 Where In The World?
Where In The World Is the South Pole?
Its time to get out your globe! You need to know about the imaginary lines on globes and maps. These lines are called lines of latitude and longitude, and they tell a pilot or ships
captain exactly where in the world a certain place is located. Basically, latitude lines (also called parallels) are the horizontal lines on your map. Lines of longitude (also called meridians) are the vertical lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. This mapping system is written in degrees and uses the symbol . Get ready to travel the world!
 Ninety-five years ago, the South Pole was discovered by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen on December 14, 1911. On your globe, find longitude of 0E and latitude of 90S, and you'll find the South Pole. This is the Earths rotational axis opposite the North Pole. It is the southernmost point on the Earth and one of the two points through which all meridians pass. (The North Pole is the other point). This is the geographic pole and is not the same as the south magnetic pole.
The South Pole lies on the icy continent of Antarctica, inland from the Ross Sea, at an elevation of about 9200 feet. The South Pole is the coldest, windiest and driest place on Earth. Antarctica is covered by permafrost (permanently frozen ground) is surrounded by water. It is the fifth-largest continent and is about 1 1/2 times larger than the United States. Antarctica has about 87% of the worlds ice. Scientific expeditions visit, and several countries have set up year-round research stations on Antarctica, but there are no permanent human residents.
According to NASA Quest, the South Pole is a couple of hundred meters beyond the ceremonial pole. It is a stake with a small brass plaque on top and a sign that labels it as the Geographic South Pole. Beyond it there is a string of old pole stakes. Each of them used to be the Geographic South Pole in years past. The reason the Geographic South Pole needs to be re-staked each year is because the ice beneath the station is sliding 9.9 meters every year. When you are at the South Pole you are standing atop a thick ice cap. Over time, ice slowly moves down hill. In this case downhill is in the direction of the Weddell Sea.
The geographic South Pole, as photographed in 1978. Photographer: Commander John
Bortniak, NOAA Corps Collection
Source: The World Factbook prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency; NASA Quest, http://quest.nasa.gov/antarctica; Encyclopdia Britannica.
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