Arctic Circle level, although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the true horizon. Only four million people live north of the Arctic Circle due to the severe climate; nonetheless, some areas have been settled for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, who today make up 10% of the region's population. Tens of thousands of years ago, waves of people migrated from eastern Siberia across the Bering Strait into North America to settle. The largest communities north of the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia, Norway and Sweden: Murmansk (population 307,257), Norilsk (175,365), Tromsø (71,295), Vorkuta (59,231) and Kiruna
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Hemisphere’s winter months, the Arctic experiences cold and darkness which makes it one of the unique places on Earth. North America's two largest alpine lakes (Peters and Schrader) are located inside the refuge. ANWR is nearly the size of South Carolina. The refuge supports a greater variety of plant and animal life than any other protected area in the Arctic Circle. A continuum of six different ecozones spans about 200 miles (300 km) north to south. Along the northern coast of the refuge, the barrier islands, coastal lagoons, salt marshes, and river deltas of the Arctic coastal tundra provide habitat