Boreal forest
Photo: United States Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The boreal forest (also called "taiga", "the subarctic" or "near north") is a huge region stretching across the middle latitudes of North America and Eurasia. It includes everything north of the temperate grasslands and broadleaved forests but south of the true Arctic.
UnderstandThis is a vast band of forests that ring the globe. It's too cold here for most leafy trees, so spruces, pine and larch dominate (varying between regions).
Get inRoad connections are almost entirely from the south. As a general rule, the further north one goes, the more one relies on air and sea travel to get to the region.
Get aroundIn this part of the world, it's also not uncommon to travel by canoe, dog sled, snowshoe, or cross-country skis.
SeeWatch the northern lights (aurora borealis) dance in the sky on a dark evening. Depending on latitude and season, you may also be able to see the midnight sun.
EatEat what the local indigenous people eat (the local wild game and forest plants and mushrooms), or be willing to pay the shipping costs involved in bringing farmed produce all the way up here.
Go nextTo get to the Arctic, you can take the Dalton Highway in Alaska or the Dempster Highway in Canada, either of which will bring you to the shores of the Arctic Ocean.
See also
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Boreal forest" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: United States Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons