Portions of the refuge above the Arctic Circle exhibit an interesting environmental phenomenon during the summer months; the sun never sets. Although this phenomenon is hard to believe for most who live in more temperate or tropical climates, many Native people of the Arctic have lived with 24 hours of daylight in the summer for centuries. It all breaks down to the way the earth tilts.
Throughout the course of the year the earth tilts as it orbits the sun. This explains why when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere. During the summer months in Alaska, the earth is slightly tilted so that more northern latitudes are closer to the sun. This minor tilt is enough to create 24 hours of daylight in portions of the Arctic during the summer. Despite the long days, sunlight is indirect. Regions near the equator always receive the most direct sunlight of anywhere in the world, while regions near the earth’s poles receive the least amount of direct sunlight.
The diagram above shows this process. As you look at this diagram, notice where the earth’s poles are located. On the left, the sun is directly hitting the North Pole, while on the right the North Pole is in the dark. Hence, in the Arctic during the winter months, the sun never comes over the horizon and it is dark for most of the day. In the summer months, the sun is almost always out and it is light for almost 24 hours.
