Although it is still a good distance south of the Arctic Circle, the temperatures in at Cape Churchill drop well below freezing for many months of the year. In this photo, the sun strains to shine through a heavy blanket of clouds, winds whip the surface of the snow, blowing it into drifts and piles. Despite the cold, though, trees and grasses are still visible through the ice. The trees this far north exhibit a peculiar property. The nearly constant wind and cold temperatures have a tendency to "burn" off the branches and leaves on the windward side.