Page:The frozen North; an account of Arctic exploration for use in schools (IA frozennorthaccou00hort).pdf/21

 long, cold winter and a short, dry summer. It is during the summer that the explorers do their work. Throughout the dark winter they can do nothing. Even in the summer, navigators meet with many perils, for Arctic navigation is not an easy matter. Besides the danger that the vessel may be frozen in an ice pack, or crushed between icebergs, the navigator is often blinded by fogs and snows, and has to face unknown tides and currents.

The vegetation within the Arctic circle is scanty. During the summer the bright, warm sun causes the plants to spring up and grow rapidly. Willows, dwarf birches, and rush grasses are plentiful in some localities. In southern Greenland, and in some sheltered places along its western coast, yellow poppies and dandelions grow. Farther north only mosses and lichens are to be found, and beyond the moss line there is no trace of vegetation.

Nevertheless there are plenty of animals in this land of ice and snow. The polar bear, Arctic fox, blue fox, wolf, ermine, reindeer, and musk ox are plentiful. Seals and