Small-scale transverse magnetic field disturbances are often observed with the magnetometer experiment on board the Triad satellite at latitudes poleward of the large-scale field-aligned current regions associated with auroral phenomena (Iijima and Potemra, 1976b). In contrast with the magnetic variations associated with the large-scale auroral field-aligned currents the polar cap magnetic variations are smaller in amplitude (~100 &ggr;) and show variations over smaller latitude ranges (~0.2¿). The small-scale variations are transverse to the main geomagnetic field and therefore explainable by field-aligned currents, but these currents are not necessarily sheets aligned in the geomagnetic east-west direction as the auroral field-aligned currents often are. The small-scale disturbances occur most frequently in the morning sector (between approximately 0300 and 0900 MLT) up to ~82¿ invariant latitude during a wide range of Kp. The amplitudes of the polar magnetic variations show little correlation with Kp, but they are observed more frequently at lower invariant latitudes during disturbed geomagnetic conditions. The frequency of occurrence of the small-scale magnetic variations is correlated with the azimuthal direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). They are observed in the north polar cap twice as often during periods when the IMF is directed away from the sun than when it is directed toward the sun. The situation is reversed in the southern hemisphere, where the small-scale variations are observed more than twice as often during periods when the IMF direction is toward the sun compared with periods when the IMF is away from the sun. There is no obvious dawn-dusk asymmetry of the occurrence distribution of the polar magnetic variations which is related to the IMF. These observations contribute to the mounting evidence for the direct connection of earth magnetic field lines to those of the solar wind and the ready access of charged particles to the polar regions.