Subpolar regions include all parts of the world just outside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.

However, the climates considered truly Subpolar are found only in the northern hemisphere. The southern hemisphere contains very little land in these latitudes, and what lands do exist benefit greatly from the oceans' moderating effects.

Sub-polar regions are ones with long, cold winters, and short, mild summers, and include areas such as Canada, Alaska, and the Northern parts of China, Scandinavia, Mongolia, Siberia, etc.

Subpolar

The region bordering the polar region, between 50° and 70° North and South latitude.

This is generally an area of semi-permanent low pressure that exists and where the Aleutian and Icelandic lows may be found.

Floating freshwater ice is a key component of cold-regions river and lake systems, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and mountain regions.

A series of fur, timber, gold, fishing and oil booms and busts have marked Alaska's history and culture.

Denali (Mount McKinley)

Mount McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America. It is 20,320 feet tall. Mount McKinley is also called Denali. Denali is an Athabascan Indian name meaning “The High One.”

GlaciersGlaciers are made up of fallen snow that, over many years, compresses into large, thickened ice masses. Glaciers form when snow remains in one location long enough to transform into ice. What makes glaciers unique is their ability to move. Due to sheer mass, glaciers flow like very slow rivers. Some glaciers are as small as football fields, while others grow to be over a hundred kilometers long.

EarthquakesAlaska has from 10-20 earthquakes every day! The largest so far was the Great Alaskan Earthquake in 1964. It killed 131 people and caused 300-400 million dollars in damage. The earthquake was felt in all parts of Alaska, and even parts of Canada and Washington, and it created waves up to 70 meters high.This was a 6-story apartment building in

Anchorage after the 1964 earthquake.

The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

Aurora Borealis is also known as the northern lights. It is a fantastic light show!

It is caused by electricity that passes through a thin gas and it causes a spark or glow.

The electricity comes from particles from the sun that come in contact with the earth's atmosphere.

Alaskan Animals

Eagle Musk Ox Killer Whales

Snowshoe Hare

Grizzly Bear

Porcupine

Polar Bear

Caribou Moose

These are just a few examples of culture and traditions in Alaska.

Clothing

Iditarod Dog Sled Race

Blanket Toss

Subsistence Lifestyle

Music and Dance

The Five Feathers On A Dance Fan Represent:

First Feather - Yupiks of the land Second Feather - animals of the water Third Feather - birds of the sky Fourth Feather - animals of the land Fifth Feather - fruits and wild vegetables

Alaska offers many delicious regional specialties. Seafood naturally plays a large role in Alaskan cooking, with fresh catches of king crab, salmon and halibut.

Wild game and traditional treats like blueberry pie and sourdough pancakes are a must-try for all visitors. Enjoy many of the wild berries and massive vegetables that grow well during Alaska’s periods of long sunlight in the summer.

Many Natives depend on king salmon, halibut, and other fish for food and income.

Seasoned dried fish strips are a tasty snack.

Many Alaskans also depend on meat from caribou and moose.

Long ago, hunters would put one person on a blanket and toss them high into the air to scout for food, as there were no trees or tall buildings to climb up and see far away. The scout, when tossed high, could look around and find animals and point the hunters in the right direction.

Today, the blanket toss is performed at many festivals and celebrations in Alaska for a fun way to preserve a cultural tradition.

A parka from long ago

and

a modern parka.

Mukluks are like tall moccasins made of fur and animal skin. They are waterproof and very warm.

A kuspuk is a lightweight coat. Mothers carry their babies in the back of the kuspuk.

This portrait of an Inuit man wearing a fur jacket with hood was most likely taken at the beginning of the 20th century. Traditional Inuit clothing is made from animal skins. Large thick warm coats with big hoods called parkas are worn as an outer layer.

This picture shows several Inuit constructing an igloo with blocks of snow. Traditionally, Inuit lived in igloos during the coldest months and tent like huts during the warmer months

The Iditarod Dog Sled Race is an annual tradition in Alaska. It was started to keep alive the tradition of using dogs and sleds as opposed to snowmobiles and four-wheelers.

The race is over 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome.

A special award is given to the last person who crosses the finish line. It is called the Red Lantern award because, as a joke, they used to say that the last person was so far behind they needed a lantern to find the way to Nome. Now it is a symbol of perseverance and honor.

THIS MAN IN ALASKA IS CARVING IVORY, AN INUIT TRADITION.

Alaskan Inuit men are dancers called Kaviagamute. They are performing the Wolf Dance. Today, many Inuit communities continue the tradition of Inuit dancing.

Alaska’s climate The most popular time to visit Alaska is

between May and September, when the days are longer and the weather more welcoming. Many Alaska tours take place in the later weeks of May and throughout June, when travelers can enjoy warm afternoons and bright, sunny skies. Summer and fall tend to be the rainier seasons in Alaska.

CANADA

Languages: English, French

"Canada" comes from the Huron and Iroquois word "Kanata" meaning "village"

Canada's culture - influenced by European culture and traditions, especially British and French

Official symbols – maple leaf, beaver, and the Canadian horse

Canada is in the top five producers of natural gas, copper, zinc, nickel, aluminum, and gold

HOCKEY is the national sport of Canada

Provinces -(10) - Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan

Territories (3) - Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon

CLOTHING

Northern forest natives wore soft-tanned hide Moccasins, leggings, shirts and coats in the summer.

Sometimes leggings with moccasins were attached to the slipover.

Subarctic people tended to wear lighter clothing and whenever they stopped, to keep warm, they’d build a fire.

Winter sleeping robes were made of rabbit skins cut into strips, twisted and woven together.

Gwich’in women tattooed their chins and on ceremonial occasions men styled their hair with red ochre mixed with grease and sprinkled with down.

Many northern indigenous people depend on frozen lakes and rivers for access to traditional hunting, fishing, reindeer herding or trapping areas.

Canadian Shield

Boreal Forest in Alberta

Mackenzie River Settlements and Housing

Double Lean-tos covered in hide and brush were used.

Lean-tos were free-standing beams of wood or whale bone that were layered against a log or large rock, lashed together, and covered in brush and hide, resulting in a slanted roof and an opening for entering or exiting.

Obtaining food was an important and essential ritual for the Subarctic peoples.

Usually on foot or on snowshoes, they would hunt, fish, trap and gather wild plants.

Fishing In the winter, ice fishing was popular. In the spring, the rivers and the coastal

waters were rich in fish and seafood. Most of the Northern fishes, and their fish

eggs, could be eaten. 

The subarctic people often hunted moose, caribou, hare, musk oxen, bear and elk, as well as waterfowl and fish.

MONGOLIA

- Mongolia is located between Russia and China. - The capital and largest city is Ulaanbaatar.

Chinggis KhanFounder of Mongolian Empire

Ger• Nomads have to move from one place to another due to the weather and other factors.

• Nomads need housing that is easily constructed and put down.

• Nomads have constructed the ger due to their requirements.

A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.

Yurt (Ger) Nearly all herders live in white gers (felt-lined tents, yurt in Russian), a characteristic sight throughout Mongolia. Each family has their own ger. 

Reindeer herders Use reindeers as their main resource

of food and clothing

MEXICO

The word "Mexico" is derived from Mexica (pronounced "Me-shee-ka"), the name for the indigenous group that settled in central Mexico in the early fourteenth century and is best known as the Aztecs.

Name for these traditions is Rusalii.   The Rusalii traditions of the Aromanians and Slavs in

Macedonia have many similarities to the Romanian Căluş. The custom happens between Christmas and 12th Night,  with bands of 20 to 60 young men who form the rusalski družini.

In common with the Căluş, no one is allowed to go among them except those who wished to be healed, and the Meglo-Aroumanian version includes a mute dressed in fancy dress. The Bulgarian Eska have one part of group masked, carrying wooden swords, and the other wear large bells and have their faces blacked, this combination of two distinct groups can also be found in Austria.

TRADITIONAL SPORTS

Charrería

Charreada is the national sport of

Mexico, it dates back to the 16th century and consists of a series of Mexican equestrian events. The most notable event is the charreada; a style of rodeo developed in Mexico in the interest of maintaining the traditions of the charro. A charro is a term referring to a traditional horseman or a cowboy of Mexico

A charreada event.

Bullfighting

The Spanish colonization of Mexico introduced bullfighting in to the country. The sport has been one of the most popular in the country for the last 400 years.

Mexican sombrero forms an integral part of Mexican clothing. This term simply refers to a

kind of a hat that has a brim. The brim acts as a way of protection from the sun.

Such sombreros were generally worn as a part of traditional clothing. The peasant sombreros are generally made of straw, whereas, some are even made of felt, which inclines towards the expensive side.

Skirts also formed a part of Mexican clothing and these are generally rectangular in shape. This is worn by wrapping it around the body and tucking one part of it towards the inside.

The Puebla dress is also one such kind that belongs to this category. Puebla dresses and blouses generally have short sleeves and loose fits. It became famous as Boho dress, later on.

The rebozo is another kind of garment that can be included in the clothing. The rebozo is worn by women in Mexico.

The origins of this piece of clothing cannot be placed correctly; experts say that the rebozos originated due to the intermingling cultures that were colonized by Spain.

It is also noticed that the term rebozo has not made its appearance in the Spanish language till the year 1562.

The rebozo is rectangular in shape and these are found in materials like cottons, silk, wool, or even articela.

The rebozo is also worn as a shawl or a scarf. Women also use the rebozo to carry goods to the market.

The huipil is one such beautiful garment that forms a part of traditional Mexican clothing.

Huipil can be described to be a sleeveless tunic or can be roughly said to be a sack-like garment. Generally, cotton is used for huipil, but at times, one can even see the use of wool.

Here, rectangular strips of cloth are cut in varied lengths, either long or short, and this can also be either wide or narrow in width.

Only women wear the huipil garment. Here, the fabric is woven and embellished with motifs that tell a story of the old folklore.

The quechquemitl is another such garment that can be called the traditional Mexican clothing gear. This garment is almost cape-like in its

appearance where the head has to pass though the center opening and the corners of the fabric are left hanging on four sides.

It is not only the women who adorn the quechquemitl - the poncho is one such ubiquitous garment and has often made a comeback in the fashion scenario.

A traditional Yucatecan Maya house. Cozumel, Mexico.

Three products constitute the heart of most Mexican dishes: corn, hot peppers (chiles), and beans, products that stem from pre-Columbian times. Corn is consumed in all possible forms: as a cooked or roasted corncob ( elote ), cooked grain of corn, porridge ( atole ), as wrapped and steamed dough with filling ( tamal ), but most importantly as a tortilla, a thin, round "pancake."

Tortillas are made from corn dough and come in many sizes, although the traditional tortilla that accompanies most meals has a diameter of approximately six inches (15 centimeters). When tortillas are filled with meat or other ingredients they are called tacos or quesadillas, which are especially popular in central Mexico.

Much of the sophistication of Mexican cuisine comes from the use of more than one hundred different types of chiles, which range from the large and "sweet" chile ancho to the small and extremely hot chile habanero .

Mexicans generally have a light breakfast of coffee and/or fruit before they leave for work or school. Halfway through the morning, people may eat a warm tortilla-based snack or a bread roll.

The most important meal of the day is served between two and four in the afternoon (the comida ) and consists of three or four courses: soup; rice or pasta; meat or chicken—if affordable—accompanied by tortillas and refried beans; and dessert. Dinner is served between eight and ten at night and consists mainly of sweet rolls, coffee, and milk. Mexicans frequently eat outdoors.

Homely restaurants serve inexpensive fixed menus known as comida corrida . Mexicans drink huge quantities of soft drinks and beer. Although the national liquor is tequila, which is produced from the maguey cactus, Mexicans prefer rum with cola during weddings and other celebrations, or fiestas.

A Mexican woman prepares tortillas with salsa and beans. Corn, chili peppers, and beans are the main items in most Mexican foods.

China中國

China’s Historic Traditions

China is an ancient country with thousands of years of history. This history remains as a basis of Chinese. China is the country with the early civilization than other countries and this made China have the early development of irrigations, inventions of paper, gunpowder, silk weaving etc. People in China thought their country was the center of the whole world and named their country the Middle Kingdom. China influenced into Korea and Japan in their inventions, culture, Buddhism and Confucius idea. China was reluctant to open their county to the Westerners and was forced to be opened. After WWII, China was divided into two groups-Communist and Nationalist. The communists made a communist nation, The Peoples Republic of China, and the Nationalist made Taiwan

China’s CultureCulture After 1949, culture of China has been changed as it became

to Communism and there were major changes in the Chinese way of life.

- Communes : communities own land and members work together. Not private ownership

-Slow in population growth : changes from large family to small family

-Position of women has improved : woman’s ownership of property, having jobs, choice of husband and divorce.

-Mixture of old and new culture in China : New traditions in cities, old traditions in rural area.