There are two types of polar climates that lie poleward of 70°N where the Taiga gives way to the mostly treeless landscape. The coldest of these two regions is the Ice Cap climate (EF) and the milder is the Tundra climate (ET). The word Tundra is derived from the Finnish word tunturia for barren land, or treeless plain (Tundra, 2003). While there are a few areas of Tundra in the Antarctic, as a climatic region the Tundra generally is located around the Arctic Ocean and above the timberline of highlatitude mountains (Oliver and Hidore, 2002; Figure T43).
The Tundra; cartographer T. Truckenbrod. Tundra climate does not favor tree growth as abrasion from wind-driven snow stunts the branches and subsurface dynamics damage the roots (Tundra, 1996).
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Cross-references
Arctic Climates
Asia, Climates of Siberia, Central and East Asia
Taiga Climate
North America, Climate of
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Snow, M. (2005). Tundra Climate Location and definition. In: Oliver, J.E. (eds) Encyclopedia of World Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3266-8_215
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