Which Countries Lie in the Frigid Zones?
Eight countries have land in the frigid zone: the United States, Canada, Russia, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Greenland, which is part of Denmark. The frigid zones are the areas north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle, which are located at 66.5 degrees north and 66.5 degrees south, respectively.
Six of the eight countries with land in the frigid zone have coastline on the Arctic Ocean. The other two countries, Sweden and Finland, have only land in the area. Iceland has the least amount of land in the frigid zone, as the boundary passes through Grimsey, one of its northern islands. All of these countries are interested in the resources available in the Arctic.
Although Aristotle considered the area within the frigid zone uninhabitable, there are dozens of human settlements located there. For instance, Murmansk, Russia, lies within the frigid zone, and it has a population of more than 300,000 people, as of 2014. Barrow, Alaska, has a population of several thousand and is the northernmost point that is settled in the United States. The northernmost permanent settlement in the world is the village of Alert on Ellesmere Island in Canada, which lies at 82 degrees north latitude.
