During the Age of Exploration, where were European people and explorers trying to go?
China
Why were the European people trying to go to China?
To make a lot of money from trading with the people of China
What country was in their way if the European explorers sailed west from Europe to reach China
America
A way around America to the north is called
The Northwest Passage
A famous explorer who made 4 different trips to North America between 1607 to 1611
Henry Hudson
True or False? Henry Hudson sailed further north than any other explorer in 1607.
True
What two places did he discover?
1. Hudson Straight between Baffin Island and Canada
2. Hudson Bay
What is the largest bay in North America?
The Hudson Bay
True or False: Hudson found the Northwest Passage
False
True or False: Many explorers tried, failed, and died trying to find the Northwest Passage.
True
One of the most famous failures was lead by ... ?
Sir John Franklin of England
What was the first ship to sail through the Northwest Passage called?
Gj�a of Norway
Memorize this!
Roald Admundsen of Norway led that expedition. It did not happen until 1906, three hundred years after Henry Hudson. The Northwest Passage was just too dangerous for regular trade and travel, but explorations have taught us a great deal about the North Am
was a famous American Arctic explorer. He was an officer in the U.S. Navy when he became interested in the Arctic. In 1891, he led an expedition to northern Greenland proving it was an island. He made three more trips into the region trying to reach the N
Robert E. Peary
True or False: The first man to fly an airplane over the North Pole was an American
True
What is the name of the navy man who eventually became a rear admiral?
Richard E. Byrd
Name of a submarine, was the first ship to reach the North Pole in 1958 by going under the ice.
The U.S.S. Nautilus
What is the largest Arctic island?
Greenland
Memorize this!
The area north of the tree line is not an empty ice field. In fact, the only ice-covered land is central Greenland, that is covered year-round by a continental glacier.
A tundra is a cold, almost treeless plain covered with moss and grass like plants called
Sedges
True or False: The land of the Arctic is around the edges of the Arctic Circle and is usually covered with tundra.
True
A layer of ice with the hardness of stone that keeps water from soaking into the Earth beneath it
Permafrost
True or False: Permafrost can be thousands of feet thick
True
Some bare rocks have plants growing on them are called
Lichens
Example of Lichen
Yellow reindeer moss
What animal is the king of the Arctic?
Polar Bear
Why are polar bear the king of the Arctic?
Because they are the largest meat-eating animals
What are the smallest animals that reside in the artic?
Mosquitos and Flies
True or False: Mosquitoes and black flies love the wet summer tundra.
True