The Tundra Biome

Questions for the Experts

Why is the tundra climate very cold and dry?

What are some of the adaptions animals have to survive the very cold winters?

What do tundra animals eat?

There are two kinds of tundras, Arctic and alpine. Arctic tundras lie near the Arctic Ocean. They include Greenland, northern parts of Alaska, Canada, Europe and Russia. The alpine tundra is located at the top of mountains across the world.

Some geological events that have made the formation of this biome are the movment of glaciers from the north.

In the tundra biome there are many animals. They are wolves, lemmings, caribou, musk oxen, polar bears, ptarmigans, snowy owls, geese, and plovers. In the alpine tundra there are deer, elk, mountain goats and various species of sheep.

The weather in this biome is very cold and dry. It's sort of like a cold desert. The temperature barely goes above freezing. The average annual precipitation is less than 350 millimeters over most of the tundra. Some mountains situated in the lower latitudes have a climate very similiar.

Some plant life that dominates this biome are dwarf birches, willows, lichens, mosses and grasses. Because the regrowth of plant life is slow, severe erosion can damage land for a very long time.