What major geographical processes created and shaped the Polar regions?

Geography is a descriptive study.  Geographical
distinctions are applied to land masses or bodies of water, and the boundaries between
them are not able to be clearly defined.  For example, we speak of mountains, rivers,
plains, lakes, seas, oceans etc. So, the question remains "where does the mountain begin
and the flat land end?" The polar regions, usually considred cold and barren, are the
result of the combination of the rotation of the earth  and the amount of sunlight that
reaches the area.  If the earth was stationary there would be no axis of rotation and
therefore no "polar" region.