The geographic North Pole is where Earth’s rotation axis meets the surface. Magnetic north is a moving feature of a field produced by conductive fluid moving in the outer core.
Try it yourself in Compass Field: switch locations and model years.
What is declination?
Declination is the horizontal angle between true north and the direction a compass points. It varies by location and can exceed 10° in parts of the United States. Because the field changes, charts and navigation systems need a date as well as coordinates.
Why does the pole move?
Flow in Earth’s liquid outer core changes the field. WMM2025 puts the north magnetic pole near 85–86°N, hundreds of kilometers from the geographic pole, with recent motion toward Siberia measured in tens of kilometers per year.
The tool’s city values and interpolated history are labeled illustrative. They are not WMM calculations and must not be used for navigation.
Source: NOAA NCEI, World Magnetic Model 2025.
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