Arctic Circle

A world map. The Arctic Circle is shown as the red line.

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude (imaginary lines around the Earth) that are often marked on maps of the Earth. This is the parallel of latitude that (in 2000) runs 66° 33' 39" north of the Equator. North of this line, the Sun never rises at the Winter Solstice and never sets at the Summer Solstice.

The Arctic Circle is one way to say what part of the Earth is in the Arctic. The North Pole is in the center of the Arctic Circle.

Countries which are partly within the Arctic Circle are:

The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed. It directly depends on the Earth's axial tilt. The axial tilt fluctuates within a margin of 2° over a 40,000-year period, mostly due to tidal forces from the orbit of the Moon. The tilt is currently diminishing, so the Arctic Circle is drifting northwards at a speed of about 15 m (49 ft) per year.

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v t e Arctic topics
Government	Arctic Council Arctic cooperation and politics Arctic Ocean Conference Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route Ilulissat Declaration Inuit Circumpolar Council Saami Council Territorial claims in the Arctic United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Geography	Arctic Archipelago Arctic Circle Arctic Cordillera Arctic ecology Arctic Ocean Arctic Cyclone Greenland ice sheet Impact craters of the Arctic Innuitian Region Nordicity North Pole Populated places in the Arctic Tundra
Geology	Canadian Arctic Rift System Eurekan orogeny Greenland Plate Innuitian orogeny Queen Elizabeth Islands Subplate Southeast Bathurst Fault Zone Ungava Fault Zone
Regions	Arctic Alaska British Arctic Territories Canadian Arctic Archipelago Finnmark Greenland Iceland Inuvialuit Karelia Komi Northern Canada Northwest Territories Nunavik Nunavut Nunatsiavut Russian Arctic North Sakha Sápmi Yukon North American Arctic
Climate	Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Arctic dipole anomaly Arctic haze Arctic oscillation Arctic sea ice decline ecology and history Arctic methane emissions Climate change in the Arctic Climate of Alaska Effects of global warming on marine mammals Polar climate Polar amplification Polar vortex
Fauna	Arctic fox Beluga whale Bowhead whale Lemming Muskox Narwhal Polar bear Reindeer Seal bearded harp hooded ribbon ringed Snowy owl Walrus
Flora	Arctic ecology Arctic vegetation Tundra
Culture	Arctic peoples Subarctic peoples Chukchi Chukotka Evenks Karelians Komi Icelandic Inuit Gwich'in Khanty Koryaks Nenets Northern indigenous Russian peoples Sami Selkup Yakuts Yukaghir Arctic Winter Games Quviasukvik (New Year's Day)
Economy	Natural resources Petroleum exploration Arctic Refuge drilling controversy Pollution in the Arctic Ocean Protected areas Transportation
Transport	Arctic Bridge Arctic shipping routes Northeast Passage Northwest Passage Northern Sea Route Polar air route Transpolar Sea Route Search and rescue
Arctic research	Research stations Greenland Britannia Lake Brønlundhus Centrum Lake Daneborg Danmarkshavn Dye 3 Mestersvig NEEM Camp North Ice Sermilik Station Station Nord, Greenland Summit Camp University of Copenhagen Arctic Station Zackenberg Station Svalbard Adam Mickiewicz University Polar Station Amundsen-Nobile Climate Change Tower AWIPEV Arctic Research Station Dirigibile Italia Arctic Station Himadri (research station) IndARC Nicolaus Copernicus University Polar Station Polish Polar Station, Hornsund Stanisław Baranowski Spitsbergen Polar Station Yellow River Station Zeppelin (research station)
History	Arctic exploration History of whaling

Regions of North America

Northern America
(i.e. Canada and Alaska (US))

Eastern	Atlantic Canada The Maritimes Great Lakes
Northern (Canada and Alaska)	Arctic Circle Canadian Arctic Archipelago Alaska Aleutian Islands Alaska Peninsula Bering Strait Gulf of Alaska Greenland
Western	Pacific Northwest
Acadia Avalon Peninsula Bruce Peninsula Canadian Prairies Canadian Shield French Canada Georgian Bay Hudson Bay Labrador Peninsula Newfoundland Island The Maritimes Vancouver Island

Lower Northern
(i.e. United States)

Central	Midwest Upper Midwest
Eastern	Appalachia East Coast Northeast Mid-Atlantic New England Southeast Thirteen Colonies
Northern	Great Lakes
Southern	Deep South Gulf Coast
Southwestern	Four Corners Great Basin Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Western	Basin and Range Province Pacific Northwest West Coast
Pacific Coast Ranges Oregon Trail Great Plains Interior Plains Great Basin Acadia Ozarks Ark-La-Tex Siouxland Palouse Piedmont Atlantic coastal plain Rocky Mountains Mojave Desert Carolinas San Fernando Valley Tornado Alley San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay East Bay Silicon Valley Gulf of Mexico Mississippi Delta Great Basin Upper Peninsula of Michigan Lower Peninsula of Michigan Virginia Peninsula Delmarva Peninsula Alaska Peninsula Kenai Peninsula Bible Belt Corn Belt Rust Belt Sun Belt

Mexico

Central	Huasteca Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
Northern	Baja California peninsula Basin and Range Province Comarca Lagunera Gulf of California
Southern	Isthmus of Tehuantepec Sierra Madre del Sur Soconusco Yucatán Peninsula
Gulf of Mexico Sierra Madre Occidental Sierra Madre Oriental