Photo of the Day 326

Boreal Forest, Arctic Circle, 2002

Photograph by Peter Essick

Water and sky form a blue canvas for boreal forest in the Arctic Circle. Circling the globe, the boreal forest—its name derived from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind—comprises one-third of Earth's wooded lands. The forest begins where the temperate woods of oak and maple disappear and continues north, often past the Arctic Circle. With long, cold winters and short, cool summers, the boreal woods have far less biodiversity than tropical forests.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Boreal: The Great Northern Forest," June 2002, National Geographic magazine)