North Pole | Geography - Britannica

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External Websites

• Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website - The North Pole
• CNN Science - EarthÂ’s magnetic north pole is on the move, and scientists just updated its position
• National Geographic Society - North Pole
• LSU Law Digital Commons - Who Should Own the North Pole?
• LiveScience - The North Pole: Location, Weather, Exploration � and Santa
• University of Cambridge - Does the North Pole still matter?
• NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service - Five Things You Didn't Know About the North Pole

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• North Pole - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• North Pole - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

North Pole geography Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: Geographic North Pole Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

North Pole, the northern end of Earth’s axis, lying in the Arctic Ocean, about 450 miles (725 km) north of Greenland. This geographic North Pole does not coincide with the magnetic North Pole—to which magnetic compasses point and which in the early 21st century lay north of the Queen Elizabeth Islands of extreme northern Canada at approximately 82°15′ N 112°30′ W (it is steadily migrating northwest)—or with the geomagnetic North Pole, the northern end of Earth’s geomagnetic field (about 79°30′ N 71°30′ W). The geographic pole, located at a point where the ocean depth is about 13,400 feet (4,080 metres) deep and covered with drifting pack ice, experiences six months of complete sunlight and six months of total darkness each year.

The American explorer Robert E. Peary claimed to have reached the pole by dog sledge in April 1909, and another American explorer, Richard E. Byrd, claimed to have reached it by airplane on May 9, 1926; the claims of both men were later questioned. Three days after Byrd’s attempt, on May 12, the pole was definitely reached by an international team of Roald Amundsen, Lincoln Ellsworth, and Umberto Nobile, who traversed the polar region in a dirigible.

The first ships to visit the pole were the U.S. nuclear submarines Nautilus (1958) and Skate (1959), the latter surfacing through the ice, and the Soviet icebreaker Arktika was the first surface ship to reach it (1977). Other notable surface expeditions include the first confirmed to reach the pole (1968; via snowmobile), the first to traverse the polar region (1969; Alaska to Svalbard, via dog sled), and the first to travel to the pole and back without resupply (1986; also via dog sled); the last expedition also included the first woman to reach the pole, American Ann Bancroft. After reaching the South Pole on January 11, 1986, the British explorer Robert Swan led an expedition to the North Pole, reaching his destination on May 14, 1989 and thereby becoming the first person to walk to both poles.

Britannica Quiz Winter Weather Words Quiz The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.