South Pole, southern end of the earth's axis, lat. 90° S. It is distinguished from the south magnetic pole. The South Pole was reached by Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, in 1911. See Antarctica.

Southern extremity of the Earth's axis, located at latitude 90° S. It is the southern point from which all meridians of longitude start. The area around it is a lofty plateau in west-central Antarctica, with ice as much as 8,850 ft (2,700 m) thick. It has six months of complete daylight and six months of total darkness each year. It was first reached by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in 1911, one month before the expedition led by British explorer Robert Falcon Scott; U.S. explorer Richard E. Byrd flew to the pole in 1929. The geographic pole does not coincide with the magnetic South Pole, which in the early 21st century was located on the Adélie Coast about 64°30' S, 137°50' E; it moves about 8 mi (13 km) to the northwest each year. The geomagnetic South Pole also moves; during the early 1990s it was located about 79°13' S, 108°44' E, in 2000 it was 65°39' S, 140° 01' E, and by 2005 it was back to about 79°45' S, 108°13' E.

Learn more about South Pole with a free trial on Britannica.com.