Payhip Course_Geographic Poles

Look at this image. There is a lot going on, but we are going to take it one step at a time. Look at the red lines with arrows. Do you remember how you learned that a magnetic field travels from the north pole to the south pole? Earth's magnetic field lines travel from the magnetic north pole (which is on the southern side of the globe) to the magnetic south pole (which is on the northern side of the globe).

Before we talk more about these magnetic poles, let's talk about the geographic poles. The word geographic refers to physical places on Earth that you can stand on. Think of the geographic poles as physical places on Earth and the magnetic poles as forces we can't see. The very top of a globe is called the Geographic North Pole. The very bottom of the globe is called the Geographic South Pole. These are fixed locations, which means they don't change.

The Geographic North Pole is the physical northernmost point on Earth. Let's start by finding it in the picture. Can you find it?

Now look at the bottom of the picture. Do you see the Axis of Rotation? It looks like a line going through Earth from the north pole to the south pole. This is the imaginary line that Earth spins around. Do you see how it's tilted to the side a bit? Earth is tilted 23.5°.

Next, can you find the Axis of Rotation on the northern side of the globe? Do you see how it's in the same spot as the Geographic North Pole? The Geographic North Pole is located at Earth's Axis of Rotation in the north. The Geographic North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean, it doesn't move, and it represents the "top" of the Earth on a globe and "true north" on a map.

Next, can you find the Geographic South Pole? It's the southernmost point on the Earth where it meets Earth's axis of rotation in Antarctica. The Geographic South Pole does not move and represents the "bottom" of the Earth on a globe and "true south" on a map.