polar circle
Latitude marking extremes
A polar circle is either of two imaginary lines encircling the Earth parallel to the equator, marking the boundaries of the polar regions.
The Arctic Circle lies at approximately 66.5° north latitude, and the Antarctic Circle at 66.5° south.
These circles define the areas where, for at least one day per year, the sun remains continuously above or below the horizon, producing the phenomena of midnight sun and polar night.
Earth's northern axis point
- Arctic OceanEarth's northernmost body of water
- arctic foxCold-adapted northern canine
- walrusTusked Arctic marine mammal
- reindeerArctic deer species
Inuit · Svalbard · Greenland · Nunavut · Siberia · tundra · permafrost · taiga
Below the freezing point
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- icebergFloating glacial fragment
- icecapPermanent polar covering
blizzard · frostbite · hypothermia · freezing · sea ice · snowbound · thermals · insulation
Perpetual summer daylight above Arctic Circle
- solsticeDay of maximum tilt
- aurora borealisHigh-latitude luminous sky phenomenon
- aurora australisAntarctic atmospheric light display
- twilightLight after sunset
Southernmost point on Earth
- penguinFlightless aquatic southern bird
- Ross Ice ShelfFloating Antarctic ice formation
- Southern OceanSea around Antarctica
- ice shelfFloating glacial extension
krill · albatross · subglacial · research station · icebreaker · crevasse
Geographic or personal freedom
- coordinateArrange for unified action
- hemisphereHalf of a ball
- meridianPole-to-pole great circle
- cartographyCreating geographic representations
parallels · equator · projection · map · atlas · global positioning · tropic · grid
Organized exploratory journey
- explorerOne who investigates unfamiliar regions
- ShackletonPolar expedition commander
- ScottName of Scottish origin
- sledRunner-based snow vehicle
Amundsen · dogsled · icebreaker · basecamp · outpost · overwintering · voyage · discovery
North Pole
Earth's northern axis point
- Arctic OceanEarth's northernmost body of water
- arctic foxCold-adapted northern canine
- walrusTusked Arctic marine mammal
reindeer · Inuit · Svalbard · Greenland · Nunavut · Siberia · tundra · permafrost · taiga · aurora borealis
subzero
Below the freezing point
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- icebergFloating glacial fragment
icecap · blizzard · frostbite · hypothermia · freezing · sea ice · snowbound · thermals · insulation · windchill
midnight sun
Perpetual summer daylight above Arctic Circle
- solsticeDay of maximum tilt
- aurora borealisHigh-latitude luminous sky phenomenon
- aurora australisAntarctic atmospheric light display
twilight · photoperiod · equinox · summer sun · winter darkness
South Pole
Southernmost point on Earth
- penguinFlightless aquatic southern bird
- Ross Ice ShelfFloating Antarctic ice formation
- Southern OceanSea around Antarctica
ice shelf · krill · albatross · subglacial · research station · icebreaker · crevasse
latitude
Geographic or personal freedom
- coordinateArrange for unified action
- hemisphereHalf of a ball
- meridianPole-to-pole great circle
cartography · parallels · equator · projection · map · atlas · global positioning · tropic · grid
expedition
Organized exploratory journey
- explorerOne who investigates unfamiliar regions
- ShackletonPolar expedition commander
- ScottName of Scottish origin
Amundsen · sled · dogsled · icebreaker · basecamp · outpost · overwintering · voyage · discovery · trek
- polar regionsAntarctica, Arctic Ocean, glaciers, Arctic, penguins
- Cold RegionsArctic, Antarctica, tundra regions, Siberia, frozen tundra
- polarNorth Pole, South Pole, Arctic, Antarctic, ice cap
- NorthlandsNorth Pole, Arctic, north country, Nordic countries, Scandinavia
- glaciersglacier, crevasse, glacial movement, moraine, iceberg
- taigaboreal forest, taiga, spruce, coniferous forest, pine
polar circleequator
Midpoint circle of rotation
tropical zone · Tropic of Cancer · Tropic of Capricorn · equatorial region · tropics
circle, polar, circular, encircle, polarization, circulation, semicircle, polarity, polarizing