Finding the pole of inaccessibility on the coldest and whitest continent of the planet is not difficult. In the middle of the endless icy Antarctic desert, you will be met by a monument to Lenin. Surprised? But this is true.

Monument to Lenin in Antarctica

The monument to Lenin in Antarctica is of course small and made of plastic, but it is still the southernmost monument to the leader on Earth. It was left here by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1958. Today, the monument is all that remains of the scientific station from the times of the USSR. The station itself has long been buried under a thick snow cover, only the monument to Lenin, once installed on its roof, is visible.

The concept of "pole of inaccessibility"

In fact, geographers use the concept of the Pole of relative inaccessibility. They are considered to be a point that is extremely difficult to reach due to its remoteness from any known paths. Often this is the name of the most distant point from the coastline. This applies to both land and the water surface of the planet. By the way, about water. Or rather about the ocean. As you know, it covers most of the Earth. And, of course, he has his own "pole of inaccessibility." It is called (or the cemetery of spaceships).

Pole of Inaccessibility of Antarctica

If you think that the South Pole is the very center and inaccessibility pole of Antarctica, then it is not. The most remote point of the continent is located 878 km from the geographic South Pole.

Scientists are still arguing about the exact location of the South Pole of Inaccessibility, as there are disagreements in the methods of measuring distances. In this case, it is not entirely clear how to define "coast" - to take the actual dividing line of water and the mainland or the border of water and ice shelves, which changes periodically, out of the border. The geographical coordinates of this point vary, but now the south pole of inaccessibility is strongly associated with the Soviet Arctic station, which is also called.

Station history

While scientists were arguing, Russian polar explorers determined the location of this point and built a scientific station there.
Soviet researchers arrived at this remote location on December 14, 1958. Reaching the South Pole of inaccessibility was the main goal of this expedition. It is noteworthy that getting here is much more difficult than getting to the geographic South Pole.

A team of 18 people in a sledge-caterpillar way arrived at the pole of inaccessibility and erected small house area of ​​24 m 2, able to accommodate 4 people. During the construction of the station, a bust of Lenin was installed at its highest point.

For scientific research, 2 radio towers, an electrical and a radio station were installed. They even prepared the runway. After 3 days, the Li-2 plane landed on it. He brought the necessary cargo and took back several polar explorers.

The station was built at an altitude of 3718 meters above sea level. The ice in this place has a thickness of 2980 meters. The average temperature in the vicinity of the station is -57.2 degrees Celsius.

According to some reports, the station was supposed to work for six months, but already on December 26 it was mothballed and left. The polar explorers previously left stocks of food and other useful things here for subsequent expeditions and went to the Mirny station, which they reached by January 18, 1959.

There is a version that the installation of the station here is one of the "battles" between America and the Soviet Union during the " cold war". Two years earlier, the United States had set up the Amundsen-Scott station right at the South Pole, and the Russians decided that they would answer this challenge - they would be the first to conquer the south pole of inaccessibility (in fact, the most remote point of Antarctica) and build a station there.

The station buried under the snow and the bust of the leader with a memorial plaque dedicated to the conquest of the Pole of Inaccessibility by Russian polar explorers are now a historical monument.

Pole of relative inaccessibility - a place in Antarctica, farthest from all coasts of the sixth continent.

The Pole of Inaccessibility (coordinates 82°06′ S 54°58′ E) is located at an altitude of 3.718 meters above sea level, the thickness of the ice here is 2980 meters. The average annual air temperature is around −57°C. The distance to the South Pole is 463 kilometers.

For the first time, the Pole of Inaccessibility was conquered on December 14, 1958 by Soviet polar explorers (17 people). They got to the target on five tractors, accompanied by an all-terrain vehicle with fuel. Hero led the expedition Soviet Union Evgeny Ivanovich Tolstikov.

A new Soviet station was created at the Pole of Inaccessibility. Polar explorers raised the flag of the USSR, installed a radio mast, and equipped a meteorological platform. A well was drilled 60 meters deep to measure the temperature inside the snowpack. Seismic sounding of the ice sheet was carried out at the station. The runway was prepared. They built a cabin. A bust of Lenin was erected on its roof.

A photograph of the structure taken at that time has been preserved:

The Soviet base at the Pole of Inaccessibility was used as a meteorological base for a short time.And then they abandoned it, and the buildings were covered with snow for fifty years. Today, the former meteorological base looks like this:

In 2007, members of the Norwegian-American expedition, having reached the so-called Pole of relative inaccessibility and met the new year 2008 there, were shocked by an unexpected find. They found a bust of Vladimir Ilyich there. They didn’t get into the Soviet change house - it was covered with snow up to the very roof. But the plastic bust withstood the pressure of the elements. For 50 years, nothing has happened to him - Ilyich has only become a little windy and turned yellow. The scientists were photographed against its background.

But what an interesting question arises: if three meters of snow has been poured in fifty years, then what is the depth of the entire snow cover of Antarctica, which has "grown" over millions of years?!

North Pole of Inaccessibility

North Pole of Inaccessibility ( 84.05 , -174.85 84°03′ s. sh. 174°51′ W d. /  84.05° N sh. 174.85°W d.(G)) is located in the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean at the greatest distance from any land. The distance to the North Geographic Pole is 661 km, to Cape Barrow in Alaska - 1453 km and at an equal distance of 1094 km from the nearest islands - Ellesmere and Franz Josef Land. It was first reached by Sir Hubert Wilkinson on an airplane in 1927 (according to other information, this was also done on an airplane by a Soviet expedition led by Ivan Ivanovich Cherevichny). In 1958, a Soviet icebreaker reached this point. In 1986, an expedition of Soviet polar explorers led by Dmitry Shparo reached the Pole of Inaccessibility on foot during the polar night.

South Pole of Inaccessibility

This point in Antarctica is the most distant from the coast of the Southern Ocean. There is no general opinion about the specific coordinates of this place. The problem is how to understand the word "coast". Either to draw a coastline along the border of land and water, or the border of the ocean and ice shelves of Antarctica. Difficulties in determining the boundaries of land, the movement of ice shelves, the constant flow of new data and possible topographical errors, all this makes it difficult to accurately determine the coordinates of the pole. The Pole of Inaccessibility is often associated with the Soviet Antarctic station of the same name, located on -82.1 , 54.966667 82°06′ S sh. 54°58′ E d. /  (G). This point is located at a distance of 878 km from the South Pole, and 3718 m above sea level. Based on other data, Polar Research institute Scott's name defines the pole on -85.833333 , 65.783333 85°50′S sh. 65°47′ E d. /  85.833333°S sh. 65.783333° E d.(G), .

According to ThePoles.com, considering only land, the farthest point would be -82.887222 , 55.075 82°53′14″ S sh. 55°04′30″ E d. /  82.887222°S sh. 55.075° E d.(G), and if we take into account ice shelves - -83.843611 , 65.725  /  (G). The latest point, calculated by the British Antarctic Survey, is described as "the most accurate point available to date".

The South Pole of Inaccessibility is much more remote and much more difficult to reach than the Geographic South Pole. The Third Soviet Antarctic Expedition, headed by Evgeny Tolstikov and conducting research within the framework of the International Geophysical Year, on December 14, 1958, founded a temporary station "Pole of Inaccessibility" in the coordinates -82.1 , 54.966667 82°06′ S sh. 54°58′ E d. /  82.1°S sh. 54.966667° E d.(G). Currently, the building is still located in this place, a statue of Lenin is installed on it, looking at Moscow. The place is protected as historical. Inside the building is a visitor's book, which can be signed by a person who has reached the station. By 2007, the station was covered with snow, and only the statue of Lenin on the roof of the building is still visible. You can see it for miles.

Ramón Larramendi, Juan Manuel Viu and Ignacio Oficialdegui reached the Pole of Inaccessibility according to the British Antarctic Survey on 14 December 2005 during a Spanish transantarctic expedition at coordinates -83.843611 , 65.725 83°50′37″ S sh. 65°43′30″ E d. /  83.843611°S sh. 65.725° E d.(G) using kites.

Ocean Pole of Inaccessibility

It is located in coordinates ( -48.876667 , -123.393333 48°52′ S sh. 123°23′ W d. /  48.876667°S sh. 123.393333° W d.(G)) It is also called Point Nemo. This place in the ocean is the furthest from land. It is located in the southern part Pacific Ocean, at a distance of 2,688 km from the nearest land: the Duce Islands in the north, Motu Nui (parts of the Easter Islands) in the northeast, and Maher Island (located near the larger Sipla Island off Mary Byrd Land, Antarctica) in the south. The Chatham Islands are at a greater distance to the west, and southern Chile to the east.

Continental Pole of Inaccessibility

It is located in coordinates ( 46.283333 , 86.666667 46°17′ N. sh. 86°40′ E d. /  46.283333° N sh. 86.666667° E d.(G)), the place on land that is farthest from the oceans. It is located in Eurasia, in the north of China and is 2645 km away from the nearest coastlines. It is 320 km north of big city Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the desert. Nearest settlement: Hokstolgai at coordinates 46.566667 , 85.966667 46°34′ N. sh. 85°58′ E d. /  46.566667° N sh. 85.966667° E d.(G), is located 30 miles northwest, Xazgat at coordinates 46.333333 , 86.366667 46°20' N. sh. 86°22′ E d. /  46.333333° N. sh. 86.366667° E d.(G) about 13 miles west and Suluk at coordinates 46.25 , 86.833333 46°15′ N. sh. 86°50′ E d. /  46.25° N sh. 86.833333° E d.(G) about 7 miles east.

It is interesting that the continental and oceanic poles of inaccessibility have approximately the same radius: the Eurasian pole is only 43 km closer to the ocean than the Pacific pole is to land.

At the end of 1957, the third Soviet Antarctic expedition began work on conquering the Antarctic Pole of Inaccessibility, about which scientific world even less was known than about the visible side of the moon.

The 1930s became legendary in the history of Soviet polar research. In the 40s of the XX century, due to the war and post-war economic difficulties, Soviet activity in the Arctic declined sharply. In the 1950s, they resumed Scientific research in the Arctic, and in the second half of the 50s, Soviet scientists began to explore Antarctica. In January 1956, the First Continental Antarctic Expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Mikhail Somov landed on the ice continent, and on February 13, the flag of the USSR was raised over the first Soviet Antarctic station Mirny. At the end of the same year, the First Expedition was replaced by the Second.

On September 27, 1957, the flagship of the Soviet Antarctic expeditions, the diesel-electric ship Ob, left Kaliningrad. On board were members of the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition led by E. I. Tolstikov.

2 Mirny

On November 18, the ship arrived at the roadstead of Mirny, and on December 13, the unloading of the Ob was completed. 3600 tons of various cargoes were delivered to the shore. The third expedition brought 10 tractors. They had wider tracks and special devices that pumped rarefied air into the engines. The new sleds were made of metal, with strong carriers and improved hitches.

On December 22, 1957, the second ship of the expedition approached - the motor ship Kooperatsia. He delivered the rest of the expedition members, and in refrigerated chambers - perishable products.

3 Flight to the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility

On December 23, 1957, an IL-12 aircraft took off from Mirny on a reconnaissance flight to the Pole of Inaccessibility. It was piloted by the commander of the squadron of the Third Expedition, V. M. Perov. The laying of the path was carried out by the navigator B. S. Brodkin. On board the aircraft was also the head of the Third Expedition, E. I. Tolstikov.

The route passed through Pionerskaya and Komsomolskaya. From Komsomolskaya we turned to the right - to the Pole of Inaccessibility. It took eight hours to cover the distance of 2,200 kilometers from Mirny to the Pole of relative inaccessibility. The flight took place in good visibility, along the entire route, under the wings of the aircraft, virgin snow stretched.

Above the Pole of Inaccessibility (82°S and 55°E) the plane made a circle and then turned north and returned to Mirny. The flight lasted 16 hours.

On December 26, 1957, the first train of the Third Expedition left Mirny. It consisted of 10 tractors with two metal sledges each. The sleigh was loaded with fuel in barrels and all the necessary equipment for inland stations. 32 people were sent on the train, led by engineer A.F. Nikolaev.

On January 2, 1958, the train was at the Pionerskaya station, and on January 17 it arrived at Komsomolskaya. On February 3, a train of eight tractors left towards the Pole of relative inaccessibility to create new station. Tractors went through the virgin snows.

On February 10, 1958, having passed 540 kilometers from Komsomolskaya station, the train stopped. At the point of 78° 24' south latitude and 87° 35' east longitude, another inland station, Sovetskaya, was created. Five people remained at the station for the winter. On February 17, empty tractors set off on the return journey, and already on March 5 they arrived in Mirny.

5 Polar night

On April 22, polar night began at Sovetskaya station, and on April 28, at Vostok station. The frosts in the depths of the continent became more and more ferocious. On May 1, there were frosts of 76 °, and on August 25, 1958, the lowest temperature was recorded at Vostok station, which has never been observed anywhere near earth's surface, - minus 87 °, 4. At that time it was minus 76 ° on Sovetskaya, minus 81 on Komsomolskaya.

6 Pole of relative inaccessibility

At the end of September, a train of all-terrain vehicles "Penguins" left Mirny to deliver fuel to the Pionerskaya and Komsomolskaya stations. The second train left Mirny on 23 October. It was a research train. He went to the Pole of Inaccessibility to determine the thickness of the glacier and make various observations. Both trains met at Komsomolskaya station. Part of the transport went to the Vostok station, and the other part, under the leadership of A.F. Nikolaev, to the Sovetskaya station.

November 30, 1958 the train was at the Soviet station. E. I. Tolstikov flew here from Mirny. He led the march. Four tractors left Sovetskaya station in a southwestern direction and on December 14 arrived at the coveted point - the Pole of relative inaccessibility.

At the end point of the campaign - 82 ° 06' south latitude, 54 ° 58' east longitude, at a distance of 2100 kilometers from Mirny - Soviet polar explorers created a temporary research station and called it the "Pole of Inaccessibility". At the station (a house with an area of ​​24 m²) there were four people, a radio station and a power station. The station was used for meteorological, glaciological, geomagnetic and actinometric observations. A well was drilled 60 meters deep to measure the temperature of the snow cover. On the roof of the building, on a high pedestal, a bust of V. I. Lenin was installed, the state flag of the Soviet Union was raised on the radio mast.

For two weeks, scientific observations were made at the Pole of Inaccessibility. Near the station, the runway was rolled, and on December 17, 1958, an LI-2 plane flew there from Mirny on skis under the command of pilot N. A. Shkolnikov. He took some of the scientific workers to Mirny. On December 26, the train started its return journey. On January 18, 1959, the participants in the campaign to the Pole returned to Mirny.

Where would you prefer to run away in order to reliably hide from human eyes and from the accumulated problems? An uninhabited island could relieve the stress of everyday worries. But did you know that on Earth there is the most distant point from the nearest piece of land? Perhaps this option will interest you the most.

Oceanic pole of inaccessibility

The idea of ​​calculating the location of this point came to geographers only at the end of the 20th century, when it became possible thanks to new technologies. The most distant place from land was immediately dubbed the oceanic pole of inaccessibility. The calculations were made using a special computer program. As a result, the cherished place of all the Robinsons was discovered in the South Pacific. Since its official name is too cumbersome, the remote point received a shorter but more capacious nickname - Point Nemo. It was a kind of tribute to the author of adventure novels Jules Verne and his most famous seafaring anti-hero. It is noteworthy that in Latin "nemo" means "no one". It is impossible to come up with a more symbolic name for the oceanic pole of inaccessibility.

More than one thousand miles to the nearest islands surrounding the point on three sides

More than one thousand nautical miles separate Point Nemo and the three nearest oceanic islands. Ducie Island, which belongs to the oceanic Pitcairn Volcanic Range, is located north of the point and is uninhabited. The closest neighbor on the northeast side is Motu Nui, a representative of the Easter Island chain. In fact, it is the top of a mountain, the foot of which is lost at the level of 2,000 miles above sea level. This point is known as the westernmost point of Chile and its rocky surface is uninhabited. The nearest southern neighbor of Point Nemo is the islands of snow-covered Antarctica. Thus, if by some miracle you manage to get to the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, there will not be a single living soul within a radius of 2 thousand kilometers.

Official opening

Experts have long discussed the possibility of calculating the most distant sea point, but could not calculate its exact coordinates until the advent of modern technologies. The Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility was officially opened in 1992 by Croatian-born Canadian research engineer Hrvohe Lukatela. The scientist did not assemble an expedition, but preferred to stay on land and completely trusted a special computer program. There is no doubt that these calculations are as accurate as possible. He did not use pins attached to a flat projection the globe. Instead, the computer modeled an exact ellipsoidal layout of the planet. According to scientists, point Nemo is unlikely to move from its current coordinates. The movement of volcanic rocks, as well as the formation of new uninhabited rocky islands, is not expected here in the near future.

This is a unique place

A small change in geographic coordinates oceanic pole of inaccessibility may occur if calculations are applied using updated computer programs. And as a result of coastal erosion, changes in the outlines of the nearest geographical neighbors points. But even in this case, the coordinate error will be insignificant. This place is unique, there are no other points on the surface of the Earth that could compare with it. Three uninhabited islands at once are equidistant from the oceanic pole of inaccessibility.

The nearest neighbors of the point are astronauts

You will be surprised, but closest to the point Nemo are astronauts and astronauts piloting the International space station. The height of the ISS orbit above the Earth is 416 kilometers. While the nearest locality removed from the point at a distance of 2,700 kilometers.

This area is known in space circles as the space junkyard.

Space agencies around the world are actively using the vast wilderness as a space dump. It was here that the Russian orbital station "Mir" found its final resting place. Planned flooding of equipment by European and Japanese space services is carried out here simply because it is the most quiet and deserted place without shipping traffic.

What happens to space waste?

Remains from space travel scattered across the Pacific Ocean. Spacecraft do not retain their structure after re-entry into the atmosphere. Most of them burn out. Only fuel tanks and elements of rocket engines are preserved. They are made of titanium alloys or stainless steel. They contain complex carbon fibers that are resistant to high temperatures. Smaller elements spaceship burn up in the atmosphere, leaving behind nothing but a representation of light.

The imposing remains of a 143-ton orbital station"Mir" were thrown out by waves to the beaches of Fiji. The main part of the massive structure sank in the depths of the ocean. Like shipwrecks, space debris creates a certain habitat around itself. They are colonized by organisms living at depth. If the remaining fuel does not seep through the tanks, this does not pose a threat to the inhabitants of the underwater flora and fauna.

Speculation and rumors

In 1997, oceanographers recorded a mysterious noise about 2,000 kilometers east of Point Nemo. This led to a lot of public excitement, because the sound was stronger than the voice of the blue whale. From here, rumors began that a mysterious sea monster settled somewhere nearby. However, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was quick to reassure the public. Mysterious low frequency noise is created by breaking icebergs.