Utqiaġvik — known for most of two centuries as Barrow — is the northernmost city in the United States: 71°17′ N, about 320 miles above the Arctic Circle.
The polar night lasts about 65 days — the sun sets in mid-November and rises in late January; the midnight sun then runs about 80 days from May into August.
Why People Visit Barrow Alaska
- Visit the Iñupiat Heritage Center, the cultural museum holding exhibits on 1,500 years of Iñupiat history, whaling, and contemporary Iñupiaq community life.
- Drive to Point Barrow, 9-12 miles north of town, the northernmost point of US land where the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas converge — a major marine-mammal migration corridor.
- See the Whalebone Arch on the Arctic Ocean shore, the iconic bowhead-jaw landmark and photo stop.
- Tour the Birnirk archaeological site, a National Historic Landmark featuring 16 prehistoric Thule-culture dwelling mounds dating to roughly 500 CE.
- Walk the tundra boardwalk for migratory birds, snowy owls, and the brief summer wildflower bloom across the permafrost coastal plain.
- Visit the Will Rogers and Wiley Post Monument, marking the 1935 plane-crash site of the American humorist and pioneering aviator.
- Observe the aurora borealis from September through March on clear nights — the long polar darkness makes Barrow one of the best aurora-viewing locations in the world.
