The Arctic Circle cuts through Nordland and acts as the frontier for the Arctic kingdom of midnight sun and dark months. It is the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth at latitude that runs 66°33′45.9″ north of the Equator. The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south is called the Northern Temperate Zone. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year and therefore visible at midnight. Below the horizon, for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year is not visible at noon. This is also true within the equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere, the Antarctic Circle.
