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Community Type: Bettles: 2nd Class City, Evansville: Unincorporated
Current Population: Bettles: 26 Evansville: 24
Borough Name: Unorganized
Regional Native Corporation: Doyon, Limited
REAA/School District: Yukon Koyukuk School District
Bettles is located about 180 air miles and 250 road miles northwest of Fairbanks, adjacent to Evansville.
Eskimos and Athabaskan Indians have lived as neighbors and kin in the area for generations. Evansville was named for Wilford Evans, Sr., who owned a trading post and river barge business in Allakaket. He opened a sawmill, built the Bettles Lodge and General Store. Bettles was named for Gordon Bettles, a merchant who opened a trading post during the 1899 gold rush at the northern terminal of the Koyukuk River barge line. The U.S. Navy used Bettles as a support base for exploring National Petroleum Reserve 4.
Bettles is largely non-Native, and the population of Evansville is a mixture of Eskimos and Athabaskans
The economy is linked to air transportation, visitor services and government. 90% of the heads of household are employed, most full-time. The FAA, weather services and other government agencies provide employment in Kanuti Refuge and the Gates of the Arctic National Park. Bettles Lodge has a new winter facility for dog sledding, northern lights viewing and snowmachine tours, and is open year-round.
For four months during the year, the Hickel Trail, a 28-mile winter road, gives residents access to the Dalton Highway, which leads to Fairbanks. Snowmachine trails connect surrounding villages. The Bettles airport provides the primary means of transportation. The Koyukuk River is used in the summer, but no commercial barge is available. The State-owned airport is classified as a transport center, with a float pond.
The area experiences a cold, continental climate with extreme temperature differences. Temperatures range from below zero to the low 70's. Average precipitation is 13.4 inches, with 77 inches of snowfall annually.
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