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Tundra in Fall Colors
Photograph by Rich Reid
Low-growing tundra vegetation displays fall colors in California's Kings Canyon National Park. Alpine tundras exist worldwide at altitudes above the mountain tree line.
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Tundra and Rivers
Photograph by Joel Sartore
A meandering river cuts a Z into Alaska's sprawling North Slope tundra. This region is home to dozens of rivers and thousands of oval-shaped lakes.
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Beechey Island
Photograph by Emory Kristoff
An icy expanse of Arctic Ocean surrounds the snow-flecked bluffs of Beechey Island in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Arctic is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceans.
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Baffin Island Sun
Photograph by John Dunn
The midnight Arctic sun never strays from the horizon in this time-exposed shot of Nunavut's Baffin Island. Some parts of Nunavut endure 24 hours of light from late April until late August and 24 hours of darkness from late October until mid-February.
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Sunlight Over Ice Floes
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
ice floes drift across the Canada Basin, painted gold by the setting sun. Located just north of Canada's Northwest Territories, the Canada Basin's geothermal-heated waters reach depths of more than 9,186 feet (2,800 meters).
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Icy Coast
Photograph by Ira Block
The icy coast of Alaska's Little Diomede Island reflects the cool lavender light of the Arctic sun. Big and Little Diomede Island are just two miles (three kilometers) apart but are owned by different countries: Russia and the United States, respectively.
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Rising Steam, Iceland
Photograph by Stephen Toner/Getty Images
Ice and steam converge in Hellisheidi, Iceland's stark white-on-white landscape. In spite of its name and proximity to the Arctic Circle, the country enjoys a relatively mild climate moderated by a passing branch of the Gulf Stream.
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