The Arctic is a polar region located in the northernmost part of Earth and spreads around the North Pole. The imaginary line is approximately 66.5 degrees North Latitude. The Arctic is connected to three continents: Europe, Asia, and North America. The region consists of northern parts of several countries, including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the Queen Elizabeth Islands. More than fifty percent of the Arctic coastline is shared with Russia. There are several additional islands and territories in the Arctic, including Nunavut, which is an autonomous territory controlled by the Inuit people; Svalbard and Jan Mayen, two pieces of territory that fall under Norway; and the Wrangel, New Siberian Islands, Severnaya Zemlya, Novaya Zemlya, and Franz Josef Land, which are Russian territory.
The Arctic Ocean is located at the center of the region. Several bodies of water are part of the Arctic region, including the Norwegian, Barents, Kara, Laptov, East Siberian, Chukchi, Greenland and Baffin Sea. The region is filled with flora, fauna, and tundra. Also, many parts of the Arctic are covered with sea ice, especially during the long winter seasons.
The United States (U.S.) is part of the Arctic region and is recognized as an Arctic coastal state. In 1996, the Ottawa Declaration declared the U.S. as part of the Arctic Council. The declaration asserted that the U.S. has territory in the Arctic Ocean. The U.S. is also known to be a coastal state because “they have mainland coasts that front onto waters north of the Arctic Circle.”
The Arctic’s terrain is very diverse in animal and plant life. Animal life is interconnected with all three neighboring continents where a majority of the Arctic animal life consists of aquatic species, land mammals, and birds. More specifically, land mammals, polar bears, foxes, hares, wolves and birds. Maritime animal life consists of whales, orcas, Greenland sharks, seals, and walruses. As a result of the warmer temperatures in the spring and fall, melting ice is reshaping adaptation. Rising temperatures are causing demographic changes in animal life, which is disrupting the local ecosystem. The negative impacts of climate change in the Arctic have limited the diversification of animal life. Some of the animals, such as polar bears and walruses, are considered endangered species.
