The polar regions are the coldest and bleakest places on Earth. Antarctica, around the South Pole, is mostly covered by thick ice, and fierce blizzards blow loose snow over the surface. Temperatures rarely rise abo ve freezing point during the day and a world record —125 °F has been recorded near the South Pole. No people live permanently in Antarctica, but some scientists work there in heated homes under the ice. Penguins live around the shores of Antarctica and the seas are rich in fish and whales.
Polar bears live on the ice floes of the Arctive Ocean, hunting seals and young walruses. And around the Artic Ocean are parts of North America, Europe and Asia, called the tundra. Here the snow melts during the short summers, when temperatures may rise to 50 °F. Flowering plants then carpet the ground, but it is too cold for trees. Migrating animals such as reindeer graze in the tundra. Arctic people include the Eskimos. They once lived by hunting. They built winter homes of ice called igloos, but most Eskimos now have modern homes.
