A magnetic compass needle tries to align itself with the magnetic field lines. However, at (and near) the magnetic poles, the fields of force are vertically converging on the region (the inclination (I) is near 90 degrees and the horizontal intensity (H) is weak). The strength and direction tend to "tilt" the compass needle up or down into the Earth. This causes the needle to "point" in the direction where the compass is tilted regardless of the compass direction, rendering the compass useless.
There are established zones around the north and south magnetic poles where compass behavior is deemed to be "erratic" and "unusable". These zones are defined where H (the horizontal intensity) is between 3000 nT - 6000 nT (erratic zone) and H is less than 3000 nT (unusable zone).
