O North Pole geographic is in the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the 66º and 90º parallels of north latitude and has no longitude because it is the convergence of all meridians.
For its part, the magnetic North Pole is one of the poles of the Earth's rotation axis.
North pole and south pole
Because they have similar names, many confuse the north pole (Arctic) and the south pole (Antarctica).
The name itself can help defuse the confusion. After all, "Arctic" comes from the Greek, "aktos", which means bear, a reference to the pole star that is found near the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
On the other hand, the South Pole is on the Antarctic continent, a word that also has a Greek origin. "Anti" is the prefix that means "opposite to" and thus, Antarctic is what is opposite to Arctic.
Although they are on the Earth's axis and have very low temperatures, there are some differences between them. The south pole, for example, is cooler than the north pole and the penguin lives there; the north pole is the home of polar bears.
Finally, the Arctic is not a continent, while Antarctica is.
Magnetic and geographic north pole
To understand what the magnetic pole is, it is necessary to remember that the Earth is a large magnet.
The Earth's core is made of molten iron, which generates the magnetic field. This is responsible for guiding animals such as turtles and birds in their migrations.
It's also what guides the compass needle and the Global Positioning System (GPS)
North magnetic pole
The magnetic north pole is the exact point that marks the compass.
It is located about 1600 km from the North Pole (Arctic), near the island of Bathurst, Canada. This means that the magnetic pole and the geographic pole are not the same.
The north pole is variable and moves about 40 km each year.
geographic north pole
The Geographic North Pole is also called the "true north" pole and lies over the Arctic Ocean. Unlike the magnetic north pole, it does not change its location.
It coincides with the crossing of the meridians and that is why, in this region, the sun rises and sets only once a year.
North Pole Map
Five countries have the possibility to economically explore the North Pole: Russia, United States (Alaska), Canada and Denmark (Greenland). Who manages economic and territorial exploitation is the International Seabed Authority, linked to the UN.
There are no indigenous peoples in the North Pole, but the Inuit (formerly misnamed Eskimos) live in nearby regions such as Alaska, Greenland and Canada.
North Pole Weather & Animals
The North Pole's climate is extremely cold. In winter, temperatures can reach -40°C, while in summer they don't go above 0°C. As such, there is no distinction between the four seasons.
Thus, there is snow all year round and its fauna is composed of large animals such as the Polar Bear, the seal, the walrus, the arctic wolf and the whale.
The vegetation is the tundra and consists of flowers and even trees that knew how to adapt and did not need to fix their roots in the earth.
There are more texts about the north pole for you:
- Arctic
- Arctic glacial ocean
- Polar climate
- Tundra
