Sunday Nature Stills – 11/08/2020

Arctic tundra is a bit different than I originally expected.  From a distance it looks like rolling hills of short brown or green grass.  A bit closer up, you notice that it often has small flowers, Arctic Cottongrass, and clumps of different plants.  Looking even closer, it is neat to observe that it is a very dense ecosystem of many small plants mixed together. It is often quite soft when not frozen.  Walking on it is difficult as you sink down into the soft mossy surface and into the mud that separates the tundra from the underlying permafrost.