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Arctic Circle
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Arctic regions Map showing the Arctic Ocean at the center, surrounded by the Arctic Circle. The map highlights nearby countries including Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Greenland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland, with the North Pole marked near the center of the ocean. Map of the Arctic region showing the decline in minimum sea ice extent from 1980 to 2020. The area covered by sea ice in 1980 is outlined in white, while the much smaller area remaining in 2020 is shaded in purple, illustrating significant sea ice loss over four decades around the North Pole and Arctic Ocean. World map showing continents and major oceans, with the Arctic Circle highlighted as a dashed red line encircling the northern polar region above North America, Europe, and Asia. sunlight strikes parts of Earth differently
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Arctic regions
Arctic regions The Arctic regions are centred on the North Pole.

Arctic Circle

line of latitude
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Map showing the Arctic Ocean at the center, surrounded by the Arctic Circle. The map highlights nearby countries including Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Greenland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland, with the North Pole marked near the center of the ocean.
1 of 3
Arctic Ocean
Map of the Arctic region showing the decline in minimum sea ice extent from 1980 to 2020. The area covered by sea ice in 1980 is outlined in white, while the much smaller area remaining in 2020 is shaded in purple, illustrating significant sea ice loss over four decades around the North Pole and Arctic Ocean.
2 of 3
decline in minimum Arctic sea ice extentRemote sensing has revealed the loss in Arctic sea ice extent since the late 1970s.
World map showing continents and major oceans, with the Arctic Circle highlighted as a dashed red line encircling the northern polar region above North America, Europe, and Asia.
3 of 3
Arctic Circle World map with the Arctic Circle marked.

Arctic Circle, parallel, or line of latitude around Earth, at approximately 66°30′ N. Because of Earth’s inclination of about 23 1/2° to the vertical, it marks the southern limit of the area within which, for one day or more each year, the sun does not set (about June 21) or rise (about December 21). The length of continuous day or night increases northward from one day on the Arctic Circle to six months at the North Pole. The Antarctic Circle is the southern counterpart of the Arctic Circle, where on any given date conditions of daylight or darkness are exactly opposite.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michele Metych.
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