North Pole

The Top of the Planet remains a little explored part of the globe, where the Pole Star, the beacon of all travellers in the Northern Hemisphere, is invariably in its zenith.  Despite its often harsh climatic conditions, it offers superb opportunities for the more adventurous and for bird and wildlife enthusiasts. 

The Geographic North Pole, also known as TrueNorth, is close to the northern point at which the Earth's axis of rotation meets the surface. Geographic North defines latitude 90° North. In whichever direction you travel from here, you are always heading south. The pole is located in the Arctic Ocean. Early scientists believed that this pole was exactly the pole of rotation of the Earth, but soon astronomers noticed a small apparent variation of latitude as determined for a fixed point on Earth by observing stars. This variation had a period of about 435 days and the periodic part of it is now called the “Chandler wobble” after its discoverer. So it is now recognised that this Geographic North Pole does not quite coincide with the rotation axis. On the basis of the sector principle, Canada claims its sovereignty to extend all the way to the Geographic North Pole. There is no land at this location, which is usually covered by sea ice. The theory under which Canada has claimed sovereignty to the North Pole is controversial as there is in fact 770 km of ocean between the pole and Canada's northernmost land point, and several nations, most notably the USA, have challenged the notion that the North Pole does not lie in international waters.