The natural resoruces of the Arctic can be divded into four main groups -- furs, whale products, fish, and minerals. In the early days of Arctic exploration, seals attracted fur traders. Because of the region's large whale population, a booming industry soon developed in whale oil, whalebone, and other products from these great creatures. Today, because many marine animals are in danger of being wiped out, their hunting is limited by international agreements.

The Arctic seas provide some of the oldest and most productive fishing areas in the world. The amount that can be caught by any country, however, us controlled by national territorial limits and by other international recognized agreements.

The Arctic's mineral resources include coal, copper, diamonds, gold, iron, lead, zinc, nickel and tin. Large petroleum and natural gas deposits exist in the northern areas of Alaska, Canada, and the Soviet Union. Petroleum from Alaska and Canada is transported south by pipelines.

Subsistence Hunting in Alaska by Ellen Frohlich and Amanda Reineke
Gas Development in Siberia
Oil and Gas Development since 1944