Arctic Circle (18,148). Rovaniemi (61,329) in Finland is the largest settlement in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle, lying south of the line. In contrast, the largest North American community north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut (Greenland), has approximately 5,000 inhabitants. Of the Canadian and American Arctic communities, Utqiagvik, Alaska is the largest settlement with about 4,000 inhabitants. The Arctic Circle is roughly . The area north of the Circle is about and covers roughly 4% of Earth's surface. The Arctic Circle passes through the Arctic Ocean, the Scandinavian Peninsula, North Asia, Northern America and Greenland. The land within the Arctic
Antarctic Circle within the equivalent polar circle in the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic Circle. The position of the Antarctic Circle is not fixed; as of , it runs south of the Equator. Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. Consequently, the Antarctic Circle is currently drifting southwards at a speed of about per year. The Antarctic Circle is the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which the centre of the sun can remain continuously above the