The South Pole is the southernmost point on Earth, located in the middle of Antarctica, the frozen continent at the bottom of the globe. If you could stand at the South Pole, every direction you looked would be north.

The South Pole sits on a thick sheet of ice nearly two miles deep, covering solid land beneath. The temperature there rarely rises above minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit, even in summer, and can plunge far below minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. The sun rises and sets only once per year: from September to March, the South Pole experiences continuous daylight, and from March to September, continuous darkness.

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole in December 1911, after a grueling journey by dogsled. British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrived about a month later but tragically died on the return journey. Today, scientists live year-round at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, studying climate, astronomy, and the unique conditions of this extreme environment.

The term south pole (lowercase) can also refer to the south magnetic pole of a magnet, which attracts the north pole of other magnets. Earth itself acts like a giant magnet, with magnetic poles that don't quite match the geographic poles.