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Pole of inaccessibility


A pole of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach owing to its remoteness from geographical features that could provide access. Often it refers to the most distant point from the coastline. The term describes a geographic construct, not an actual physical phenomenon. Subject to varying definitions, it is of interest mostly to explorers and adventurers.

The 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 lies at 85°48′N 176°9′W / 85.800°N 176.150°W / 85.800; -176.150 (True Northern Pole of Inaccessibility), 1,008 km (626 mi) from the three closest landmasses, Ellesmere Island, Komsomolets, and Genriyetta Islands. This follows from simple geometry, where three points suffice to define a circle; the pole of inaccessibility is then defined as the center of the largest circle that can be drawn within the Arctic ocean without including any land. Due to constant motion of the pack ice, no permanent structure can exist at this pole.

Until a 2013 review of satellite cartography, the northern pole of inaccessibility was thought to lie at 84°03′N 174°51′W / 84.050°N 174.850°W / 84.050; -174.850 (Old Northern Pole of Inaccessibility), 1,094 km (680 mi) away from Ellesmere, Franz-Josef Land, and the New Siberian Islands. This point is 1,453 km (903 mi) north of Barrow, Alaska, and 214 km (133 mi) away from the actual northern pole of inaccessibility.


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