Quttinirpaaq National Park Reserve in 1988 (Courtesy Corel Professional Photos).
The park is dominated by rock, ice and mountains. Along the park’s Arctic Ocean coastline, a fjord leads to a secret valley that is heated by geothermal activity. In this valley, according to unconfirmed reports, sits Santa’s secret village with Mrs. Claus and the thousands of elves hard at work making toys.
Quttinirpaaq National Park also supports a small population of Peary caribou. One subspecies that lives only in this secret valley is that of Rudolph reindeer. This small subspecies is absolutely critical in transporting Santa and his sleigh.During winter, the North Pole is in perpetual darkness with the sun constantly below the horizon. During summer, the midnight sun shines for nearly six months. In other words, during the entire year it feels like there is only one night and one day. This has caused Santa’s circadian cycle to shift from 24 hours to a yearly cycle. People often ask how Santa can possibly visit all the homes in one single night. In Santa’s paradigm, the night is actually six months long, which gives him plenty of time to jump down chimneys, fill the stockings and drink the milk and eat the cookies that were left for him at each child’s home.
