This makes the tundra mushy during the summer, when the snow has melted. The tiny plant is a birch tree. They are only about as tall as grass. When flowers blossom during the tundra1s short summer, the landscape is full of beautiful whites, purples, blues, and yellows. Willows like the one below are often the tallest plants on the tundra.
Bears often hide in the willows.
Despite the almost year-round cold, some animals manage to survive in the tundra. They eat as much as possible during the short summer. The young geese feed on the newly growing grasses. Billions of mosquitoes cover the tundra during the beginning of summer. Hiking to the top of a mountain, you might come across an Alpine tundra.