Sketch your land in your Ice Age journal

ACTIVE LAYER

PERMAFROST

permafrost: the tundra’s permanently frozen layer of soil just beneath the surface of the ground.

WORDS TO KNOW

Tundra is different from other land. During the summer, the top part of the land warms enough to become soft. This is the active layer, where small plants, such as mosses, grasses, and low shrubs, can grow. About 6 feet down, the ground is still frozen solid. This land is called permafrost .

During the Ice Age and today, people living on the tundra get most of their food from hunting animals. Some of those animals need plants to eat. A single mammoth could eat between 130 and 660 pounds of food every day! The earth during the Ice Age was a very different place from what we’re used to today! But how do we know about a time period that was so long ago? We’ll learn about that in the next chapter. It’s time to consider and discuss: How much of the land where you live can’t be used by plants or animals because it is covered by buildings or concrete? CONSIDER AND DISCUSS ?