THE ARCTIC CIRCLE

A runaway line

“Most people don't know that the Arctic Circle is actually moving. Each year it shifts about 14 metres,” says Elias Andersson, head of the Arctic Circle Center. To be clear: the Arctic Circle as a line of latitude on the map remains in place, while it is the magnetic north pole that is moving.

In 1990, when the Arctic Circle Centre was built to welcome visitors at the Saltfjellet mountain range in Northern Norway, it was believed that the Arctic Circle ran straight through the middle of the building. But since it's constantly moving, its actual location is now further north.

“The magnetic pole will go all the way up to the Lofoten islands, before moving south again. It will take about 40,000 years before it's back in the middle of the visitor centre,” says Elias.

In other words, the magnetic north pole makes a long and slow journey across Norway. Its full route goes all the way from Brønnøysund in the southern part of Nordland county to Moskenes in the north – 267 kilometres in total!

The lights of Northern Norway

You can't actually physically see the Arctic Circle, since it's just a line on the map. But you can notice its movement in other ways.

Close to the Arctic Circle, a nature phenomenon occurs in winter. In Norwegian, it's called mørketid, the polar night. The polar night is when the sun is below the horizon 24 hours a day for a period of time during winter. In other words, it's almost completely dark around the clock. Luckily, the northern lights can appear during this period, giving the Arctic sky some fantastic colours.

In areas near the Arctic Circle, the opposite of the polar night happens in summer, when the wonderful midnight sun lights up the sky – a true reward for enduring the dark days of winter!