Since the Northeast is having an unseasonably warm winter, it's easy to forget that brutal winter has already hit in other parts of the world.
The Arctic Circle is one of those places. Average temperatures in the summer hover around 50° F, and in the winter they can drop below -50°F in many places.
While the Arctic is not very populated, people do inhabit the area. Photographer Cristian Barnett decided to document the lives of those people who make their homes on or near the invisible, dotted line of the Arctic Circle. In 2006, Barnett began his series, Life On The Line, which was released as a book last year.
"The Arctic Circle is much more than just hunters and polar bears," Barnett told Business Insider. "There are many thriving, modern settlements where you're more likely to meet a hairdresser than a reindeer herder."
Barnett told us about 15 of the people he photographed.
This post was originally written by Christian Storm.
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Benjamin, Enoch, and William, are excited about their new wheels, which means freedom and independence — especially in Fort Yukon, Alaska. The town was officially founded by the Hudson's Bay Company, famous for their wool blankets, though the area had been inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years prior.
Standing outside her father’s multi-story log cabin in Fort Yukon, Alaska, Chasity Herbert is proud to show off her newly won Miss Fort Yukon sash.
Maria Manninen is a fashion student in Rovaniemi, a large city in Finland only six miles south of the Arctic Circle. Even though it's technically outside the borders of the Circle, it still gets pretty cold. The lowest temperature ever recorded here was −54° F.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider