From pole to pole

By ⋅ January 6, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment
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Today’s Geo Quiz takes us to the ends of the earth. In this case we mean the geographic poles.

The North and South Poles are similar in a frigid sort of way. But they’re very different places too. The South Pole is located on the land-mass of Antarctica. But the North Pole sits below the Arctic Ocean.

At the geographic north pole (Photo: Stuart Klipper, June 2009)



What we want you to do today is estimate the distance between the North Pole and the South Pole.

Here’s a clue: Earth’s circumference, at the equator, is about 25,000 miles. So do the math.

And keep in mind that our planet, as round as it appears, is not a perfect sphere. It’s actually a little fatter around the equator. With that in mind, try and estimate the number of miles between the north and south poles.

Geo Answer:

The answer is approximately 12,400 miles, traveling on the Earth’s surface.

Now, getting to the North and South Poles isn’t easy. Shifting ice and extreme cold make for risky travel either way. But the two poles get their share of visitors.

We hear from photographer Stuart Klipper and author Jon Bowermaster, two people who’ve set foot on both of the Earth’s poles.

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Neko Harbour, Antarctica Peninsula (Photo: Jon Bowermaster Dec 2009)


Discussion

13 comments for “From pole to pole”

  • William Burch

    Last time I heard, the circumference of a circle is equal to pi (3.141) multiplied by the diameter. Using the figure of 25,000 miles for the circumference, the distance between the poles would be less than 8,000 miles. Am I missing something?

    • The Dude

      25,000 miles is the circumference of the earth at the equator. Since we’re measuring from pole to pole (half the circumference) it’s approximately half the 25,000 miles; which makes it 12,500 files, if the earth was a perfect sphere (which it isn’t). I think they get down to 8000 miles, because earth is fatter along the equator

  • Diann Fulks

    Neko Harbour is with out a doubt one of the most beautiful and mysterious places on earth. I was lucky to touch my seventh continent at Neko Harbour on my 57th birthday. The sight and sound will last a lifetime.

    • Lise Glaro

      Not far off is Paradise Bay with its own sublime charm

  • Tony DeBates

    The distance between the North and South Poles is actually 7,899.80 miles, which is the diameter of Earth from pole to pole.

    Tony DeBates
    TonyDeBates@live.com

  • Garry Klouzal

    That is the weirdest answer.

    The hint should be “how tall is the earth?”

    The diameter of a circle is not the circumference divided by two it is the circumference divided by pi or about 7960 ( 25000 / 3.14 ) miles.

  • Michael L. McMahan

    It is generally accepted that the distance from the north pole to the south pole is 12,712,514 meters or just under 7,900 statute miles. It is only approximately 12,500 miles if you have to travel between the poles on the earth’s surface.

    I love your show and we are financial supporters of npr and pbs

    Mick

  • Rich Celotto

    I was shocked to hear the answer given tonight on the radio to the question about the distance between the poles and nearly drove my car off the road. The given answer to divide the circumference by two is completely incorrect. The circumference is equal to the diameter times pi. Pi is about 3.14159, but call it 3 for simplicity. The pole-to-pole diameter would be the circumference of 25,000 miles divided by 3, or about 8000 miles. Even my wife who hasn’t thought about this geometry in 40 years figured it out correctly. Please advise the listening public of the error so that you are not contributing to the general dumbing down of our society.

  • Herman Heyn

    As the above comments suggest,
    last night’s Geoquiz was misleading.The best answer is ~7,900 miles. Despite your
    faux pas, I continue to think The
    world is the best news program
    going….by far!

  • http://www.theworld.org Geo Quiz

    Thanks to all for the alternative geometrical solution to the quiz. If you measure the distance between the North and South Geographic Poles along the diameter, it’s indeed approximately 7,900 miles. This “shortcut” through the Earth is perhaps a good answer but not the best travel route.

    The distance as the crow flies (or better yet the Arctic Tern) — or the travel distance at the surface of the Earth can also be calculated using the North-South circumference. The circumference of the earth passing through the poles is approxiamtely 24,859 miles. Half of that is 12,430 or so. Anybody out made that trek? Or visited either pole?

    • Garry Klouzal

      Ah, but if you measured the distance an ant crawled it would be way longer then that of a crow flying so why would anyone pick a crow flying over some other example? The distance some animal takes to go the distance really has no bearing on the question.

      Speaking of my ant, can you even calculate the distance he would travel with all the ups and downs? Assuming there was land all the way or he could walk on water.

      Phew, what a calculation.

      I love the Geo Quizes, and this is the first one I’ve ever wanted to reply to. I was thinking up my post comments all the home from work.

  • Mark Mikolas

    Everyone seems to begin with the assumption that the earth is round—but it is not. It is an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles and fattened at the middle as a result of its rotation. I have a photo of taken in Nova Scotia marking the exact distance between the equator and the north pole as it would have been surveyed on the ground, and it is at least several minutes of arc from the 45th parallel.

  • Jackthesmilingblack

    Get into metric, guys.