A pole of inaccessibility is a geographical point that represents the most remote place to reach in a given area, often based on distance from the nearest coastline. A geographic concept, the location of a pole of inaccessibility is not necessary an actual physical feature. It is subject to a variety of definitions depending on the researchers’ task and the word describes not an actual psychical occurrence but something that is geographically constructed. This geographical construct is of particular interest to explorers.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson, a Canadian explorer, was the first to introduce this concept in 1920 to differentiate between the location of the North Pole and the most remote and difficult location to reach in the Arctic.
Most Remote Place on Earth
The location on earth located the farthest from its nearest coastline is located in Eurasia, equidistant from the Arctic Ocean, the Yellow Sea, and the Arabian Sea . Known as the Continental Pole of Inaccessibility, the spot is located in the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Depending on the exact definition of the coastline, there have been three different locations identified of the Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility (EPIA). The earliest calculation did not include the Gulf of Ob as part of the ocean. Garcia-Castellanos & Lombardo (2007) published a paper calculating the location of the EPIA that included the Gulf of Ob as part of the coastline and found two possible locations:
Within the uncertainty inherent to the definition of the coastline, two locations are proposed as Pole of Inaccessibility: EPIA1 (44°18’1″N; 81°51’31″E) and EPIA2 (45° 17′ 60″N; 88° 8′ 24″E). EPIA1 is equidistant 2510 ± 10 km from Gulf of Ob, Gulf of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea, and EPIA2 is equidistant 2514 ± 7 km from Gulf of Ob, Gulf of Bengal, and Gulf of Bohai (China). EPIA1 and EPIA2 are 435 and 156 km far respectively from the location popularly accepted as the EPIA.
Most Remote Place in the Ocean
The reverse pole of inaccessibility involves calculating the place in the ocean located the farthest from land. Known as the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility, it lies in the South Pacific Ocean close to Ducie Island, Motu Nui, and Mater Island. This location is also known as “Point Nemo” and on Google Earth and Google Maps it can be located with a circle with the words “NEMO” printed next to it.
The Northern Pole of Inaccessibility
Also know as the Artic Pole of Inaccessibility or Artic Pole is located off the Arctic Ocean. This location, found on an ice pack of ice, is equidistant from the three nearest landmasses: Ellesmere Island, Franz-Josef Land, and the New Siberian Islands. The Arctic Pole is about 641 kilometers from the North Pole. Sir Hubert Wilkins in 1927 was the first to view this landmass by aircraft. Due to the constant movement of the ice pace, no lasting structure is able to exist at this location.
The Southern Pole of Inaccessibility
Found on the Antarctic is the furthest from the Southern Ocean. There are a variety of coordinates have been established for this pole but the inconsistencies are because there is a question as to whether or not the coast is defined by the ground line or the edge of the ice shelving. This southern pole is much more remote and more difficult to get to than the geographic South Pole. The first team to ever travel there was Russian. Yevgeny Tolsikov led it and his team arrived there on December 14, 1958 and set up a Temporary Pole of Inaccessibility Station. A second Russian team then returned there in 1967 and the building remains at the location. It is protected now as a historical site and there is a golden visitors book there for people to sign as the make it to this remote place.
Map of Poles of Inaccessibility
Garcia-Castellanos & Lombardo (2007) published a list of poles of inaccessibility for the largest landmasses on earth. Those locations (with the exclusion of the north and south poles of inaccessibility) have been mapped out in the interactive map below. Click on each icon for a description of the location. According to the authors, “Uncertainty is mostly related to ambiguity in the definition of the coastline at river mouths or glaciers”.
Garcia-Castellanos, D.; U. Lombardo (2007). “Poles of Inaccessibility: A Calculation Algorithm for the Remotest Places on Earth”. Scottish Geographical Journal 123 (3): 227–233.
Stefansson, V., 1920. The Region of Maximum Inaccessibility in the Arctic. Geographical Review, 10, 167-172.