Where is the Arctic Circle? A Christmas Story

Driving 3 hours north from Oulu, Finland, I was heading to the Arctic Circle.  A light snow was falling as I drove.  It turned out this time of the year the weather was a relatively balmy 33 degrees, and calm.  Typically, I was told, the temperature is a more reassuring 20 degrees colder. 

But where exactly is the Arctic Circle? That was the purpose of my journey. It turns out that this is not a simple question to answer.  It depends on who you ask, what you ask, and where you want to be.

Here are a few definitions:

1.   For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs 66° 33′ 44″ (or 66.5622°) north of the Equator. (Wikipedia)

2.   Calculated from the middle of the planet, the Arctic Circle is located exactly 66° 33′39″ north of the Equator.

3.   The Arctic Circle marks the southern extremity of the polar day (24-hour sunlit day, often referred to as the "midnight sun") and polar night (24-hour sunless night).

4.   66°34′N 023°51′E Finland Lapland Region

5.   The line at about 66°33' north of the Equator is known as the Arctic Circle.

6.   The Arctic Circle marks the start of the area where, for at least one day each year, the sun does not completely set (June 21) or rise (December 22).

7.   A line of latitude near but to the south of the north pole; it marks the northernmost point at which the sun is visible on the northern winter solstice and the southernmost point at which the midnight sun can be seen on the northern summer solstice.

8.   (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) the imaginary circle round the earth, parallel to the equator, at latitude 66° 32′ N; it marks the northernmost point at which the sun appears above the level of the horizon on the winter solstice

9.   An imaginary line around our planet at 66° 33’ north latitude. It marks the southern limits of the Arctic, Land of the Midnight Sun. The “line” is actually the edge of a band of 24-hour sunlight that stretches from the North Pole to here at midnight on June 21, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Six months later, on the shortest day, it is the edge of a huge shadow that blankets the Arctic.

10.  The parallel of latitude approximately 66°33 north. It forms the boundary between the North Temperate and North Frigid zones.

11.  Distance from the North Pole to Santa Claus’ closest Post Office

The Arctic Circle is the farthest southern region that experiences polar day and polar night. A polar day is where it is 24 hours of continuous daylight, and a polar night is 24 continuous hours of darkness. North of the Arctic Circle more than one polar day and night occurs per year. However, the Arctic Circle only experiences a polar day and night once a year on the June and December solstices respectively. 

North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year and below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year. On the Arctic Circle itself, these events occur exactly once per year.  For this year, the June solstice occurred on June 21st, and the December solstice occurs today (December 22nd).

On June 21st, you would not see the sun set here. On December 22nd, you would not see it rise. As you go farther north, the number of days that this happens increases. At the North Pole itself, the sun does not set for six months, from the spring equinox to the fall equinox. For the next six months, the sun does not rise. These seasonal extremes are due to the 23° tilt in the earth’s axis. As the earth circles the sun, the Arctic is alternately tipped toward and away from its influence at different times of the year.

Ideally, that would mean that we would never see the sun peak above the horizon today and all would be dark.  However, due to atmospheric refraction (the Earth’s atmosphere acts as a giant lens to bend the sun’s rays, making it appear higher in the sky than it actually is) and because the sun is a disk and not a point, and assuming it’s not cloudy, the daytime sun can be seen further north than the Arctic Circle today (up to 50’ further north assuming we are at sea level.


The Arctic Circle On the Move

What is most interesting about the Arctic Circle is that it is constantly moving.  So when you see a marker indicating you have reached the Arctic Circle, it is much more likely you passed it a while back or you got a little further north to go before you cross the “real” constantly moving Arctic Circle.

So where can I find the Arctic Circle anyway? The location of the Arctic Circle depends on the Earth's axial tilt and movements, which fluctuates within a margin of 2° over a 40,000 year period. This fluctuation is mainly due to the tidal forces caused by the orbit of the moon.  Unlike the equator, which is fixed around the middle of the Earth, the Arctic Circle does not stay put; it is constantly on the move.

Currently the Arctic Circle is drifting northwards at a speed of about 49 feet/year.  So even if you manage to find it this year, best to walk about 50 feet north next year to find it again. As all celestial bodies are interconnected, the location of the Arctic Circle changes continuously either North or South, sometimes by a number of feet in one day. Also, the Earth wobbles a bit as it orbits around the sun, and the tilt can vary by as much as three degrees.  In 5,000 years or so, the Arctic Circle could be 50-60 miles south of its current location. At the moment, the Arctic Circle is getting bigger.  That will be convenient for those of us who don’t want to drive so far north.

The center of the Arctic Circle is the North Pole and the distance from the North Pole to the circle itself is about 1,650 miles due south.  So it turns out even when you reach the Arctic Circle, you have quite a long ways to go to reach the North Pole.  (We’ll skip that road trip for now).

So I continue to head north to Rovaniemi which also happens to be the largest town in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle (population 58,000).  It lies a couple of miles south of the Arctic Circle (wherever that may be).

For us more mathematically inclined, I found this graph charting the motion of the Arctic Circle from the year 1950 to year 2050.  There are quite a few frequencies that compose the Arctic Circle movement.  The most significant of these components are the 2-week period, half-year period, the 18.6 year period, and of course the 41,000 year period.  Over millions of years, the Arctic Circle has moved about 150 miles!

Until the year 2015, the Arctic Circle will travel about 2,000 feet north, and then head south about 1,300 feet for the following nine years. Depending on the phase of the motion, the Arctic Circle can move over nine feet /day and over 300 feet/year!  This makes it difficult to know where exactly you are standing when posing for pictures at the Arctic Circle.

Interesting Side Note

The circumference of the Earth at the Equator is 24,902 miles. It spins around once every 24 hours, so if you are standing on the Equator you are actually moving at about 1,037 mph. However, standing on the Arctic Circle, the distance around the Earth is reduced to about 10,975 miles. So we would only move at 457 mph. If we stand right on the North Pole, we won’t move at all except we will be spinning around once every 24 hours.

Santa Park

Okay, now onward to Rovameini and Santa Park.  Santa Park is a kind of miniature amusement park buried under the ground at the (or near to?) the Arctic Circle outside of Rovameini.  Find out all about it here:  www.santapark.com .  Anyway, I put my money down and got a ticket.  Here I am at the “Arctic Circle” underground. 

I asked the Ice Princess (who was watching over the Arctic Circle) if this was indeed the Arctic Circle crossing point.  She assured me it was and indicated that the Arctic Circle was right above us on the surface of the ground.  I asked her how often they moved this marker to keep up with the motion of the Arctic Circle.  And since the Arctic Circle could move up to 50 feet per year, where did it used to be?  Was it over in the restaurant or maybe at Santa’s Post Office?  She was genuinely surprised to learn that the Arctic Circle wasn’t a fixed line.  I guess even Ice Princesses can’t know everything.

I wasn’t so sure now that I was in the right place.  The Arctic Circle did look alright and as you can see the Arctic Circle marker was even in the shape of a circle!  It  had all the right signs – including official Finnish (Nappapiiri means Arctic Circle in Finnish in case you hadn’t guessed already).  The snow you see blowing behind me actually wasn’t snow.  It was some sort of soap foam blown from a machine at the top of the arch.  But hey, that’s ok!  I really didn’t expect it to snow for real under the ground in the warm amusement park. It’s still a cool effect.

By the way here is the Ice Princess guarding the Ice Christmas Tree: 

Santa’s Park was not the end of my quest for the Arctic Circle.  There was another place to explore. 

Santa Village!  

Santa Village( http://www.santaclausvillage.info ) is a few miles away from Santa Park, roughly due east, so theoretically I could still be traveling along the Arctic Circle.

 

I arrived at Santa Village and was able to find the Arctic Circle markers fairly quickly.

Here I am standing at the Arctic Circle, Santa Village style:

I am standing under this blue string of lights that show the Arctic Circle.  The tower to the left of me also is a marker indicating yes indeed this is the Arctic Circle.  Even the snowman behind me is smiling perhaps because I found the true Arctic Circle.  Or perhaps he was standing on the true location of the Arctic Circle at this particular point in time?

Santa’s place is very beautiful with lots of shops and Christmas trees.  Definitely worth the trip.  (By the way, those big white blobs are actually small snowflakes that got close to the camera lens.)

There were other places outside marking the Arctic Circle.  I thought I’d better check them out as well.

Here is another spot for the Arctic Circle:

There is no question this marker is indicating the Arctic Circle is here.  We have the string of lights overhead, the monuments and the writing.  I’m feeling a little more confident that if not exactly on this spot, the Arctic Circle is pretty darn close to here.

So, now as I stand in front of all the monuments, maps, lights, and information boards, am I now on the Arctic Circle?

One last chance to be sure.  Not only does the Arctic Circle pass under the ground at Santa Park, trace the sky with blue lights, and pass across stone monuments, the Arctic Circle also cuts through the center of the souvenir shop!

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OK, this time, I asked at the official information booth and was assured I was indeed standing on the Arctic Circle.  Just to be sure I purchased an official certificate that I crossed the Arctic Circle.

 

But did I really find the true Arctic Circle?  I have thought about it a lot and have come to the following conclusion.  Perhaps I did not really find the Arctic Circle, the imaginary line that separates day from night.  But perhaps, just perhaps I found something much more.  Maybe I found the spirit of the Arctic Circle that is real, not - imaginary, the spirit of wonder and awe; the spirit that lives within all of us. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!