Earth's North Magnetic Pole interactive

This interactive illustrates how a compass is used to find North, and how a compass can give a false reading because the North Magnetic Pole is not in exactly the same place as the Geographic North Pole. Drag the compass around the map to see how well it does at indicating True (Geographic) North.

(Note: If you cannot see the animation below, or it is not working properly, you may need to download the latest Flash player.)

Last modified March 18, 2004 by Randy Russell.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

The Arctic: Earth's North Polar Region

North of the Arctic Circle (at 66.5°N latitude) you will find the Arctic Ocean surrounded by the continents of Europe, Asia, and North America. You will find the geographic North Pole and the magnetic...more

Earth's Magnetic Poles

Earth has a magnetic field. If you imagine a gigantic bar magnet inside of Earth, you'll have a pretty good idea what Earth's magnetic field is shaped like. Of course, Earth DOESN'T have a giant bar magnet...more

Earth's North Magnetic Pole

Earth has a magnetic field with a north pole and a south pole. Earth's magnetic field is pretty much (but not exactly) like the magnetic field around a bar magnet. Earth's North Magnetic Pole (NMP) is...more

The Poles of Saturn and Its Moons

There's a lot of strange and interesting stuff going on at both the North and South Poles of Saturn. Two of Saturn's moons also have interesting polar regions. Let's take a look! The atmosphere and clouds...more

The Magnetic Poles of Uranus

Uranus has a strange magnetic field. The magnetic poles of Uranus are not at all close to the geographic poles of Uranus. The main magnetic field of Uranus is tilted 59° away from the planet's spin axis....more

The Magnetic Poles of Mercury

Mercury has a magnetic field. Its field is weak. Earth's magnetic field is tilted, and so is Mercury's. That means Mercury's magnetic poles are not in the same place as its geographic poles. Mercury has...more

Polar Games and Activities

Dive into one of our new polar activities or games! Animation showing Annual Variation of Sea Ice Extent in the Arctic Animation showing Annual Variation of Sea Ice Extent in the Antarctic Changing Planet:...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA