tundra

[ tuhn-druh, toon- ]

noun

1. one of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.

tundra

/ ˈtʌndrə /

noun

1. 1. a vast treeless zone lying between the ice cap and the timberline of North America and Eurasia and having a permanently frozen subsoil
   2. ( as modifier )

      tundra vegetation

tundra

/ tŭn′drə /

1. A cold, treeless, usually lowland area of far northern regions. The lower strata of soil of tundras are permanently frozen, but in summer the top layer of soil thaws and can support low-growing mosses, lichens, grasses, and small shrubs.

tundra

1. A land area near the North Pole where the soil is permanently frozen a few feet underground.

Notes

There are no trees on the tundra: the vegetation is primarily lichens and mosses.

Tundra is widespread in Lapland and in the far northern portions of Alaska , Canada , and the Soviet Union .

Word History and Origins

Origin of tundra¹

First recorded in 1840–45; from Russian túndra, from Sami tundar “hill”; compare Kola Sami tūndar “flat elevated area”; akin to Finnish tunturi “Arctic hill”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tundra¹

C19: from Russian, from Lapp tundar hill; related to Finnish tunturi treeless hill

Example Sentences

But they would record themselves hunting and they would record themselves going on their snowmobiles into the tundra and fishing, but also going to the supermarket and going to the post office.

From Los Angeles Times

Joy would not stop going on about the creamy odor of the tundra, or what she insisted was the aroma of the cold itself.

From New York Times

As its name implies, the rhino was adapted for cold weather, thriving in the frigid mammoth steppe tundra and grazing on grasses and sedges.

From Science Magazine

The warming climate shifts the dynamics of tundra environments and makes them release trapped carbon, according to a new study published in Nature.

From Science Daily

In another study from a team led by Earth system science Ph.D. candidate Allison Welch, researchers describe what kind of plants are expanding into the Arctic and alpine tundra.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• expanse
• prairie
• steppe
• wasteland