Thread: Magnetic north??? Magnetic north pole???

I found myself confused with the terms of magnetic north and magnetic north pole...I found many definitions from the web and the following are my understandings, please point it out if I am wrong, thank you!

-The magnetic north is in the southern hemisphere in the present time
-The magnetic north pole, or north magnetic pole, is in the northern hemisphere now
-The magnetic north is the magnetic south pole and vice versa
-The geomagnetic north pole and the north magnetic pole are the same thing

Ya, the problem comes in because what a compass points to is actually a load of magnetic ore up north. It's not the earths true magnetic field. At least that's my understanding of it. Also the earths true magnetic poles can shift causing north to be south and south to be north. Still the compass will point to that load of magnetic ore.

Thank god for GPS these days.

I really don't have a clue. I have a keen sense of direction anyway. RIght now I am facing....Northwest...I think.

Well, to my knowledge...

The magnetic north pole is the northermost point where geomagnetic field dips at an angle of 90 degrees (vertical).

Here's a picture:
http://www.scifun.ed.ac.uk/card/imag...h-magfield.jpg

Compases point to the magnetic north pole. The geographical north pole is more or less the northernmost point of the Earth's axis of rotation (the variation in its location is known as the Chandler wobble).

The direction to the geographical north pole is known as "True North"; to the magnetic north pole it is "Magnetic North".