NORTH POLE FACTS
Added on: 25th Nov 2015
UNLIKE THE SOUTH POLE, THERE ARE ACTUALLY
2 NORTH POLES (THAT ARE COMMONLY REFERENCED
AND USED)
ONE IS THE NORTH MAGNETIC POLE, WHICH CONSTANTLY
SHIFTS DEPENDING ON CHANGES DEEP WITHIN THE
EARTH. THIS IS WHAT YOUR COMPASS POINTS TO
LATELY, THIS HAS BEEN SOMEWHERE NEAR
ELLESMERE ISLAND IN CANADA.
IT IS GRADUALLY MOVING TOWARDS RUSSIA AT A RATE
OF ROUGHLY 55KM (34 MILES) PER YEAR
THE OTHER POLE IS THE GEOGRAPHIC NORTH POLE
WHICH IS TECHNICALLY DEFINED AS THE POINT WHERE
THE AXIS OF THE EARTH’S ROTATION INTERSECTS THE
EARTH’S SURFACE. IN OTHER WORDS IT IS THE FIXED POINT
THAT REFERENCES THE TOP OF THE WORLD.
THE TRUTH IS, HOWEVER, THAT NOT EVEN THIS IS FIXED.
THE EARTH WOBBLES SLIGHTLY SO EVEN THE PRECISE
GEOGRAPHIC NORTH POLE SHIFTS A BIT
TO COMPLICATE THINGS FURTHER THERE IS ACTUALLY
A THIRD NORTH POLE CALLED THE GEOMAGNETIC NORTH
POLE WHICH IS BASICALLY THE AVERAGE LOCATION OF
THE MAGNETIC NORTH POLE.
EVERY NOW AND THEN THE MAGNETIC POLES FLIP
THE LAST TIME THEY FLIPPED WAS 780,000 YEARS AGO
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