What is the North Pole?
The North Pole is the northernmost point on the surface of the earth. It is also known as the geographical North Pole or Arctic. The name is Arctic comes from the Greek word Arktos, which means “bear”. The name is given as the shape of a star that looks like a bear in the northeast corner of the sky. Often the Arctic Circle is defined as the boundary of the Arctic region. The point at which the rotation axis meets the surface of the earth’s northern hemisphere is called the North Pole. It would not be right to combine it with the magnetic North Pole. All directions of the North Pole is directed south. The geographical coordinates of this place are 90°north. The weather for the North Pole is warmer than the South Pole. Other descriptions of the North Pole are as below.
North pole expedition
There is an interesting history of who reached the North Pole first. One of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole with the explicit intention of reaching the North Pole was British naval officer William Edward Party, who reached a latitude of 82°45´ north on April 6, 1909. However, Peary’s claims of reaching the North Pole initially were rejected and are controversial. Because the route he talks about arriving at the North Pole at the time and speed does not match the words of his first companion.
Wally Herbert, a British explorer, first researched Peary’s records in 1989 and found that there were significant discrepancies in the explorer’s navigational records. He concluded that Peary did not reach the pole. Then in 2005, a British explorer Tom Avery came forward to rescue Peary’s evidence. He started riding a sled on the road as Peary described. And arrived at the North Pole after 36 days 22 hours. He reached the North Pole less than 5 hours later than Peary had described. So Avery announces that Robert Peary could not reach the actual North Pole without a modern guidance device, but he was the closest. And Peary is the first North Pole winner.
Geography of the North Pole
The North Pole or Arctic region is the sea of ice. There is a thick ice cover on top and a huge ocean below. Many small and large ice islands are seen on this pole. These ice islands are floating. These floating ice islands are called icebergs. And those ice islands that constantly move from place to place are called ice slaves. Some of these islands are so vast that they look like mountains from a distance. The ice beds are up to 1.6 km deep in some places, at this pole. 90% of the world’s total ice is frozen hare. If this frozen ice melts, the sea level will rise to at least 200 feet.
There are many mountains in this region. Of these, Gunnbjorn is a mountain peak. Its elevation is about 3694m (12120 feet). The North Pole’s marine depth is about 4087m (1380 feet). The closest place to this point is Kaffeklubben Island. The island is located 440 miles from the nearest coast of Greenland. Volcanoes erupt beneath the arctic ice region. New evidence suggests that underwater volcanoes in the Arctic Sea emerged in a series of violent eruptions over the past decade. Hidden 2.5 miles below the arctic surface, the volcanoes are one mile in diameter and a few yards long.
Weather for the North Pole
The North Pole is warmer than the South Pole. There are mainly two seasons seen in the North Pole region, summer and winter.
North pole seasonality
| Time | Season |
| 21st March to 21st June | Summer |
| 21st June to 23rd September | Autumn |
| 23rd September to 22nd December | Winter |
| 22nd December to 21st March | Spring |
From 21st March to 23rd September this pole is positioned towards the sun therefore 186 days is a continuous day in the North Pole. From 23rd September to 21st March, 179 days is a night at this pole. On the 21st of June, the northern hemisphere of the earth comes closest to the sun. That day, the sun’s radiation falls vertically on the topic of the cancer line. So on the 21st of June, the day is the longest in the North Pole and the night is the shortest (14 hours a day and 10 hours at night).
The North Pole is slightly colder. The temperature at the North Pole during the winter may range from -50°C to -13°C. The temperature in the summer (June, July, and August) zone is around the freezing point (0°C/ 32°F). The maximum temperature was still recorded at 13°C, and the highest recorded in the South Pole was only -12°C (9.9°F) warmer.
Land Of Midnight Sun
In the northern hemisphere some places in the continents of Europe and Asia, north of the Arctic Circle, and in some regions of northern Canada, the sun can be seen even at night, according to local time. This is called the Midnight sun. For this reason, Norway’s Hammerfest port near the North Pole of the continent of Europe and its adjoining regions is called the land of the midnight sun.
The Northern Light or Aurora Borealis
Aurora is formed by the collision of charged particles (mainly electrons, in some cases proton) from the magnetosphere with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere’s thermosphere. This softer light or Aurora is called The Northern light or Aurora Burealis at the North Pole.
Time Zone
In most places of the world, the local time is determined by the longitude, as the time of day is more-or-less aligned with the position of the sun in the sky. This polar logic fails at the North Pole, where the sunrise and sets only once per year, and all lines of longitude, and therefore all time zones converge. There is not a particular time zone has been assigned and no permanent human presence at the North Pole. Polar expeditions use any time zone that is convenient, such as Greenwich meantime, or the time zone of the country from which they left.
Flora & Fauna of the North Pole
Different marine animals and plants are under the ice sea in the North Pole region. In this polar region, some plants like mosses, lichens, and cotton grass are seen. The soil here is barren. Different types of animals are seen in this region. Polar bears, walruses, arctic foxes, reindeer, beluga whales, muskox, etc. are seen in this pole. Polar bears are rarely thought to travel around 82°north for food shortages. 2006 expedition saw a polar bear 1 mile (1.6km) away from the pole. Different species of birds are also seen in some places in the polar region. Puffin, cormorant, arctic tern, king eider, white-tailed eagle, snow bunting, etc. birds are seen here. In the polar region, there are many types of fish in the sea. A recent census estimated there are about 200 fish species in this polar region, mostly snail fishes and cods.
Domination of the North Pole
United States, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Russia talk about the North Pole occupation by sea law. Everyone claims the North Pole is theirs. The North Pole is one of the largest oil mines in the world. So all the countries claim the region as their own. The United States and Russia used the military forces of the North Pole to claim the North Pole as their own. The dispute over the occupation of the North Pole is therefore very old. But history says that since the discovery of the North Pole, no one has been able to knit history here. Finally, Russia succeeded in sending troops to the North Pole to try to defeat the North Pole. There is no settlement in this region. However, in Russia, Greenland, and Canada, Eskimo indigenous people are seen.
Some of the interesting facts about the North Pole
- In May 1997 North Pole-1, the world’s first North Pole ice station was established by Soviet Scientists by air 20 km from the North Pole.
- In 1897 Swedish engineer Solomon August Andrew and two of his companions used hydrogen balloons, named Orener (“eagle”), to try to reach the North Pole.
- Sea ice is generally 2 to 3m thick at the North Pole.
- The North Pole ice thickness has decreased in recent years.
- The North Pole belongs to Western Culture.
- In some children’s Western culture, the geographical North Pole is described as the location of the workshop and residence of Santa Claus, although the image is incompatible with the geographical and magnetic North Pole.
- Canada Post delivers postal code HOH OHO to the North Pole.
- As Henry Corbin has documented, the North Pole plays a key role in the cultural worldview of Iranian mysticism and Sufism.
