There are two points on the planet that are farthest from the equator line. These are the North Pole and the South Pole. And if the first is located in the middle of the frozen ocean, then the second is on the firmament of the real continent. This article is dedicated to him.
What geographical latitude does the South Pole have? What astronomical and climatic features does it differ? Who and when first conquered this harsh point of the globe? You will find answers to all these questions in our article.
South Poles: how many are there?
The imaginary axis of rotation of our planet, as you know, crosses its surface at two points. The first is the North Pole, and the second is the South. The distance between these two points is 12,713.5 km.
However, not everyone knows that scientists distinguish not one South Pole, but five! We list them:
- magnetic;
- geomagnetic;
- geographical;
- ceremonial;
- and the so-called “inaccessibility pole”.
The first two poles are connected with the magnetic field and the magnetic axis of the Earth. At the same time, the South Magnetic Pole is completely outside Antarctica. But the point on the mainland, which is the most remote from the ocean, is called the South Pole of inaccessibility.
On the coldest continent of the planet there is a special place designed for photo and video shooting of tourists and travelers. This is the so-called ceremonial pole of the Southern Hemisphere. Moreover, it does not coincide in location with the real (geographical) pole. In addition, under the influence of the movement of the glacial shell of the mainland, it moves ten meters annually.
This geographic South Pole will interest us in this article. Where is it located? What is interesting about this point on the surface of the Earth? And what geographical latitude does the South Pole have? We will learn about all this later.
What geographical latitude does the South Pole have?
If you look closely at the globe, you can see how a bunch of thin meridian lines emerges from one point and then converges again to another, but on the opposite side of the globe. One of these points (the one located below) is called the South Pole.
The latitude of the South Pole of the Earth is 90 degrees south latitude (in abbreviated form, they often write simply: south latitude). In the orographic plan, it is located within the Polar Plateau at an altitude of 2800 meters above sea level.
Since 1956, the American polar station Amundsen-Scott has been operating a hundred meters from the South Pole. The name of the station immortalized the names of the first people who conquered this harsh point of the Earth. Today, there is a special ceremonial venue created for tourists and travelers. It has a huge hemisphere surrounded by the flags of the countries of the so-called Antarctic Treaty.
Astronomical and climatic features of the South Pole
Below are the most interesting astronomical and geographical features of this point on the planet:
- Day and night are almost the same in duration (187 and 178 days, respectively).
- The South Pole is one of the best points on Earth for continuous astronomical observations.
- The sky equator completely coincides with the horizon.
- At the South Pole, by and large, there is no habitual time, since all the meridians here converge at one point. For convenience, researchers at Amundsenn-Scott Station use New Zealand time.
- The South Pole, like the whole of Antarctica as a whole, does not belong to any of the states of the world.
The climate at this point on the planet is, of course, very severe. The average annual air temperature here is –49 degrees Celsius. It was “warmer” at the South Pole on December 25, 2011 (“only” –12 degrees). By the way, by all temperature indicators, the South Pole is much colder than the North.
Of course, living organisms are very difficult to adapt to such harsh climatic conditions. There are no plants in the region of the pole at all, and only penguins can be found among the representatives of the fauna. Moreover, these animals here, for lack of enemies, feel quite at ease.
Conquering the Pole: How It Was
The process of conquering the South Pole of the Earth became a triumph for one European nation, and a tragedy for another. Two expeditions competed for the right to hoist their flag here first - the Norwegian led by R. Amundsen and the British led by Robert Scott.
Both groups went to the final “pole run” in the fall of 1911. But the Norwegians reached the goal a month and four days earlier. It happened on December 14, 1911. Scott's exhausted group reached the South Pole only on January 17th. Seeing the fluttering Norwegian banner, the British were even more discouraged. On the way back, all five members of Scott's crew died.
There were several reasons for Amundsen's victory in this “race”. First of all, he relied on sled dogs, and did not fail (Robert Scott used horses and motorized sleds, which immediately failed).
Secondly, the Norwegians were much better prepared physically. Thirdly, the British took with them a lot less food than they needed. Finally, a group of Norwegians was better and more competent dressed. Before the expedition, Roald Amundsen studied in detail the methods of adaptation to the severe cold of the Eskimos.
Conclusion
What geographical latitude does the South Pole have? The answer to this question is quite obvious. The south pole has a latitude of 90 ° 00 ′ 00 ″. But he does not have longitude at all. Indeed, at this point on Earth all the meridians of the planet converge.