tundra

     

In physical geography, tunra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term "tundra" comes from Kildin Sami tūndâr 'uplands, tundra, treeless mountain tract'. There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra (which also occurs in Antarctica), and alpine tundra. In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra. The ecotone (or ecological boundary region) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline.

Trivia about tundra

  • The name of this treeless Arctic zone comes from a Lapp term for "hill"
  • About a tenth of the Earth's surface is covered by this treeless region of the Arctic
  • The Toyota named for this treeless Arctic region might want to warm you up in its long bed
  • The taiga is the forest land of Russia & this is its nearly treeless northern belt
  • Much of this cold, treeless plain in the Arctic is covered by a thick growth of lichens
  • Fossil beetles near the South Pole suggest that the Antarctic was once this type of flat area, cold but with life
  • This Russian word is used for any of the vast, treeless plains of the Arctic regions
  • The name of this cold, treeless region where reindeer thrive comes from a Russian word for "flat-topped hill"
  • (Sarah of the Clue Crew presents the clue.) Lappish language gives us the name of this treeless environment, some of which is so dry, it's called the Arctic desert