Is it the Geographic North Pole, the North Magnetic Pole or somewhere else that Santa Claus lives? The North Pole's ownership is now in dispute.
A frosty cold place near the top of the Earth, the North Pole has become legend. In the story created by American illustrator/writer Thomas Nast for the 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly, Nast created Santa Claus on the German tradition of Saint Nicholas. By 1881, his character had transformed into the kindly, bearded gentleman clothed in a red and white suit that is a mainstay of our Christmas season. Thomas Nast made the North Pole the base for Santa Claus’ distant home and workshop.
But the North Pole is not a singular place on the planet. Along with the imaginative home of Santa, surrounded by snow-laden fir trees and sweet animals, there are also the Geographic North Pole and the North Magnetic Pole.
The Geographic North Pole is part of an axis
The Earth is on a steady rotation, spinning day into night, night into day, as it orbits around the sun. Its axis for turning (an imaginary stick at the centre of the planet) spears through the south and north poles. It is not straight up and down, but on a tilt of 23 degrees, noted Science Netlinks, thus giving us the seasons of being closer and further away from the sun. The Geographic North Pole is located at 90 °N latitude and is the place where all longitudinal lines converge. There is no land since it is in the middle of the barren Arctic Ocean. According to AllThingsArctic, the area receives six months of sun and six months of darkness each year. There is no sign of Santa or his elves living there.
The North Magnetic Pole is a Magnetic Field
The North Magnetic Pole is a thousand miles away from the Geographic North Pole, located at 82.7 °N Latitude and 114.4 °W Longitude as of 2005 According to Natural Resources Canada, “The Earth's magnetic field is shaped approximately like that of a bar magnet and, like a magnet, it has two magnetic poles,” as if the Earth had a giant rectangular magnet upright in the core. The North Magnetic Pole is shifting by many kilometers each year – what had originally been on Canadian land has shifted into the ocean. (The South Magnetic Pole is found off the coast of Antarctica.) Santa has not been seen.
Canada’s Claim on the North Pole
In the mid-1950s, the Canadian Government claimed the North Pole as part of Canada’s northern lands. Under the waters and ice of the Northwest Passage, the ownership of a huge ridge of land has recently come under dispute by Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States. (See Canada and Russia Re-Start Cold War on Suite101.) All are now putting in their own claims on the territory with precious minerals and oil-rich reserves. The countries have sent scientists and explorers on missions to find bases for their claims on the North Pole. Russia recently dropped a national flag onto the deep floor of the waterway to make its claim known. The Canadian government has increased northern activity in an attempt to hold others at bay, but none of that activity includes Santa Claus.
It seems Santa’s North Pole home in Canada is elusive, maybe to keep nosy, unwanted photographers away. Mr. Claus does like his privacy the rest of the year, after all.
See photos from the North Pole.
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