Polar circle: Polar circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2010, it is the parallel of latitude that runs 66° 33′ 44″ (or 66.5622°) north of the Equator.^[1]
The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south is called the Northern Temperate Zone. The equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere is called the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southern extremity of the polar day (24-hour sunlit day, often referred to as the "midnight sun") and polar night (24-hour sunless night). North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year and below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year. On the Arctic Circle those events occur, in principle, exactly once per year, at the June and December solstices, respectively.
In fact, because of atmospheric refraction and because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun may be seen on the night of the northern summer solstice up to about 50′ (90 km (56 mi)) south of the Arctic Circle; similarly, on the day of the northern winter solstice, part of the sun may be seen up to about 50′ north of the Arctic Circle. That is true at sea level; those limits increase with elevation above sea level although in mountainous regions, there is often no direct view of the horizon.
The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed, but directly depends on the Earth's axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of 2° over a 40,000 year period,^[2] notably due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. The Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 15 m (49 ft) per year, see Circle of latitude for more information.

Geography

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Relatively few people live north of the Arctic Circle due to the Arctic climate. The three largest communities above the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia; Murmansk (population 325,100), Norilsk (135,000), and Vorkuta (85,000). Tromsø (in Norway) has about 62,000 inhabitants. In contrast, the largest North American community north of the circle, Barrow, Alaska, has approximately 4,000 inhabitants. Rovaniemi (in Finland), which lies slightly south of the line, has a population of approximately 58,000, and is the largest settlement in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle passes through the Arctic Ocean, the Scandinavian Peninsula, North Asia, Northern America and Greenland. The land on the Arctic Circle is divided among eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (i.e. Alaska), Canada, Denmark (i.e. Greenland) and passes through the small Icelandic island of Grímsey just north of Iceland.
Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Arctic Circle passes through:

Co-ordinates	Country, territory or sea	Notes
66°34′N 000°00′E / 66.567°N 0°E / 66.567; 0 (01 Prime Meridian)	Arctic Ocean	Norwegian Sea
66°34′N 012°48′E / 66.567°N 12.8°E / 66.567; 12.8 (02 Nordland County, Norway)	Norway	Nordland County
66°34′N 015°31′E / 66.567°N 15.517°E / 66.567; 15.517 (03 Norrbotten County, Sweden)	Sweden	Norrbotten County
66°34′N 023°51′E / 66.567°N 23.85°E / 66.567; 23.85 (04 Lapland Province, Finland)	Finland	Lapland Province
66°34′N 029°28′E / 66.567°N 29.467°E / 66.567; 29.467 (05 Karelia & Murmansk, Russia)	Russia	Republic of Karelia Murmansk Oblast Karelia again Murmansk again
66°34′N 033°25′E / 66.567°N 33.417°E / 66.567; 33.417 (06 Kandalaksha Gulf, White Sea)	White Sea	Kandalaksha Gulf
66°34′N 034°28′E / 66.567°N 34.467°E / 66.567; 34.467 (07 Murmansk Oblast, Russia)	Russia	Murmansk Oblast – for about 7 km (4.3 mi)
66°34′N 034°38′E / 66.567°N 34.633°E / 66.567; 34.633 (08 Kandalaksha Gulf, White Sea)	White Sea	Kandalaksha Gulf
66°34′N 035°00′E / 66.567°N 35°E / 66.567; 35	Russia	Murmansk Oblast (Kola Peninsula)
66°34′N 040°42′E / 66.567°N 40.7°E / 66.567; 40.7 (10 White Sea)	White Sea
66°34′N 044°23′E / 66.567°N 44.383°E / 66.567; 44.383	Russia	Nenets Autonomous Okrug Komi Republic Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
66°34′N 071°05′E / 66.567°N 71.083°E / 66.567; 71.083 (12 Gulf of Ob)	Gulf of Ob
66°34′N 072°27′E / 66.567°N 72.45°E / 66.567; 72.45	Russia	Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Krasnoyarsk Krai Sakha Republic Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
66°34′N 171°01′W / 66.567°N 171.017°W / 66.567; -171.017 (14 Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean)	Arctic Ocean	Chukchi Sea
66°34′N 164°38′W / 66.567°N 164.633°W / 66.567; -164.633	United States	Alaska (Seward Peninsula)
66°34′N 163°44′W / 66.567°N 163.733°W / 66.567; -163.733 (18 Kotzebue Sound, Arctic Ocean)	Arctic Ocean	Kotzebue Sound
66°34′N 161°56′W / 66.567°N 161.933°W / 66.567; -161.933	United States	Alaska – passing through Selawik Lake
66°34′N 141°00′W / 66.567°N 141°W / 66.567; -141	Canada	Yukon Northwest Territories – passing through the Great Bear Lake Nunavut
66°34′N 082°59′W / 66.567°N 82.983°W / 66.567; -82.983 (19 Foxe Basin, Hudson Bay)	Hudson Bay	Foxe Basin
66°34′N 073°25′W / 66.567°N 73.417°W / 66.567; -73.417	Canada	Nunavut (Baffin Island – passing through Nettilling Lake)
66°34′N 061°24′W / 66.567°N 61.4°W / 66.567; -61.4 (21 Davis Strait, Atlantic Ocean)	Atlantic Ocean	Davis Strait
66°34′N 053°16′W / 66.567°N 53.267°W / 66.567; -53.267 (22 Greenland)	Greenland
66°34′N 034°09′W / 66.567°N 34.15°W / 66.567; -34.15	Atlantic Ocean	Denmark Strait Greenland Sea
66°34′N 018°01′W / 66.567°N 18.017°W / 66.567; -18.017 (24 Grímsey, Iceland)	Iceland	Island of Grímsey
66°34′N 017°59′W / 66.567°N 17.983°W / 66.567; -17.983	Atlantic Ocean	Greenland Sea Norwegian Sea