5 Differences Between The North Pole And South Pole

We are used to seeing on television and media the scenery at the North Pole and the South Pole. Both of the places are seen as vast areas of icy cold land and not to mention the white snow. Also living there will be these cute animals such as penguins that live freely in groups.

However not many know about the distinct differences between the North Pole and the South Pole especially in terms of the weather, the habitats of the animals, human placement, and many more. There might be those who do know all of these but are slightly confused.

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Here we would like to share with you some of the differences between the North Pole and the South Pole that you might not know.

1. Arctic or Antarctica

Many have got it wrong with the use of Arctic and Antarctica which refers to the North Pole and the South Pole. The North Pole as most of you know is located in the northernmost part of the earth and this place refers to the arctic region. On the other hand, the South Pole is the southernmost part of the earth and this part is called Antarctica.

The North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean which is surrounded by several land or continent. Whereas, the South Pole comprises the continent region or a big vast of Antarctica land surrounded by the ocean.

2. Weather? The South Pole is Colder

In general, the South Pole is a much colder climate compared to the North Pole. The temperature at the South Pole is so cold that there are several areas here where the ice never melts all year around.

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On average the temperature at the South Pole is -49°C. This temperature will slightly rise in the summer but it will still be in the negative range.

3. Penguin's Habitat and Polar Bear

This might be the most apparent difference but some people assumed that penguins and polar bears live in the same location. This assumption is clearly wrong and this might be due to the pictures on the internet and postcards that showed penguins and polar bears living in snowy regions as if both of them live in the same area.

But the reality is that penguins only live at the South Pole or Antarctica. While for polar bears, they are the most dominant land predator that lives only at the North Pole. Polar Bears control the land region of the North Pole and their main food is sea lions as well as dead whales stranded on land.

4. Human Placement

Despite many explorations that were done in the regions of the South Pole or Antarctica, as some of you would know it a considered a no man's land. There has not been any historic placement here in the past that was found and these regions are placed under the Treaty of Antarctic.

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The treaty states that this area and its natural resources can only be used for research purposes. Compared to the North Pole or the Arctic, it is estimated that 4 million people are living here. Most of the residents live in small towns here namely Barrow (Alaska), Tromso (Norway), Murmansk (Russia), and Salekhard (Russia).

5. Land VS Ocean

If we were to look at its terrain, there is a clear difference between the two. The Arctic region (North Pole) actually comprises the frozen ocean. In the meantime, Antarctica (South Pole) is a frozen land.

This matter can be proven through the findings of mountains, rivers, and valleys in Antarctica. Not just that but Antarctica is a place of active volcanoes.

Despite the Artic consisting of only the frozen ocean, it has brought the interest of many countries to take it over such as America, Canada, Russia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. This is due to that this region is rich in natural resources that are yet to be discovered.

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