Hechos del polo sur

1. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, is
the southernmost part of the Earth and lies opposite the North
Pole. Located in Antarctica, it is the exact location where the
southern end of the Earth’s axis meets the surface.
★ The South Pole is usually given the geographic coordinate of 90°S.
★ Unlike the North Pole, the South Pole is located inland. Specifically,
it is positioned near the middle of the Great Antarctic ice
sheet, on a plateau about 2,800 meters above sea level and
1,230 kilometers from the nearest coast (Bay of Whales).
★ Although the land at the South Pole is only about 100 meters above
sea level, the ice covering it is estimated to be 2,700 meters thick.
LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY

2. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
From top to bottom: (a) the 2020 Geographic
South Pole marker; (b) an LC-130 cargo plane
delivering fuel to the South Pole station; and
(c) a glimpse of the South Pole Overland
Traverse, an unpaved highway lined with
marker flags.
★ The Geographic South Pole is
marked by a stake alongside a
sign, which indicates its elevation
and shows quotes from Roald
Amundsen and Robert F. Scott
(the two persons who led the first
two successful expeditions to the
South Pole).
★ While the Geographic South Pole
stays at the same spot, the
Antarctic ice sheet, including all
structures above it, shifts at about
10 meters per year due to plate
tectonics (slow movement of large
slabs of the Earth’s crust).
★ To compensate for this movement,
a new pole marker is placed every
January 1 to point out the exact
location of the Geographic South
Pole.
★ Most supplies and scientists are
transported to and from the South
Pole via military aircraft.
★ Heavier equipment and other
supplies are delivered from the
McMurdo Station through the
1,600-kilometer South Pole
Overland Traverse (also known
as the McMurdo-South Pole
Highway) with an estimated
travel time of 40 days.

3. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
The Earth’s tilted axis causes uneven distribution of sunlight in the northern and southern
hemispheres, resulting in the change of seasons as it revolves around the Sun.
360 DAYS OF NIGHT
★ Tourists may also visit the South Pole through a combination of
travel via cruise/expedition ships or by booking a plane and then
skiing to the pole.
★ Because the Earth rotates around an axis tilted at about 23.5°
while revolving around the Sun, the South Pole receives little to
no sunlight.
★ The South Pole only experiences one sunrise (the autumnal
equinox in September) and one sunset (the vernal equinox in
March) every year. The sunrise and the sunset signal the change
in seasons from summer to winter, which both last up to six
months.
autumnal equinox
vernal equinox

4. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
The sun only rises (left) and sets (right) once a year at the South Pole during the autumnal equinox in
September and the vernal equinox in March, respectively.
★ During summer, the sun is always above the horizon, thus, the
South Pole experiences 24 hours of daylight every day. In contrast,
the sun is always way below the horizon during the winter, resulting
in 24 hours of night and cold every day for six months.
★ The South Pole is generally much colder than the North Pole due to
its high elevation and geographic location. The Arctic Ocean, which
surrounds the North Pole, acts as a moderator that keeps the air
around the North Pole warmer than that of the South Pole.
LIFE AT THE SOUTH POLE
★ Although there are more than 9,000 known plant and animal
species in Antarctica, none of them are found at the South Pole.
The extreme climate conditions make it hard for any flora and fauna
to thrive in the area.
★ Occasionally, stray seabirds, such as polar skuas and snow petrels,
are spotted at the South Pole.
★ The South Pole has no native human population. However, the area
is home to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, a U.S.A.
research station with a population of about 50 to 200 scientists.

5. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
★ The first attempt to reach the
South Pole was led by a
British explorer named Robert
Falcon Scott via the Discovery
Expedition.
★ Together with Ernest Shackleton
and Edward Wilson, Scott was
able to reach 82°16’S or within
660 kilometers of the South Pole
on December 31, 1902.
★ On January 9, 1909, Shackleton
THE DEADLY RACE TO THE SOUTH POLE
Shackleton, Scott, and Wilson before the
Discovery Expedition in 1902.
★ On the way to Antarctica, Scott and his
team stopped in Australia to gather
supplies. But he was met with a message
from a Norwegian explorer named Roald
Amundsen, informing him of his own
mission to the South Pole.
★ Amundsen was initially headed to the
North Pole via the Fram Expedition but
shifted his focus to the South Pole
(without informing his crew and financers)
after Frederick Cook and Robert Peary
were announced to have reached the
North Pole ahead of him.
and his team were able to reach as far as 88°23’S (roughly 180
kilometers away from the South Pole) before they were forced to turn
back due to the harsh weather.
★ In 1910, Scott, via the Terra Nova Expedition, reattempted his mission
to the South Pole.
Roald Amundsen, Norwegian
explorer of the polar regions.

6. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
★ Amundsen’s team set up camp in the Bay of Whales, 97 kilometers
closer to the South Pole than Scott’s camp at McMurdo Sound.
★ Whereas Scott used scientific and expeditionary equipment hauled
by sled dogs, Manchurian ponies, and motorized tractors, Amundsen
relied only on skis and sled dogs.
★ Later, Scott’s motorized equipment broke down, and all the ponies
died, forcing them to haul their sleds on foot. Only Scott, Wilson, and
three other men from the Terra Nova Expedition continued the
journey to the South Pole.
★ On December 14, 1911, Amundsen and his team successfully
arrived at the South Pole. Scott and his companions then followed
suit on January 17, 1912.
Amundsen’s team reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911, setting up camp, planting the
Norwegian flag on the site, and calling it Polheim (left). Scott’s team reached the South Pole over a
month later, only to find Amundsen’s tent with supplies and equipment, which was purposely left for
them (right).
★ All of Scott’s team died on the way back due to hunger,
hypothermia, and frostbite. Their bodies were not found until eight
months later.
★ The next overland expedition to the South Pole was made in 1956,
more than 40 years after Scott and Amundsen’s legendary but fatal
race.

7. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
★ Aside from the usual Geographic South Pole, the term “South Pole”
may also be defined in other ways.
★ The Earth acts like a giant magnet surrounded by a magnetic field
generated from the Earth’s molten metallic outer core.
OTHER SOUTH POLES
From top to bottom: (a) Relative location of the
Magnetic South Pole (red dot) vis-à-vis the
Geographic South Pole (blue dot); and
(b) plotted map of the observed locations of the
South Pole from 1903-2000 (in yellow squares)
versus the calculated locations from 1590-2020
(blue to yellow dots).
★ Simply put, magnetic poles are
the poles of the Earth’s
magnetic field. Unlike the
geographic poles, magnetic
poles are not necessarily
antipodal (they do not
necessarily lie directly opposite
to each other) because the
magnetic field lines do not pass
through the center of the Earth.
★ The Magnetic South Pole is a
point located in the southern
hemisphere where the
magnetic field lines become
vertical.
★ As the Earth’s molten outer
core is constantly shifting, the
location of the Magnetic South
Pole is not fixed and can only
be discerned through magnetic
surveys. It moves an average
of 10 to 15 kilometers per year
toward Australia.
★ As of 2020, the location of the Magnetic South Pole is estimated to
be at 64.07°S and 135.88°E.

8. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
An illustration of the Earth’s theoretical Geomagnetic
Field. The Geomagnetic Poles are offset by 11.5° from
the Geographic Poles.
★ The Geomagnetic South
Pole is the intersection of
the Earth's surface and the
southern end of the axis of
a bar magnet that is offset
by about 11.5° from the
location of the Geographic
South Pole.
★ As this bar magnet is
theoretically placed at the
center of the Earth to
approximate the Earth’s
geomagnetic field, the
geomagnetic north and
south poles are antipodal.
★ The location of the South
Geomagnetic Pole in 2020 is estimated to be at 80.65°S, 107.32°E,
which is near Russia’s Vostok Station.
★ Historically, the Magnetic and
Geomagnetic South Poles are both
associated with the south-seeking
arrow of a magnetic compass, which
points to the general direction of the
Geographic South Pole.
★ In Physics, the opposite poles of a
magnet attract. Hence, the location
where the south-seeking arrow or the
“south pole” of a magnetic compass
points to is actually the Magnetic/
Geomagnetic North Pole of the Earth.
Opposite poles attract. Physically, the
Earth’s Geomagnetic/Magnetic South
Pole is located near the Geographic
North Pole, although it is called the
Geomagnetic/Magnetic North Pole for
historical reasons.

9. KIDSKONNECT.COM
South Pole Facts
★ The Ceremonial South
Pole is an area at the
Amundsen-Scott South
Pole Station, 300 meters
from the Geographic South
Pole that is specially set for
photo opportunities.
★ It is marked by a glass
sphere placed on top of a
red and white striped pole,
surrounded by the flags of
the 12 original signatories
of the Antarctic Treaty
The Ceremonial South Pole at the Amundsen-Scott
South Pole Station.
(Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Britain, Chile, France, Japan, New
Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the U.S.A, and Russia). Signed on
December 1, 1959, the Treaty declared the demilitarization of
Antarctica to preserve it for scientific research.
★ The Southern Pole of
Inaccessibility, as the name
implies, is an area in
Antarctica that is very
difficult to reach due to its
location.
★ Located about 878
kilometers away from the
Geographic South Pole, it
represents the point that
is farthest from the Southern
Ocean in all directions
and was the site of
an abandoned Antarctic
When the Russians reached the Pole of
Inaccessibility in 1958, they built a temporary
research station at the site, placing a plastic bust of
Vladimir Lenin on the top. The latest photos in 2007
reveal that only the bust is visible, but it is unknown
whether it is now completely buried in snow.
research station built by the Soviet Union in 1958.

10. KIDSKONNECT.COM
Which South Pole?
The term “South Pole” may be defined differently
depending on a given criterion. Below is a map of
Antarctica with points corresponding to the locations of
the known South Poles. Label the same points using the
following description as clues.
SOUTH POLE WORKSHEETS
Name: ______________________
2
1
4
3
a point in
Antarctica
that is
farthest from
the Southern
Ocean.
1
where the
southern end
of the Earth’s
axis meets
the surface.
2
south pole of
a bar magnet
placed at the
center of the
Earth.
3
where the
magnetic field
lines become
vertical at the
south.
4

11. KIDSKONNECT.COM
Which South Pole?
ANSWER KEY
2
1
4
3
a point in
Antarctica
that is
farthest from
the Southern
Ocean.
1
where the
southern end
of the Earth’s
axis meets
the surface.
2
south pole of
a bar magnet
placed at the
center of the
Earth.
3
where the
magnetic field
lines become
vertical at the
south.
4
Southern Pole of
Inaccessibility
Geographic
South Pole
Geomagnetic
South Pole
Magnetic
South Pole
SOUTH POLE WORKSHEETS