Subarctic and Arctic Biomes

Remember back when we looked at the map with "Subarctic and Arctic" biomes labelled on it. I remember flying up from Winnipeg to Churchill and then Arviat. We obviously couldn't tell exactly when we "crossed the treeline" and went from subarctic to Arctic, but we could sure see the very gradual change from forested lands (boreal forest) in the north of Manitoba to tundra in the Arctic.

Remember the picture of my sister checking her animal traps on the tundra? I could easily see her about 500 feet away because she was walking through low birch and willow-- stunted trees and shrubs. Walking through tundra reminded me a bit of hiking across forest cutovers. Tundra looked nicer, but cutovers smelled better--they actually smelled like Christmas trees--all the balsam fir and spruce branches left on the ground.