The Arctic Circle is the invisible circle of latitude on the earth's
surface at 66°33' north, marking the southern limit of the area where the sun does not
rise on the winter solstice or set on the summer solstice - a geographic ring
crowning the
globe. It is approximately 1,650 miles from the North Pole.
Scientists say the Arctic
Circle "wanders". Click that last link to find out
more!
The Arctic Circle is also the outermost parallel circle counted from
the North Pole where we cannot see the sun rise over the horizon in the winter solstice.
This phenomena is called polarnight, or midwinter darkness, and occurs around December 21.
Continuous day or night ranges from one day at the Arctic Circle to six months at the
North Pole.
Broader Definition:
The Arctic Circle is also the name given the region around the
North Pole. It includes the Arctic Ocean, thousands of islands, and the northern parts of
Europe, Asia, and North America, including the Arctic and Subarctic regions of Alaska,
Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, Siberia and the Russian Far East. A region of
immense beauty far removed from the industrial areas of the world, it is also rich in
mineral and other natural resources. Throughout this immense area, economic developers
search for oil, gas, and similar marketable natural resources.
Barriers to Development
In Alaska, especially, a major problem restricting this
development is land withdrawal - millions of acres having been set aside for national or
regional parks, military reserves, forests, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas. In
fact, less than 1% of the land in Alaska belongs to the private citizens of the state! Is
it any wonder that Alaskan's resent environmentalists from the lower 49 states who seek to
tie up even more land with bureaucratic red tape?
Polar day and night
The Polar day begins round March 21
when it is vernal equinox and the sun is right above the equator and the day and night are
equal. At the Arctic Circle, the Polarday reaches its climax around June 21 (see Midnight Sun) when the solar orb is so high that at no
point does it drop below the horizon. If you are lucky enough to be visiting on June 21,
be sure to bring your camera. You can buy postcards showing the sun set that never sets,
with time lapse photography. Fairbanks schedules lots of events
to celebrate the Midnight Sun in late June.
The Polarnight begins around Sept 23
when it is autumnal equinox and reach its climax around Dec 21 when the sun can no longer
be seen above the horizon, even at noon.
Arctic Weather
Many people believe that the Arctic is so cold nothing can
survive there, but explorers and scientists have discovered that, except for Greenland,
nine tenths of all arctic lands have little snow and ice during the summer. Trees may be
missing, but berries, flowers, and even vegetables, grow there. While the sun doesn't
shine much during the winter, it shines on the entire region for part of the day from
March to September.
Importance of the Arctic
The Arctic has great importance to more than just the native
peoples who live there. Information from Arctic weather stations helps to predict weather
further south. In recent years, airlines have taken more and more advantage of the shorter
routes to Canada, Asia, and Europe presented by flights over the North Pole.
At one time the Arctic was only a point of interest to
explorers, traders, and the Inuit. Today, the Arctic region is a central point
of interest to scientists because of its strategic location. In addition to
this, is the importance of wildlife habitat in that region, particularly
within Alaska. A huge percentage of certain waterfowl from Russia and Canada
and the lower 48 nest and/or molt there, along with many other bird species
-- not to mention the caribou calving grounds--the Western Arctic herd alone
currently numbers near half a million. The challenge to the state is to manage
these wildlife populations in ways that allow resource development without
significantly impacting the wildlife population.
By one definition, the Arctic Circle does not enclose all of
the Arctic Regions. The true actual Arctic is the land in which the mean
temperature for the warmest month is less than 50 deg. F. The coldest region
is the "polar segment," which in the warmest month of the year does not get
above freezing (which means that this area does not get much sunlight.).
North Pole
The North Pole has a latitude of 90 deg. and a longitude of 0 deg. Despite
its name, the North Pole is not necessarily the coldest part of the Arctic Region. The
coldest part of the Arctic is the Arctic circle. The reason has to do with water absorbing
heat in summer and releasing it during the winter. In addition, the lack of wind at the
North Pole helps to cut down on the cold, except for the occasional blizzard.
We have added a link to an Arctic
Circle map to our road maps section. It is from a government
factbook site and is a 182 kb download, but an excellent map.
There is also more snowfall in the lower 49 states than there is
in the Arctic Regions. The reason is that the air is very dry and that there isn't enough
moisture for there to be much snow. It has been said that if Alaska did not have snow, it
would be a desert.
The Arctic Circle is about
125 north of Fairbanks. There are many tour companies offering a look at the Arctic
Circle.
This is the tour for those wanting to camp out on the
tundra at the Arctic Circle. They offer a two day, one night excursion for
109 per person, but it does not go beyond the Arctic Circle.
That is not the only tour. See also the
tour page.
Arctic Circle Definition:
