In the interior, summers can be quite warm, while winters are extremely cold. The climate north of the Arctic Circle is generally cold, but the coastal areas of Norway have a generally mild climate as a result of the Gulf Stream, which makes the ports of northern Norway and northwest Russia ice-free all year long.
Geography Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMapįurther information: Climate of the Arctic
The largest such community in Canada is Inuvik in The Northwest Territories, with 3,137 inhabitants. In the United States, Utqiaġvik, Alaska (Formerly Barrow), is the largest settlement north of the Arctic Circle with about 5,000 inhabitants. In contrast, the largest North American community north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut ( Greenland), has approximately 5,600 inhabitants. Salekhard (51,186) in Russia is the only city in the world located directly on the Arctic Circle. Rovaniemi (62,667) in Finland is the largest settlement in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle, lying 6 km (4 mi) south of the line. The largest communities north of the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia, Norway, and Sweden: Murmansk (population 295,374) and Norilsk (178,018) in Russia Tromsø (75,638) in Norway, Vorkuta (58,133) in Russia, Bodø (52,357), and Harstad (24,703) in Norway and Kiruna, Sweden (22,841). Human habitation Cylindrical projection showing the Arctic Circle in red The picture of the northern lights in Rovaniemi. That is true at sea level those limits increase with elevation above sea level, although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the true horizon.Īt night, bright aurora borealis are a fairly common sight in the Arctic Circle. Similarly, on the day of the northern winter solstice, part of the sun may be seen up to about 50′ north of the Arctic Circle. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages, and also because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun is visible, on the night of the northern summer solstice, at a latitude of about 50 minutes of arc (′) (90 km (56 mi)) south of the Arctic Circle. ĭirectly on the Arctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year: at the June and December solstices, respectively. The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the center of the Sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for twenty-four hours as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Arctic Circle the center of the Sun is visible at local midnight, and at least once the center is not visible at local noon. Midnight sun and polar night įurther information: Midnight sun and Polar night Relationship of Earth's axial tilt (ε) to the tropical and polar circles The word arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός ( arktikos: "near the Bear, northern") and that from the word ἄρκτος ( arktos: " bear"). Consequently, the Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 14.5 m (48 ft) per year. Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, owing to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed and currently runs 66☃3′49.7″ north of the Equator. For example, in the Russian port city of Murmansk, three degrees above the Arctic Circle, the Sun does not rise above the horizon for 40 successive days in midwinter. These phenomena are referred to as polar night and midnight sun respectively, and the further north one progresses, the more pronounced these effects become. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at which, on the winter solstice (which is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere), the Sun will not rise all day, and on the summer solstice (which is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere), the Sun will not set. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34" N. The Arctic Circle, roughly 67° north of the Equator, defines the boundary of the arctic seas and lands For other uses, see Arctic Circle (disambiguation). This article is about one of the five major circles of latitude.
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