The Arctic

When most people think of vacations, they think of somewhere warm and tropical like Hawaii or Mexico. No one ever says, "Let's spend spring break in the Arctic!". But why not? 
*Did you know that the Arctic is the only place that Narwhals exist? AKA the "unicorn of the sea". Arctic in Greek is Arktos which means bear, referring to the Northern constellation. 

This is considered the Northernmost Region on Earth. It is made up of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. And of course the Arctic Ocean. 



DEFINING THE REGION

Cultural and Social

Surprisingly, the Arctic region is home to over 4 million people, they are called "Inuits".Traditionally, the native Inuits used hunting, fishing, gathering, and herding for survival. Farming was primarily used in Greenland. In some parts of the Arctic, people still live in small villages like their ancestors like in Siorapaluk, Greenland. On the other hand, most people had modernized. The first thing I think about is how Sarah Palin could "see Russia from her backyard " at her Alaskan home. 
Dogs are a huge part of Arctic culture. They make great companions and can serve as sled dogs. 

http://www.canaryzoo.com/dog%20species%20arctic%20dogs1.htm

This is a link to a website with a huge list of Arctic Dogs and their origins!

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/vtl07.la.ws.process.sleddogs/the-sled-dogs-of-the-arctic-circle-nature/en/

This is a link to a video on the background on Sled dogs.

Physical/Geography


As you can image, the one phrase mainly used to describe the Arctic is well... unusually cold. At the North Pole, the sun rises once a year and sets once a year. There are six months of daylight and six months of night.


Phenomena

Personally, I believe that a huge characteristic of the Arctic is the incredible phenomena that occur there. One example is the Aurora Borealis, aka Northern Lights, is a beautiful wonder that occurs on clear, dark nights when solar storms are active. "The Cree in the north of the Canadian province of Quebec believe that the lights are the spirits of their ancestors and by rubbing their hands together as they watch them, the spirits will dance in the sky. A traditional belief amongst the Saami in Scandinavia is that the lights are the tail of an arctic fox that extends upwards into the sky." (ArcticPhoto).



STEREOTYPES

Some main stereotypes of the Arctic consist of the fact that: everyone is an Eskimo that lives an igloo and penguins and polar bears roam all the land. When I think of the Arctic region, I picture thousands of miles of untouched ice and water. The Arctic Circle is made up mainly of the Arctic Ocean. It is easy to assume that "Eskimos" live here since its so cold. Like why would anyone want to live in a place that is covered in ice and cold all the time? There are many forms of wildlife that thrive in the Arctic, for example, foxes, walruses, seals, whales, etc.

Stereotypes and stories are formed by the unknown. When we are new or unfamiliar to something, we make assumptions in our heads. I think many people make assumptions about the Arctic since it is more or less not an ideal vacay location. Also, many countries that make up the Arctic were unexplored for a very long time. There are not many reasons why people would go to this cold place, or I guess you could say people only go for one particular reason. I think the main reason people would go to the Arctic is to research the lands, animals, or climate. 

ATTENTION***

As many of you know, there are major concerns and conspiracies about global warming. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), The Arctic is warming at a dangerous rate. They state that "Without urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the world will continue to feel the effects of a warming Arctic: rising sea levels, changes in climate and precipitation patterns, increasing severe weather events, and loss of fish stocks, birds and marine mammals." I believe that everyone should check out their website and read some of their articles and how animals of the Arctic are being affected today.

https://arcticwwf.org/work/climate/

Thanks for checking out my blog! Now enjoy some photos of the Arctic!

Sources

“10 Facts about the Arctic.” National Geographic Kids, 5 Nov. 2018, www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/geography/general-geography/ten-facts-about-the-arctic/.

“The Sled Dogs of the Arctic Circle | Nature.” PBS LearningMedia, www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/vtl07.la.ws.process.sleddogs/the-sled-dogs-of-the-arctic-circle-nature/en/.

“National Snow and Ice Data Center.” Animals and Frozen Ground | National Snow and Ice Data Center, nsidc.org/cryosphere/arctic-meteorology/arctic-people.html.

“10 Facts about the Arctic.” National Geographic Kids, 5 Nov. 2018, www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/geography/general-geography/ten-facts-about-the-arctic/.

“Polar Phenomena.” ArcticPhoto- Facts, www.arcticphoto.com/polphen.asp.

“Arctic Climate Change.” Arctic, arcticwwf.org/work/climate/.