North Pole
North Pole
North Pole
North′ Pole′
n.
North Pole
(nôrth)| Noun | 1. |  North Pole - the northernmost point of the Earth's axis |
n.
North Pole
North Pole,
northern end of the earth's axis, by convention at lat. 90°N. Because the earth's rotational axis wobbles slightly over time, the location where the northern end of the axis intersects the earth's surface shifts, although it is always within a few meters of the fixed geographic and cartographic position of the North Pole. The north geographic pole is distinguished from the north magnetic polemagnetic pole,the two roughly opposite ends of the planet where the earth's magnetic intensity is the greatest, as the north and south magnetic poles. For the magnetic north, it is the direction from any point on the earth's surface linking the horizontal component of the
..... Click the link for more information. . U.S. explorer Robert E. PearyPeary, Robert Edwin
, 1856–1920, American arctic explorer, b. Cresson, Pa. In 1881 he entered the U.S. navy as a civil engineer and for several years served in Nicaragua, where he was engaged in making surveys for the Nicaragua Canal.
..... Click the link for more information. was long generally credited as being the first to reach (1909) the North Pole despite Frederick A. CookCook, Frederick Albert,
1865–1940, American explorer and physician, b. Sullivan co., N.Y. Cook early became interested in the arctic and accompanied the expedition of Robert E. Peary in 1891–92 as surgeon.
..... Click the link for more information. 's prior claim (1908). In 1926, Richard E. ByrdByrd, Richard Evelyn,
1888–1957, American aviator and polar explorer, b. Winchester, Va. He took up aviation in 1917, and after World War I he gained great fame in the air. He commanded the naval air unit with the arctic expedition of D. B. MacMillan in 1925.
..... Click the link for more information. and Floyd Bennett may have been the first persons to fly over the pole, but entries in Byrd's diary suggest that they may have missed the actual pole; if so, that feat would belong to Roald AmundsenAmundsen, Roald
(Roald Engelbregt Grauning Amundsen) , 1872–1928, Norwegian polar explorer; the first person to reach the South Pole. He served (1897–99) as first mate on the Belgica
..... Click the link for more information. . The first overland expedition to have unquestionably reached the pole arrived in 1968; it was led by American Ralph Plaisted and traveled by snowmobile. See also Arctic, theArctic, the
northernmost area of the earth, centered on the North Pole. The arctic regions are not coextensive with the area enclosed by the Arctic Circle (lat. 66°30'N) but are usually defined by the irregular and shifting 50°F; (10°C;) July isotherm that closely
..... Click the link for more information. .
Bibliography
See F. Fleming, Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole (2002).
North Pole
Further Reading
Bowler, Gerry. The World Encyclopedia of Christmas. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland and Stewart, 2000. Del Re, Gerard, and Patricia Del Re. The Christmas Almanack. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1979. Restad, Penne. Christmas in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
North Pole
the point at which the earth’s imaginary axis of rotation intersects the earth’s surface in the northern hemisphere. All other points on the surface of the earth are south of the north pole.
The north pole is located in the central part of the Arctic Ocean, where depths exceed 4,000 m. At all times the region is covered by thick multi-year pack ice. The average temperature is about -40°C in winter and about 0°C in summer; on a few summer days it rises to 1 °-2°C. The sun does not drop below the horizon for a period of 186 days and 10 hours. Because of the refraction of light, however, the polar day is actually longer than this period and lasts about 193 days. The polar night accordingly lasts 172 days, although the sun does not rise above the horizon for a period of 178 days and 14 hours. (See alsoGEOGRAPHIC POLES.)