Northern Pole of Inaccessibility
The northern pole of inaccessibility (84°03′N 174°51′W / 84.05°N 174.85°W / 84.05; -174.85 (Northern Pole of Inaccessibility)), sometimes known as the Arctic pole of inaccessibility, or just Arctic pole, is located on the Arctic Ocean pack ice at a distance farthest from any land mass. It is 661 km (411 statute miles) from the North Pole, 1,453 km (903 mi) north of Barrow, Alaska, and equidistant from the three closest landmasses, Ellesmere Island, Franz-Josef Land, and the New Siberian Islands, 1,094 km (680 mi) away. It was first crossed by Sir Hubert Wilkins, who flew by aircraft in 1927; in 1958, a Russian icebreaker reached this point. Owing to the constant motion of the pack ice, no permanent structure can exist at the pole.
According to some reports, the first person to reach the spot on foot was Sir Wally Herbert, who arrived by dogsled in 1968. Other reports speak of this Pole as being still unconquered as of explorer Jim McNeill's unsuccessful attempt in 2006. According to McNeill, Herbert did not quite make the Pole, whose position has also now been more accurately determined.
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Famous quotes containing the words northern and/or pole:
“Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegaean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“This man was very clever and quick to learn anything in his line. Our tent was of a kind new to him; but when he had once seen it pitched, it was surprising how quickly he would find and prepare the pole and forked stakes to pitch it with, cutting and placing them right the first time, though I am sure that the majority of white men would have blundered several times.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)