What continent does the north pole belong?
Or is it just marked on the map because we then can pinpoint where the north and south poles of the world are? I already know that the north pole is completely surrounded by water. Any insight into this would be helpful!
Public Comments
- I dont think its part of any continent, the North Pole is a frozen ice mass. Not "land" persay. So its nothing! =)
- I thought it was part of Arctica I guess it is just north of the Arctic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic
- it would be its own continent if it had any land mass. but it is completely made up of ice and old soviet nuclear submarines so it's just part of the arctic ocean
- the north pole is not a continent because it is made of ice only; there is no soil. a continent is a land not a place full of ice. but the south pole is a continent because under the ice is soil.
- the is not a land mass, therefore i don't think it is part of any continent.
- The North Pole is geographically located in the Arctic Ocean. Thus, it does not belong to any continent. I highly recommend visiting your local library for more information. You can get your library card for free and have access to books, magazines, DVDs, databases, educational workshops and more.
- That was an interesting question, so I looked it up. Here is what I found: "In 1925, based upon the Sector Principle, Canada became the first country to extend its boundaries northward to the North Pole, at least on paper, between 60°W and 141°W longitude, a claim that is not universally recognized. In addition, Canada claims the water between its Arctic Islands as internal waters. The claim is not recognized by the United States, which argues the Northwest Passage is an international waterway, despite its minimal usage for shipping. Denmark (Greenland), Russia and Norway have made similar claims, which are also opposed by the United States and by the European Union. Otherwise, until 1999, the North Pole and Arctic Ocean had been generally considered international territory. However, as the polar ice has begun to recede at a rate higher than expected (see global warming), several countries have made moves to claim, or to enforce pre-existing claims to, the waters or seabed at the Pole. Russia made its first claim in 2001, claiming Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater mountain ridge underneath the Pole, as a natural extension of Siberia. This claim was contested by Norway, Canada, the United States and Denmark in 2004. The Danish autonomous province of Greenland has the nearest coastline to the North Pole, and Denmark argues the Lomonosov Ridge is in fact an extension of Greenland. The potential value of the North Pole and the area around resides not so much in shipping but in the possibility that lucrative petroleum and natural gas reserves exist below the sea floor. Such reserves are known to exist under the Beaufort Sea, and further exploration elsewhere in the Arctic might become more feasible if global warming opens up the Northwest Passage as a regular channel of international shipping and commerce, particularly if Canada is not able to enforce her claim to it." Yay!
- The South Pole, Antartica, is a continent because it is actually a land mass. The area at the North Pole is just an ice cap. There isn't a land mass there so there is no continent. The North Pole probably should be named as an ocean since it is just water up there. But I guess since it is ice and makes us think of land, it hasn't been named as an ocean. Maybe someone should ask a geologist why that area hasn't been named as an ocean. It is actually just a frozen ocean afterall.
- Do you mean the geographic north pole or the magnetic north pole? The magnetic north pole is actually on Canadian soil, which makes it part of North America. Dry (but mostly frozen) land that is closest to the geographic north pole is also part of Canada, which also claims ocean 200 km from land to still be part of Canadian waters. So with that, I'd guess the geographic north pole would be part of North America.
- the north pole is ocean. It's not a continent, because it's not land.
- antartica
- It is not on any continent; it's in the Arctic Ocean!!
- I think we (Canada) have the magnetic north pole on our soil, however the true north pole is in the arctic ocean (covered by ice so you could stand beside it). That point in the arctic ocean is international waters. Therefore it belongs to no one. Like the prime meridian.
- The north pole does not belong to any continent because it is not located on a continet. This a common sense!!! You can only say that it's located in a ocean, which is water, but not continent, which is land mass.
- IM NOT SO SURE THAT A OCEAN CANT BE PART OF A CONTINENT JUST BECAUSE THERE IS NO LAND MASS AS IN THE IRISH SEA OR THE ENGLISH CHANNEL WOULD BE PART OF EUROPE , JUST AS SOME OF ALASKA IS SEA FROZEN YES BUT STILL SEA AND ALASKA IS PART OF THE AMERICAS , THE NORTH POLE IS CLAIMED BY SEVERAL COUNTRIES AND I WOULD IMAGINE THAT NORTH AMERICA WOULD HAVE A STRONG CLAIM OR RATHER THE STRONGEST AS ALASKA IS JOINED AT SOME STAGE OF THE YEAR AND IS PART OF NORTH AMERICA. I HOPE THIS HELPS.
- No continent, it's part of the Arctic Ocean.
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