Arktikos
The Arctic (spelt A-R-C-T-I-C) is not a country; neither is it a continent like Antarctica. The Arctic is simply a region; an area around the North Pole within a certain boundary.One such boundary is the north of the Arctic Circle, at the latitude 66° 33'N - the limit of the midnight sun and polar night. Other boundaries include the 10°C (50°F) July isotherm. Imagine the boundary as a line going around the Earth; the Arctic region is everything above that line.
Other than miles of ice-covered ocean (the Arctic Ocean) and frozen tundra, the Arctic includes parts of Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Lapland and Norway. It shares the name "Land of the Midnight Sun" with places like Alaska and if you're wondering where "Arktikos" came from, it is ancient Greek for "bear" - a reference to the constellation of the Ursa Major, the Great Bear, visible only in the Northern Hemisphere.
A is for Arctic
The Arctic is far from a desolate wasteland. In fact, it teems with life - from microscopic organisms in the Arctic Ocean to land and marine animals to humans who have somehow managed to adapt.It is one of the last great frontiers of relatively untamed wilderness, over which battles of conservation versus exploitation of potential natural resources are constantly being fought, and will continue to be fought until the world gets its priorities right.
It houses a diverse variety of wildlife, from permanent inhabitants like wolves, polar bears, musk ox, Arctic hares and the Arctic fox to thousands of migratory birds and mammals seeking the relatively safe refuge of the Arctic in summer. Marine animals like seals, whales, otters, salmon, halibut, Arctic cod, albatrosses, terns and auks call the ocean home. In fact, the wildlife is one of the things I love most about the Arctic.
A significant proportion of the Arctic population consists of indigenous cultures practicing subsistence livelihoods; sadly, their rights are often compromised for the development of the more powerful. Cultures include but are not limited to the Iñupiat, Yup'ik, Aleuts and Athabaskans from Alaska, the Saami from Scandinavia,and the Chukchi and Nenets from Russia.
The future of the Arctic
The Arctic is changing as the world "below" continues to develop. Be it for better or for worse (likely for worse), such change is inevitable and the impact will be large. And since this area is too depressing for me to talk about, you can find out more at Wikipedia.