Russia Greenland Den Alaska US Arctic Circle Canada North American Tundra United States 0 1500 KM 0 1000 Miles Tundra
The Arctic Tundra Across far northern North America lies a broad belt of nearly treeless plant life This is the Arctic tundra It is a carpet of many different kinds of plants such as wildflowers mosses grasses and little shrubs The few trees that grow there are very short 5
The tundra begins at the tree line This is the northern limit of the great northern forest Here in a colder climate the forest thins Then it disappears altogether replaced by Arctic tundra This is a cold windy land under which lies permafrost 6 Trees grow further and further apart as Arctic tundra replaces northern forest Permafrost is permanently frozen soil Even in summer permafrost thaws only a few inches deep That is deep enough for tundra plants but not for tree roots
