik grow here. Sphagnum peat bogs penetrate deep into the forest zone. To the east of the Taman Ridge, hillocks are very rare, only in low, swampy places.
Tundra Subzones
Smooth regions of Siberia are occupied by peaty tundra. Mosses and tundra shrubs stretch in a continuous film on the surface of the earth. Mostly moss covers the ground, but glades of cloudberries can also be found. This type of tundra is especially common between Pechora and Timan.
In high places where water does not stagnate, but the wind walks freely, a fractured tundra is located. Dry, cracked soil is divided into small areas where there is nothing but frozen ground. Cereals, shrubs and saxifrages can hide in cracks.
It will be useful for those who are interested in what the tundra looks like to find out what fertile soil is here. Grassy-shrub tundra is rich in shrubs, mosses and lichens are almost never found.
Reindeer and lichen are most characteristic of this natural zone, due to which the tundra is painted in light gray. In addition, standing out against the background of the reindeer stains, small shrubs cling to the ground. The southern regions boast small islands of forest. Dwarf species of willows and birch yernik are quite common.
Animal world
The way the tundra looks does not affect the number of animals living in this region in any way. One of the ordinary inhabitants of the tundra is the bony buzzard. Birds nest right on the ground or rocks. White-tailed eagle, a native of the tundra, lives on the seashore. Gyrfalcon, found in the northernmost regions of the region, is the most common bird in the region. All birds prey on partridges and small rodents.
In this natural zone, not only birds live, but also shaggy, and of different sizes. So, of the animals of the tundra, the largest is the reindeer. This is the most adapted to climate conditions. In Europe, he almost died out, only representatives remained in Norway. Deer are also rare on the Kola Peninsula. They were replaced by a domestic deer.
Deer, in addition to humans, have a natural enemy - the wolf. These predators have a much thicker undercoat than their forest counterparts. In addition to these animals, there are polar bears, musk ox, Arctic fox, Parry gopher, lemmings, white hares and wolverines in the tundra.
Climate
The climate of the tundra is very harsh. The temperature in the short summer does not rise above 10 degrees, the average temperature in the winter does not exceed minus 50. A thick layer of snow falls by September, only increasing the layers every month.
Despite the fact that the sun almost does not appear above the horizon throughout the long winter night, there is no impenetrable haze. What does the tundra look like on a polar night? Even in moonless periods it is quite light. After all, dazzling white snow lies around, perfectly reflecting the light of distant stars. In addition, the northern lights give beautiful light, which paints the sky with different colors. In some hours, thanks to him, it becomes as bright as day.
What does the tundra look like in summer and winter
In general, summer can hardly be called warm, because the average temperature does not rise above 10 degrees. In such months, the sun does not leave the horizon at all, trying to have time to at least slightly warm the frozen earth. But what does the tundra look like in summer?
In the relatively warm months, tundra expanses over water, turning vast territories into huge swamps. The natural area of the tundra is covered with lush color at the very beginning of summer. Given that it is very short, all plants strive to complete the development cycle in the shortest possible time.
In winter, a very thick layer of snow lies on the ground. Since almost the entire territory lies beyond the Arctic Circle, the natural zone of the tundra is deprived of sunlight for most of the year. Winter lasts a long time, much longer than in other areas of the globe. There are no adjacent seasons in this territory, that is, neither spring nor autumn.
The wonders of the tundra
The most famous miracle, of course, is the northern lights. On a dark January night, against a black background of velvet sky, strips of bright colors suddenly light up. Green and blue columns interspersed with pink and red glide across the sky. The dance of radiance is like flashes of a giant bonfire reaching the sky. People who first saw the northern lights, will never again be able to forget this amazing sight that excites the mind of people for thousands of years.
Our ancestors believed that the lights in the sky bring happiness, because they are a manifestation of the celebration of the gods. And if the gods have a holiday - they will certainly give gifts to people. Others thought that the radiance was the wrath of the god of fire, who was angry with the human race, so they expected only troubles and even misfortunes from the colorful spray of heaven.
No matter how you think, it’s worth seeing the northern lights. If such an opportunity ever arises, it is better to be in the tundra in January, when the northern lights especially flare up in the sky.