North Pole

Arctic Ocean with North Pole

The North Pole is the point that is farthest north on Earth. It is the point on which axis of Earth turns. It is in the Arctic Ocean and it is cold there because the sun does not shine there for about half a year and never rises very high. The ocean around the pole is always very cold and it is covered by a thick sheet of ice.

There is also a Magnetic North Pole. It is near the physical North Pole. A compass points toward the magnetic North Pole.

There is a star called the North Star (or Polaris) that is always in the sky above the North Pole. People can tell how far north they are by seeing how high the North Star appears in the sky.

Climate

Climate data for North Pole
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	-13 (9)	-14 (7)	-11 (12)	-6 (21)	3 (37)	10 (50)	13 (55)	12 (54)	7 (45)	-2 (28)	-8 (18)	-6 (21)	13 (55)
Average high °C (°F)	-29 (-20)	-31 (-24)	-30 (-22)	-22 (-8)	-9 (16)	0 (32)	2 (36)	1 (34)	-7 (19)	-18 (-0)	-25 (-13)	-26 (-15)	-16.2 (2.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	-31 (-24)	-32 (-26)	-31 (-24)	-23 (-9)	-11 (12)	-1 (30)	1 (34)	0 (32)	-9 (16)	-20 (-4)	-27 (-17)	-28 (-18)	-17.7 (0.2)
Average low °C (°F)	-33 (-27)	-35 (-31)	-34 (-29)	-26 (-15)	-12 (10)	-2 (28)	0 (32)	-1 (30)	-11 (12)	-22 (-8)	-30 (-22)	-31 (-24)	-19.8 (-3.6)
Record low °C (°F)	-47 (-53)	-50 (-58)	-50 (-58)	-41 (-42)	-24 (-11)	-12 (10)	-2 (28)	-12 (10)	-31 (-24)	-41 (-42)	-41 (-42)	-47 (-53)	-50 (-58)
% Humidity	83.5	83.0	83.0	85.0	87.5	90.0	90.0	89.5	88.0	84.5	83.0	83.0	85.83
Source: Weatherbase^[1]

North Pole Media

An azimuthal projection showing the Arctic Ocean and the North Pole. The map also shows the 75th parallel north and 60th parallel north.
Temporary research station of German-Swiss expedition on the sea ice at the Geographic North Pole. Drillings at the landing site at 90°N showed an average ice thickness of 2.5 metres on April 16, 1990
This pressure ridge at the North Pole is about 1 km long, formed between two ice floes of multi-year ice.
Gerardus Mercator's map of the North Pole from 1595
C.G. Zorgdragers map of the North Pole from 1720
Nansen's ship Fram in the Arctic ice
Peary's sledge party at what they claimed was the North Pole, 1909. From left: Ooqueah, Ootah, Henson, Egingwah, and Seeglo.
Although heavily disputed by modern historians, Peary & his team were given credit for the discovery of the North Pole by the contemporary press.
USS Skate at drift station Alpha, 1958
Soviet icebreaker Arktika, the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, 1977