is in the middle near Verkhoyansk. It is an arctic paradox that 

 man finds it easier here to withstand the extremely low tempera- 

 tures than some of the less extreme western temperatures, because 

 in the east the air is dry and usually calm. 



The low precipitation, low evaporation, and low temperatures 

 are controlling factors. The short summer, even with 24-hour 

 daylight, does not provide enough heat to thaw more than the top 

 few inches of the ground and the subsoil remains frozen. The 

 freezing and thawing of the surface arches it into little hillocks. 

 There are many areas where no soil exists. On these rocky places 

 reindeer moss is found. In some areas, as between the Pechora 

 River and the Urals, stunted willow and birch brush grows to 

 about 3 feet in height. The lower areas are swampy and the 

 drainage is poor, mainly because of the underlying impervious 

 layer of permafrost. In the short summer the many polar flowers 

 relieve the drabness of the tundra, grasses flourish in the meadows, 

 and the patches of heath produce abundant berries. 



ANIMAL LIFE AND VEGETATION 



The animal life of the tundra includes reindeer, white fox, white 

 partridge, lemming, and arctic fox. These animals and the forest 

 animals, which prey on the gulls and ducks, move northward in the 

 summer. 



The subarctic zone is the region of ash-gray soils or podsol, and 

 of the coniferous f orqsts or taiga. The upper layer of the soil con- 

 sists of gray, sandy particles leached by percolating water of most 

 of the iron hydroxides and humus. These substances and the finer 

 clay particles form a darker layer below the surface. Leaching 

 takes place despite the fact that the area receives relatively little 

 rainfall; melting snow, a low evaporation rate, and cold soils ac- 

 count fgr the depletion of the top layer. 



At the northern edge of the coniferous forest the birch and coni- 

 fers are dwarfed and stunted. Toward the south where the snow- 

 fall is greater and the winds are less strong, firs, larches, spruces 

 and pines flourish. Fires have burned out extensive areas and 

 where new growth has started up, the birch is usually the first 

 to get established. 



In some areas, as around Archangel and in the central Ob basin, 

 the sandy soil is waterlogged due to the presence of a hard pan 

 layer below the surface, which prevents downward percolation of 

 water. Peat-bogs take the place of forests in these areas. These 



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