In and About Fairbanks
Life in Fairbanks
Fairbanks is called the “Golden Heart of Alaska, a reference to the charm of her people as well as to the location as the “center” of the state and the discovery of gold in 1902.
Fairbanks is 358 miles north of Anchorage, at the end of the Alaska Highway and situated at the confluence of the Tanana and Chena Rivers. It's the second largest city in Alaska and its central location makes it the focal point for the small villages scattered throughout the surrounding wilderness. It is also an important urban center for North Slope and interior villages such as Barrow and Fort Yukon and a staging area for the Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields.
Spectacular peaks of the Alaska Range, crowned by 20,320ft Mount McKinley, the mighty Yukon River and the trans-Alaska oil pipeline all are part of Alaska 's Interior.
Because the city is just 188 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Fairbanksians experience a wide range of temperatures, from 55 degrees below zero in the winter to 95 degrees above in the summer. As a result, residents can enjoy a wide range of activities from swimming, boating, hiking, climbing, mountaineering, gardening and fishing in the summer to skiing, sledding, fishing, hiking and sled machining in the winter. Fairbanks is also one of the most active Nordic ski communities in the country, supporting the Birch Hill Nordic Ski Area http://www.nscfairbanks.org. The winters start early but the summer days never end! The shortest winter day has 3 hours of day light and the longest summer day has about 21 hours. Each day the length of the day increases and decreases by about seven to five mintues, and by the middle of March the days in Fairbanks are longer than those of Seattle.
Fairbanksians keep busy with many well known events including; Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic Snowmachine Race, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, World Ice Art Championships, Festival of Native Arts, Open North American Championship Sled Dog Race, Yukon 800 Boat Race, Golden Days, World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, Tanana Valley State Fair, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Athabascan Fiddling Festival, Top of the World (Basketball) Classic and the Winter Solstice Celebration.
Click on the following links for in-depth information:
Weather History:
http://www.cityrating.com/cityweather.asp?city=Fairbanks
About Fairbanks :
Email: uaf-rap@alaska.edu Phone: 907-474-7987 PO Box 757000, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7000
