South Pole

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South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole

North Pole

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Earth

North Pole

Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean....
, it is the site of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a Science and technology in the United States at the South Pole, in Antarctica....
, which was established in 1956 and has been permanently staffed since that year. The Geographic South Pole should not be confused with the South Magnetic Pole

South Magnetic Pole

The Earth's South Magnetic Pole is the wandering point on the Earth's surface where the Earth's magnetic field lines are directed vertically upwards....
.

Geography

For most purposes, the Geographic South Pole is defined as the southern point of the two points where the earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface (the other being the Geographic North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface....
). However, the earth's axis of rotation is actually subject to very small 'wobbles', so this definition is not adequate for very precise work; see Geographic North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface....
for further information.

The geographic coordinates of the South Pole are usually given simply as 90°S, since its longitude is geometrically undefined and irrelevant. When a longitude is desired, it may be given as At the South Pole all directions face North.

The Geographic South Pole is located on the continent of Antarctica

Antarctica

History of Earth

The history of the Earth covers approximately Age of the Earth , from Earth?s formation out of the solar nebula to the present. This article presents a broad overview, summarizing the leading, most current scientific theories....
because of continental drift

Continental drift

Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912....
). It sits atop a featureless, windswept, icy plateau at an altitude of 2,835 meters (9,306 ft), about 1,300 km (800 mi) from the nearest sea at McMurdo Sound

McMurdo Sound

The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound encompasses 2,500 miles of shoreline which opens to the Ross Sea to the north....
. The ice is estimated to be about 2,700 meters (9,000 ft) thick at the Pole, so the land surface under the ice sheet is actually near sea level.

The polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 meters per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea

Weddell Sea

The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula....
. Therefore, the position of the station and other artificial features relative to the geographic pole gradually shifts over time.

The Geographic South Pole is marked by a small sign and a stake in the ice pack, which are repositioned each year on New Year’s Day to compensate for the movement of the ice. The sign records the respective dates that Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen , was a Norwegian people Exploration of polar regions. He led the first Antarctica expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912....
and Robert F. Scott

Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott Royal Victorian Order was a British Royal Naval officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13....
reached the Pole followed by a short quotation from each man and gives the elevation as 2,835 m (9,301 ft).

Ceremonial South Pole

The Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at the South Pole Station

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a Science and technology in the United States at the South Pole, in Antarctica....
. It is located a short distance from the Geographic South Pole, and consists of a metallic sphere on a plinth

Plinth

A plinth is the base of a cabinet in cabinet making.In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests....
, surrounded by the flags of the Antarctic Treaty signatory state

State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
s.

The ceremonial marker is moved every two to three years to keep the walking distance to the Geographical South Pole minimal.

Pole of Inaccessibility

Another so-called "South Pole" is the South Pole of Inaccessibility

Pole of inaccessibility

A pole of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach owing to its remoteness from geography features which could provide access....
, the location in the Antarctic continent that is furthest from the ocean, and therefore more difficult to reach than the Geographic South Pole itself. This location is approximately 878 km from the true South Pole.

Exploration

:See also: History of Antarctica
History of Antarctica

The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe....
, List of Antarctic expeditions and Polar exploration
Polar exploration

Polar exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the Earth. It is also denotes the historical period during which mankind most intensely explored the regions north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle....
.

The first humans to reach the Geographic South Pole were Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
Roald Amundsen and his party

Amundsen's South Pole expedition

Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition was a Norway expedition to Antarctica aiming to be the first to reach the South Pole. The expedition was a success, with five of the mission arriving at the pole on December 14, 1911, beating Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated party by thirty-four days....
on December 14, 1911. Amundsen named his camp Polheim

Polheim

Polheim, "Home of the Pole", was Roald Amundsen's name for his camp at the South Pole. He arrived there on December 14 1911, along with four other members of his expedition; Helmer Hanssen, Olav Bjaaland, Oscar Wisting, and Sverre Hassel....
and the entire plateau surrounding the Pole Haakon VII's Vidde
Haakon VII's Vidde

A number of Antarctic features were named after Norwegian royal family members. This is due to either the name being bestowed by Roald Amundsen when he reached the South Pole as the first person ever in 1911, or due to Norwegian feats of exploration or claims on the area....
in honour of King Haakon VII of Norway

Haakon VII of Norway

Haakon VII was the first king of Norway after the Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 of the personal union with Sweden....
. Amundsen's competitor Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott Royal Victorian Order was a British Royal Naval officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13....
, with four other men from the Terra Nova Expedition

Terra Nova Expedition

The Terra Nova Expedition , officially the British Antarctic Expedition 1910, was led by Robert Falcon Scott who had previously commanded the Discovery Expedition to the Antarctic in 1901–04....
, reached the Pole a month later. On the return trip, Scott and his four companions all died of starvation and extreme cold. In 1914 British explorer Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton Royal Victorian Order Order of British Empire, was an Anglo-Irish explorer who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration....
's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition , also known as the Endurance Expedition, was the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration....
set out with the goal of crossing Antarctica via the South Pole, but his ship, the Endurance
Endurance (1912 ship)

The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition....
, was frozen in pack-ice

Sea ice

Sea ice is formed from ocean water that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs at about -1.8 ?Celsius .Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs, which are chunks of ice shelf or glaciers that calve into the ocean....
and sank 11 months later.

US Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd

Richard Evelyn Byrd

Rear admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., United States Navy was a pioneering United States polar explorer, aviator and a recipient of the Medal of Honor....
, with the assistance of his first pilot Bernt Balchen

Bernt Balchen

Bernt Balchen, Distinguished Flying Cross , , was a Norwegian-American geographical pole and aviation pioneer. His service in the United States Army Air Force during World War II was tied to his Arctic expertise and helped the Allied Powers in Scandinavia and northern Europe....
, became the first person to fly over the South Pole on November 29, 1929. However, it was not until 31 October 1956 that men once again set foot at the Pole, when a party led by Admiral George J. Dufek

George J. Dufek

George John Dufek was an United States Navy Officer , naval aviator, and Arctic expert. He served in World War II and the Korean War and in the 1940s and 1950s spent much of his career in the Antarctic, first with Richard Evelyn Byrd and later as supervisor of U.S....
of the US Navy landed there in an R4D-5L Skytrain (C-47 Skytrain

C-47 Skytrain

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day....
) aircraft. The US Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a Science and technology in the United States at the South Pole, in Antarctica....
was established by air over 1956–1957 for the International Geophysical Year

International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year or IGY was an international scientific effort that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958.The IGY encompassed eleven Earth sciences: Auroral light and airglow, cosmic rays, Earth's magnetic field, gravity, ionosphere, longitude and latitude determinations , meteorology, oceanography, seismolo...
and has been continuously staffed since then by research and support personnel.

After Amundsen and Scott, the next people to reach the South Pole overland (albeit with some air support) were Edmund Hillary

Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary Order of the Garter, Order of New Zealand, Order of the British Empire was a New Zealand mountaineering and explorer....
(January 4, 1958) and Vivian Fuchs

Vivian Fuchs

Sir Vivian Ernest Fuchs Royal Society was an England List of explorers whose expeditionary team completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica in 1958....
(January 19, 1958) and their respective parties, during the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

The 1955–58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition was a Commonwealth of Nations-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole....
. There have been many subsequent expeditions to arrive at the South Pole by surface transportation, including those by Havola, Crary

Albert P. Crary

Albert Paddock Crary , was a pioneer polar geophysics and glaciology and the first person to set foot on both the North Pole and South Pole Poles....
and Fiennes.

On December 30 1989, Arved Fuchs

Arved Fuchs

Arved Fuchs is a Germany explorer. On December 30 1989, he and the famous mountain climber Reinhold Messner were the first to reach the South pole without animal or motorised help, on skis and with wind-assistance ....
and Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Messner is an Italy mountaineer and explorer from South Tyrol, often cited as the greatest mountain climbing of all time. He is renowned for making the first solo ascents of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen and for being the first climber to ascend all fourteen "eight-thousanders" ....
were the first to reach the South Pole without animal or motorised help, using only skis and the help of wind.

The first Irishman to reach the South Pole overland was Mike Barry of Tralee, County Kerry in 2004.

The fastest unsupported walking journey to the Geographic South Pole from the ocean is 33 days from Hercules Inlet and was set in 2009 by Canadian adventurers Ray Zahab, Richard Weber and Kevin Vallely, who beat the previous record set only a month earlier by American Todd Carmichael of 39 days and seven hours.

Territorial claims

Antarctic territorial claims and Antarctica – Politics
Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean....
.

Climate

See also Climate of Antarctica
Climate of Antarctica

The climate of Antarctica is the coldest on Earth, the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth being -89.2 ?C at Vostok, Antarctica. It is also extremely dry , with an average of only 166 millimetre of precipitation per year....
.

During the southern winter, the South Pole receives no sunlight at all. In the summer, the sun (though continuously above the horizon) is always low in the sky. Much of the sunlight that does reach the surface is reflected by the white snow. This lack of warmth from the sun, combined with the high altitude (about 2,800 m), means that the South Pole has one of the coldest climates on Earth (though it is not quite the coldest; that record goes to the region in the vicinity of the Vostok Station

Vostok Station

Vostok Station is a Russian Antarctic research station. It is at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured temperature on Earth of -89.2 ?C ....
, also in Antarctica, which lies at a higher elevation). Temperatures at the South Pole are much lower than at the North Pole, primarily because the South Pole is located at altitude in the middle of a continental land mass, while the North Pole is at sea level in the middle of an ocean (which acts as a reservoir of heat).

In midsummer, as the sun reaches its maximum elevation of about 23.5 degrees, temperatures at the South Pole average around -25 °C (-12 °F). As the six-month 'day' wears on and the sun gets lower, temperatures drop as well, with temperatures around sunset (late March) and sunrise (late September) being about -45 °C (-49 °F). In winter, the temperature remains steady at around -65 °C (-85 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a Science and technology in the United States at the South Pole, in Antarctica....
is -13.6 °C (7.5 °F: December 27, 1978), and the lowest is -82.8 °C (-117.0 °F: June 23, 1982) (however, this is not the lowest recorded anywhere on earth, that being -89.2 °C (-128.6 °F) at Vostok Station

Vostok Station

Vostok Station is a Russian Antarctic research station. It is at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured temperature on Earth of -89.2 ?C ....
on July 21, 1983).

The South Pole has a desert climate, almost never receiving any precipitation. Air humidity is near zero. However, high winds can cause the blowing of snowfall, and the accumulation of snow amounts to about 20 cm per year. The dome seen in the pictures is partially buried due to snow storms, and the entrance to the dome has to be regularly bulldozed to uncover it. More recent buildings are raised on stilts so that the snow does not build up against the side of them.

Average monthly temperatures and precipitation (Celsius, millimetres) at the South Pole, Antarctica

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °C	-25	-37	-50	-52	-53	-55	-55	-55	-55	-47	-36	-26	-45
Avg low °C	-28	-42	-56	-60	-61	-61	-63	-62	-62	-53	-39	-28	-51
Precipitation millimeters	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.5

Average monthly temperatures and precipitation (Fahrenheit, inches) at the South Pole, Antarctica

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °F	-14	-35	-58	-63	-64	-65	-68	-68	-67	-54	-33	-15	-50
Avg low °F	-20	-44	-70	-76	-78	-79	-82	-81	-81	-64	-39	-20	-61
Precipitation inches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.1

Source:

Time

In most places on Earth, local time is more-or-less synchronised to the position of the sun in the sky. This line of reasoning fails at the South Pole, which has 'days' lasting for a whole year. Another way of looking at it is to note that all time zones converge at the pole. There is no a priori reason for placing the South Pole in any particular time zone, but as a matter of practical convenience the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is a Science and technology in the United States at the South Pole, in Antarctica....
keeps New Zealand time. This is because the US flies its resupply missions ("Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on....
") out of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Flora and fauna

Due to its exceptionally harsh climate, there are no native resident plants or animals at the South Pole. Remarkably, though, off-course skua

Skua

Skuas are seabirds in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in North America.The name skua comes from Faroese language sk?gvur , and the island of Sk?voy is renowned for its colony of that bird....
s are occasionally seen there.

In 2000 it was reported that microbes had been detected living in the South Pole ice, though scientists think it unlikely that they evolved in Antarctica.

External links

are available at the Degree Confluence Project
Degree Confluence Project

The Degree Confluence Project is a World Wide Web-based all-volunteer project which aims to have people visit each of the integer Degree intersections of latitude and longitude on Earth, posting photographs and a narrative of each visit online....
by the Australian Antarctic Division
- Online news source for the U.S. Antarctic Program
- BBC News article on first expedition to Pole of Inaccessibility without mechanical assistance