17 Arctic Circle Facts: This Will Surely Blow Your Mind!

The Arctic circle passes through parts of Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Norway, USA (Alaska), Russia, Canada, and the Arctic ocean.

For decades, people believed that in 1909, Robert Peary was first to reach the geographic north pole. However, experts think that Matthew Henson, his assistant receives the credit.

The Arctic circle occurs in the northmost portion of the world. It is the northern equivalent of the Antarctic circle and a part of two polar circles.

Around the June solstice, the sun does not set (midnight sun) as it is the northern hemisphere's longest day in a year, while on the December solstice, the sun will not rise (polar night) for one day as it is the northern hemisphere's shortest day. The Arctic circle's position is not fixed.

Earth's tilt impacts the location due to tidal forces caused by Moon's orbit.

The Arctic circle moves northwards 48 ft (14.5 m) per year. Read on to learn interesting facts about humans, animals, and other forms of life in the Arctic circle.

Etymology Of Arctic Circle

The Arctic circle is the imaginary line around the Arctic region. The word 'arctic' derives from 'arktikos', a Greek word that means 'northern' or 'near the Bear.' This word comes from 'arktos', meaning 'bear.' Wildlife in the Arctic is more active in winter than in summer.

• The Arctic circle was named due to the 'Little Bear' and 'Great Bear', two constellations in the northern sky and not polar bears. Polaris or North star is also part of this.
• In 1958, USS Nautilus sailed in the Arctic ocean below the ice as scientists wished to check whether the Arctic circle rests on water or land.
• Global warming has shrunk the Arctic region over the years.
• The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic circle was in North Siberia and Greenland in winter.
• Arctic animals are found around the Greenland region.
• Fridtjor Nansen, a Norwegian polar researcher, encountered the 'dead water' phenomenon in the Barents sea. It occurs in Arctic seas, where a vessel suddenly loses speed or stops.
• 'Icy rain' is a type of precipitation where raindrops are not frozen but are shelled with ice and break into ice shells as soon as they hit hard surfaces or objects.
• 'Ice flowers' are ice crystal bushes not exceeding the size of 1-1.5 in (3-4 cm). These ice flowers can only form if there's a large difference in temperature between air and ice surface and a fresh, thin layer of ice.
• Light from floating ice or ice cover reflects via clouds, creating the 'icy sky' effect.

Midnight Sun And Polar Night In The Arctic Circle

The sun remains continuously below or above the horizon at the Arctic circle for a day, resulting in at least one-time non-visibility of the sun's center at local noon and at least once it is not visible at local midnight. These events occur once a year during the December and June solstices.

• Part of the sun might be seen 50 minutes north of the Arctic region in the northern winter solstice due to mirages and atmospheric refraction, and the sun looks more like a disk. Also, the sun is seen 50 minutes south on the summer solstice.
• Although there is no correct view of the true horizon on mountains, the limits of the sun's location will increase with increasing altitude above sea level.
• The midnight sun in the Arctic circle seems to move from left to right while right to left in Antarctica.
• Midnight sun usually occurs in the south Antarctic circle and north Arctic circle. The sun does not set for 125 days in Norway's Svalbard between mid-April and mid-August.
• The polar night occurs in the southernmost and northernmost parts of our earth. It is seen within the polar circle. It occurs between mid-November and late January in Svalbard.
• Polar twilight occurs at a place where the Sun does not rise at polar circles' internal borders.
• Central Taimyr, North Siberian lowland, and Western Siberia are the largest suppliers of Arctic Tusks. However, stocks are running low.
• In 2010, an iceberg of 165 ft (50 m) thickness with a 100 sq. mi (260 sq. km) area in the Arctic became the largest in the region. However, it broke from the Peterman Glacier.
• Bion of Abdera, an ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician, predicted the existence of polar day and night back in the fifth century BC. He was the first to state that there must be places on Earth with six months of day and six months of night.
• In Russia, you can observe the polar day and night in Tiksi, Apatity, Severomorsk, Norilsk, Vorkuta, and Murmansk.

Human Habitation In Arctic Circle

Over four million people live in the Arctic region. Indigenous people make up 10% of the Arctic region's population. The climate in the Arctic is susceptible to environmental change, particularly in summer.

• Indigenous people grow produce and raise animals. Cabbage is a major crop; plants grow quickly due to midnight Sun.
• Many people migrated from east Siberia to North America through Bering Strait.
• Regions of Sweden, Norway, and Russia have the largest communities in the Arctic circle.
• The south pole is more colder than the north pole. The antarctic circle of the south pole has the ocean encircling the land, while the Arctic circle has the land mass encircling the ocean.
• Countries like Alaska, Greenland, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Norway have the Arctic's largest communities.
• Despite the conditions of the Arctic, a wide variety of plant and animal life thrive in this region. However, no land mammals occur in the Antarctic circle.
• The Low Arctic Zone has over 90% vegetation and is more supportive of life. The high Arctic Zone has severe conditions.
• Due to low summer air temperatures, the variety of plant species is scarce. Some of these species are lichens, sedges, and mosses.
• Some marine species in this region are fish, seals, whales, and walruses. European predators include weasels and wolverines.
• The Russian Arctic has huge accumulations of mammoth bones in Chukotka and northern Siberia.

Geography Of The Arctic Circle

• The Arctic circle covers up to 4% of Earth's surface, which is around 9,900 mi (16,000 km) in circumference. It passes through Northern America, Greenland, Scandanavian Peninsula, North Asia, and the Arctic ocean. It also passes through the right countries.
• It is usually cold in the Arctic. However, Norway's coastal regions have mild climates due to Gulf Stream. It keeps the area ice-free.
• Compared to the world's oceans, the Arctic Ocean is the smallest.
• Aurora Borealis, or the Northern lights, occurs as Earth's magnetic field traps the sun's charged particles.
• Winter in the Arctic is extremely cold, and summer is warm.
• The Arctic circle also passes through the Atlantic ocean. It also divides the Grimsey island of Iceland and passes the Norwegian sea.
• Although fairly cold, people restrain from traveling to the Arctic due to the temperature.
• There are two kinds of North Poles, the Magnetic north pole and the Geographic north pole. Magnetic compares point towards the Magnetic north pole in the south, while the True north is the Geographic north pole.
• Almost 13% of oil reserves and 30% of the world's natural gas are found here. Russia, Canada, USA, and northern Europe control Arctic-rich lands.
• These rich lands include Anabar and Yakutia basins, Kola Peninsula, the Kara Sea, and the Barents Sea.
• Polar Lights or Aurora is a phenomenon where light covers the sky in the form of swaying curtains, arcs, and arches. This effect can last for a few hours up to many days. Aurora of 1872 almost covered the whole northern hemisphere.
• The northern hemisphere's Pole of Cold is colder than the North Pole. It is located in Easter Siberia's Yakut village in Oymyakon.