Arctic Alaska - Wikipedia

Northern region of Alaska
Map of the Arctic region, Alaska is in the upper left side, the Arctic Circle is shown in blue.
Sign indicating the point where the Dalton Highway crosses the Arctic Circle
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Arctic Alaska or Far North Alaska is a region of the U.S. state of Alaska generally referring to the northern areas on or close to the Arctic Ocean.

It commonly includes North Slope Borough, Northwest Arctic Borough, Nome Census Area, and is sometimes taken to include parts of the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area. Some notable towns there include Prudhoe Bay, Utqiaġvik, Kotzebue, Nome and Galena, although some of these are not in the Arctic Circle proper.

Most of these communities have no highways and can only be reached by aircraft or snowmobile in good weather. Originally inhabited by various Alaska Native groups living off hunting, whaling, or salmon fishing, modern settlement in Arctic Alaska was driven first by discoveries of gold and later on by the extraction of petroleum.

The ecosystem consists largely of tundra covering mountain ranges and coastal plains which are home to bears, wolves, sheep, muskoxen, caribou, and numerous species of birds, the north coast has been defined as the Arctic coastal tundra ecoregion. Arctic Alaska is also the location of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park and the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska. The Arctic experiences midnight sun in the summer and polar night in the winter.

Climate

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Most of northern Alaska has an Arctic climate with long, extremely cold winters and short, cool summers. The average temperatures during the summer months are only several degrees above freezing and the average temperatures during winter are as low as −20 to −30 °F (−29 to −34 °C), and can dip to −50 to −60 °F (−46 to −51 °C).

See also

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  • Arctic Policy of the United States
  • U.S. Arctic Research Commission
  • North American Arctic
[edit] Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Arctic Alaska.
  • Regions of Alaska, including description of Far North Alaska
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Smaller cities pop. over 2,000
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  • Unorganized
Native corporations
  • Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
  • Bering Straits Native Corporation
  • NANA Regional Corporation
  • Calista Corporation
  • Doyon, Limited
  • Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
  • Bristol Bay Native Corporation
  • The Aleut Corporation
  • Chugach Alaska Corporation
  • Sealaska Corporation
  • Koniag, Incorporated
  • Ahtna, Incorporated
  • The 13th Regional Corporation
Census Areas
  • Aleutians West
  • Bethel
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  • Dillingham
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flag Alaska portal
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Arctic topics
History
  • Arctic exploration
  • Arctic research
  • History of whaling
Government
  • Arctic Council
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  • Arctic Ocean Conference
  • Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route
  • Ilulissat Declaration
  • Inuit Circumpolar Council
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  • Territorial claims in the Arctic
  • United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Geography
  • Arctic Archipelago
  • Arctic Circle
  • Arctic Cordillera
  • Arctic ecology
  • Arctic Ocean
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  • Greenland ice sheet
  • Impact craters of the Arctic
  • Innuitian Region
  • Nordicity
  • North Pole
  • Populated places in the Arctic
  • Subarctic
  • Tundra
Geology
  • Canadian Arctic Rift System
  • Eurekan orogeny
  • Greenland Plate
  • Innuitian orogeny
  • Queen Elizabeth Islands Subplate
  • Southeast Bathurst Fault Zone
  • Ungava Fault Zone
Regions
  • Arctic Alaska
  • British Arctic Territories
  • Canadian Arctic Archipelago
  • Finnmark
  • Greenland
  • Iceland
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  • Karelia
  • Komi
  • Northern Canada
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nunavik
  • Nunavut
  • Nunatsiavut
  • Russian Arctic
    • North
  • Sakha
  • Sápmi
  • Yukon
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Climate
  • Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
  • Arctic dipole anomaly
  • Arctic haze
  • Arctic oscillation
  • Arctic sea ice
    • decline
    • ecology and history
  • Arctic methane emissions
  • Climate change in the Arctic
  • Climate of Alaska
  • Effects of global warming on marine mammals
  • Polar climate
  • Polar amplification
  • Polar vortex
Fauna
  • Arctic fox
  • Beluga whale
  • Bowhead whale
  • Lemming
  • Muskox
  • Narwhal
  • Polar bear
  • Reindeer
  • Seal
    • bearded
    • harp
    • hooded
    • ribbon
    • ringed
  • Snowy owl
  • Walrus
Flora
  • Arctic ecology
  • Arctic vegetation
  • Tundra
Culture
  • Arctic peoples
  • Subarctic peoples
  • Chukchi
  • Chukotka
  • Evenks
  • Karelians
  • Komi
  • Icelandic
  • Inuit
  • Gwich'in
  • Khanty
  • Koryaks
  • Nenets
  • Northern indigenous Russian peoples
  • Sami
  • Selkup
  • Yakuts
  • Yukaghir
  • Arctic Winter Games
  • First sunrise
  • Quviasukvik (New Year's Day)
Economy
  • Natural resources
  • Petroleum exploration
    • Arctic Refuge drilling controversy
  • Pollution in the Arctic Ocean
  • Protected areas
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Transport
  • Arctic Bridge
  • Arctic shipping routes
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Earth's polar regions
Antarctic
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Arctic
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  • Sakha
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  • North American Arctic

70°N 154°W / 70°N 154°W / 70; -154

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Tag » Where Does The Arctic Circle Start In Alaska