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place it on the globe, the Russians have been forced to compress their observations into a two dimensional area. They had to squeeze the circle from two sides and make a line out of it. We'd like to give you now a resume of that single point of Russian exploration, which actually covers much more than just geomagnetism. "Here is what the Russians say: Navigators in the high latitudes have always been troubled by the odd behavior of their magnetic compasses caused by apparent irregularities and asymmetries in the magnetic field of the Earth. Early magnetic maps have been drawn on this assumption, based on hopeful guesses, that the North Magnetic Pole is virtually a point. Accordingly, it was expected that the compass needle, which dips more steeply as it approaches the Magnetic Pole, would point straight down, or very nearly so, at the Magnetic Pole itself. But data from many Russian and other expeditions showed that the compass needle points straight down, or nearly so, at the Magnetic Pole itself. But data from many Russian and other expeditions showed that the compass needle points straight down for a very long distance across the Arctic Ocean, from a point northwest of the Taimyr Peninsula to another point in the Arctic Archipelago. This discovery first inspired the hypothesis that there is a second North Magnetic Pole, tentatively located at 86 degrees East longitude. More refined observation has disposed of this idea. The map of the magnetic field now shows the magnetic meridians running close together in a thick bunch of lines from the North Magnetic Pole in the Arctic Archipelago to Siberia. The North Magnetic Pole, once thought to be virtually a point in the Arctic Archipelago, has been shown by recent investigations to extend across the polar basin to the Taimyr Penninsula in Siberia. "The *Pole,' magnetically speaking, is a very extended area that crosses the Polar Basin from one continent to the other. It is at least 1,000 miles long, and more likely can be said to exist as a rather diffused line for 1,000 miles more. (It is really not a point in the far north, but is the rim of the polar opening, since after Admiral Byrd passed it and entered the polar opening leading to the Earth's interior, he left the Arctic ice and snow behind and entered a warmer territory - Author. ) Thus when Admiral Peary (and any other Arctic explorer who used a magnetic compass) claims to have *reached' the Pole, he is making a very vague claim indeed. He can only say that he reached a point, which can be anywhere in a demonstrable 2,000 mile area (the magnetic rim of the polar opening), where his compass pointed straight down. A noteworthy achievement, but not a ‘discovery of the Pole.' "Since other types of compass, such as the gyroscopic and the inertial guidance, have equally vague limitations, we make bold to say that nobody ever reached the Pole, and more, there is not a *Pole' to reach.