South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish from the south magnetic pole. The South Pole is by definition the southernmost point on the Earth, lying antipodally to the North Pole.

Situated on the continent of Antarctica, it is the site of the United States Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, which was established in 1956 and has been permanently staffed since that year. Because the South Pole is covered by an ice sheet roughly 3.2 km (2.0 mi) thick that is slowly moving, the geographic marker must be moved several meters each year. There is a marker at the geographic South Pole placed each year, and also a Ceremonial South Pole marked with various flags and a special post.

Geography

The Geographic South Pole is the southern point where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth. Its geographic coordinates are usually given as 90°S, because its longitude is not important.

The South Pole is located on the continent of Antarctica. It sits on a flat, icy plateau 2,835 meters above sea level, about 1,300 kilometers from the nearest sea. The ice at the Pole is about 2,700 meters thick.

A stake and a small sign mark the Geographic South Pole. These are moved each year because the ice is slowly moving. The sign remembers when explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the Pole.

The Ceremonial South Pole is a special spot near the Geographic South Pole for photos. It has a metallic sphere and flags of the original Antarctic Treaty signatory states.

Exploration

See also: History of Antarctica, List of Antarctic expeditions, Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, and Farthest South

Pre-1900

In 1820, many groups claimed to be the first to see Antarctica. The Russian team led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev was among the first. The first person to step onto the ice was likely John Davis, an English-born American captain, in 1821.

For many years, people did not understand the shape of Antarctica well. An American officer named Charles Wilkes said in 1839–1840 that Antarctica was a new continent. Later, James Clark Ross tried to sail all the way to the South Pole in 1839–1843 but could not reach it.

1900–1950

The first person to try to reach the South Pole from the coast of Antarctica was British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. In 1902, he traveled far south but stopped at 82°16′ S. Later, explorer Ernest Shackleton came even closer in 1909, stopping just 112 miles from the Pole.

The first people to reach the South Pole were Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team on December 14, 1911. Shortly after, Scott also reached the Pole but died on the return journey along with his team.

In 1929, Richard Evelyn Byrd became the first person to fly over the South Pole.

1950–present

People did not return to the South Pole until October 31, 1956, when a team led by Admiral George J. Dufek landed there using an airplane. The United States built a research station called the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in 1956–1957, and people have worked there ever since.

Many famous explorers have reached the South Pole since then. In 1958, Edmund Hillary and Vivian Fuchs reached the Pole from different directions. The first women to reach the Pole were Pam Young, Jean Pearson, Lois Jones, Eileen McSaveney, Kay Lindsay, and Terry Tickhill in 1969.

In recent years, many people have tried to reach the South Pole in faster and harder ways. In 2024, Vincent Colliard from France set a new record for the fastest journey to the Pole. In 2006, Hannah McKeand from the United Kingdom became the first woman to make the trip alone without help.

Climate and day and night

See also: Climate of Antarctica, Midnight sun, and Polar night

The South Pole has very cold weather. In the winter, from May to August, the Sun does not shine at all, and it is dark except for moonlight. In the summer, from October to February, the Sun stays above the horizon all the time, moving from right to left. Even then, the Sun stays low in the sky, reaching about 23.5° at its highest around December because the Earth's axis is tilted by that amount. Much of the sunlight is reflected by the bright snow.

Because of the cold and high altitude of about 2,800 metres (9,200 feet), the South Pole is one of the coldest places on Earth. It is colder than the North Pole mainly because it is higher up and located in the middle of a continent, while the North Pole is at sea level in the ocean. In the middle of summer, temperatures average around −25.9 °C (−15 °F). As summer continues and the Sun gets lower, temperatures drop to about −55 °C (−67 °F). In the middle of winter, temperatures stay around −60 °C (−76 °F). The South Pole gets very little snow, about 7 cm (2.8 in) each year, but strong winds can blow snow around. Older buildings there have to be cleared regularly because snow builds up against them.

Time

In most places, the time of day matches where the Sun is in the sky. But at the South Pole, the Sun rises and sets only once each year. Because of this, the time there doesn’t change with the Sun’s position.

For practical reasons, the people at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station use the same time as New Zealand. This is because the United States sends supply flights from McMurdo Station, which gets its supplies from Christchurch, New Zealand.

Flora and fauna

The South Pole has a very harsh climate, so there are no plants or animals that live there naturally. Sometimes, birds like south polar skuas and snow petrels can be seen near the area.

In the year 2000, scientists found tiny living things called microbes in the ice at the South Pole. They also discovered old fossils of dinosaurs with feathers in Australia. These fossils were found in sediment from a lake that was once near the South Pole many millions of years ago.