ICE GARDEN WORD PICTURE

Imagine snow and ice stretching into the distance, a world of icy winds and rocky, frozen earth. Our picture shows snow covered mountains and a glacier, through a frame of jagged pieces of ice. All of the colours are whites and very pale blues.

This is the Ice Garden, the coldest garden you will visit on our journey around the world.

There are two icy regions on the planet, the Arctic around the North Pole, and the Antarctic around the South Pole, at the top and the bottom of our planet.

There is an enormous polar bear in our Ice Garden.

Polar bears live in the Arctic and are the biggest bears in the world. They are carnivores, which means they eat meat. They have a very strong sense of smell and can smell a seal from 30km away.

Polar bears have fur on the soles of their feet, which keeps them warm and stops them sliding on slippery ice. Their strong, sharp claws and streamlined bodies help them to hunt and swim.

The bear in our garden is keeping an eye on the ice, just in case a seal appears. Seals need to watch out when polar bears are about. They may end up being eaten!

Sure enough, when the ice cracks, a seal comes up for air. Seals live at the Arctic and the Antarctic. Harbour seals can dive down as far as 90 metres deep. They can stay underwater for up to half an hour.

Back in the Ice Garden a person in a skidoo zooms across a glacier.

‘ Inuit’ is the name for people who have traditionally lived in the Arctic. Many people visit the Antarctic but only a few hardy scientists live there full-time.

Inuit people sometimes build igloos, or snow houses. Walls made of snow keep warm air in and cold winds out. Inuit people hunt seals and whales for their skins, blubber and meat. They use these to make warm clothes and as food. They also fish in the cold, cold seas.

A flurry of snow falls in the Ice Garden. Snowflakes are made up of six-pointed ice crystals. As far as scientists know, no two snowflakes are exactly the same.

Life in extreme cold is difficult, but the polar regions of the world are full of wildlife. They are also rich in minerals, such as petrol, diamonds, gold and iron. Humans must be careful not to take too much.

It takes all sorts of gardens to make a world and they all need looking after.