The Arctic

In contrast with its polar opposite, the Arctic is not a continent: it consists of shifting, seasonal ice sheets around the north pole itself and, within the Arctic Circle, parts of Canada, Alaska (USA), Russia, Greenland (Denmark), Norway, Sweden and Finland. Very few people live within the Arctic Circle but it is home to an impressive list of species including polar bear, Arctic fox, wolf and hare, ermine, snowy owl, wolverine, narwhal and sea otter. See the Norwegian Arctic on one of our cruises around Svalbard and Spitsbergen.