This article is about the Earth's Geographic North Pole, also referred to as the Terrestrial North Pole, but usually (and henceforth in this article) simply called the North Pole. It should not be confused with the North Magnetic Pole.
The North Pole is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface (the other being the South Pole, diametrically opposite). The North Pole is the northernmost point on Earth; it defines latitude 90° North, as well as the direction of True North. At the North Pole all directions point south.
While the South Pole lies on a continental land mass, the North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, amidst waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice. This makes it impossible to construct a permanent station at the North Pole (unlike the South Pole). However, the Soviet Union, and later Russia, have constructed a number of manned drifting stations, some of which have passed over or very close to the Pole.
The sea depth at the North Pole has been measured at 13,410 ft (4087 m). The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island, off the northern coast of Greenland about 440 miles (c. 700 km) away, though some perhaps non-permanent gravel banks lie slightly further north.