Marine Glossary

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magnetic pole

This term is loosely used to refer to either of two different definitions. The official definition of "magnetic pole" is either of the two places on the surface of the earth where the magnetic dip is 90°, that in the Northern Hemisphere being designated north magnetic pole, and that in the Southern Hemisphere being designated south magnetic pole.

This term is also used (unambiguously) for either of those two points of a magnet where the magnetic force is greatest.

The term "magnetic pole" however is also often used to mean the earth's "geomagnetic pole," which is what we often think of as *the* magnetic pole. The geomagnetic pole is defined by thinking of the magnetic field of the earth being caused by a huge bar magnetic inside the earth and then the point on earth where a line along the axis of this magnet would poke through the surface of the earth is called the geomagnetic pole.

In 2020 these poles are located at
north geomagnetic 80.7N 72.7W
south geomagnetic 80.7S 107.3E

north magnetic 86.5N 162.9E
south magnetic 64.1S 135.9E

There is still a third concept being the point where the magnetic field lines converge, which is not exactly at the geomagnetic pole.

see http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/index.html

and

http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wdc/pdf/pamphlet/wdc_pamp_e.pdf