02/10/2026
Tracking the North Magnetic Pole’s 400-Year Journey
Earth’s magnetic poles are constantly shifting — and in recent centuries, that movement has been speeding up.
The North Magnetic Pole, where Earth’s magnetic field points straight down, has wandered across the Arctic for over 400 years. From 1640 to 2020, maps show it slowly drifting northwest, edging ever closer to Siberia.
What was once a gradual migration has accelerated sharply in the last century, with the pole racing toward Russia at an unprecedented pace.
This motion is driven by the restless flow of molten iron deep within Earth’s core — the engine behind our planet’s magnetic field. Unlike the fixed geographic North Pole, the magnetic pole never sits still. It wobbles daily within a wide zone, shaped by fluctuations in the geomagnetic field.
Scientists piece together its path using centuries of data — from old compass logs and volcanic rock records to today’s precise satellite measurements — revealing just how dynamic Earth’s magnetism really is.
