South Pole

The South Pole is the most southern point on the Earth. The term South Pole can mean different points at different places on earth, since there are many types of South Poles.

Antarctica, is a very cold place. During the local summer, late December through late March, a person standing there can observe the sun above the horizon at any hour of the day or night, appearing to slowly travel counter-clockwise around him.

The South Pole is hard to reach because of the cold and other reasons. The continent of Antarctica is covered by a very thick sheet of ice and has strong freezing winds. It is far from places where people live, and ships going there often have to find their way through thick ice.

The first men to reach the South Pole were a group from Norway led by Roald Amundsen. They arrived at the Pole on December 14, 1911 and left the Norwegian flag. Amundsen and his men returned home safely.

Another group of men, from the United Kingdom, was led by Robert Falcon Scott. They had hoped to be first to the Pole but they arrived more than a month after Amundsen's men and found the Norwegian flag there. On their journey back from the Pole Scott and his men all died one by one.

Today there is an American science base at the South Pole. It is named the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to honor the two explorers.

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