page_title: Canadian Arctic tundra
section_title: Surface geology and permafrost
hierarchical_section_title: Canadian Arctic tundra / Geological setting / Surface geology and permafrost
caption_attribution_description: English: Tundra, NWT, Richardson Mountains
context_page_description: The Canadian Arctic tundra is a biogeographic designation for Northern Canada's terrain generally lying north of the tree line or boreal forest, that corresponds with the Scandinavian Alpine tundra to the east and the Siberian Arctic tundra to the west inside the circumpolar tundra belt of the Northern Hemisphere.
  Canada's northern territories encompass a total area of 2,600,000 km², 26% of the country's landmass that includes the Arctic coastal tundra, the Arctic Lowlands and the Innuitian Region in the High Arctic. Tundra terrain accounts for approximately 1,420,000 km² in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, in Nunavut, north-eastern Manitoba, northern Ontario, northern Quebec, northern Labrador and the islands of the Arctic Archipelago, of which Baffin Island with 507,451 km² is the largest.
  Canada's tundra is characterized by extreme climatic conditions with year-round frozen grounds, long and cold winters, a very short growing season and low precipitation rates.
context_section_description: Permafrost, the dominant natural phenomenon of the tundra is of fundamental significance for this unique ecosystem, as it commands the tundra's climate, wild life, ecology, drainage and soils. Definition: "Permafrost is soil, rock or sediment that is frozen for more than two consecutive years."
  Recognized classification for the Northern Hemisphere regions in which permafrost occurs, on approximately 25% of the land area (23,000,000 km² (8,900,000 sq mi)).
  continuous permafrost (underlying 90 to 100% of the landscape)
  discontinuous permafrost (50 to 90%)
  sporadic permafrost (0 to 50%)
  In the discontinuous and sporadic zones permafrost distribution is complex and patchy, and permafrost-free terrain is common. The depth of permafrost varies from less than one meter to more than 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Patterned ground - large polygonal ground patterns and ice wedges caused by frost over a long period of time are common throughout the region except for areas of solid bedrock.
caption: Richardson Mountains
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