Deadhorse

Deadhorse is featured on the third season of Ice Road Truckers, an American reality television series airing on the History Channel.[1] The show, which dramatizes trucking on the Dalton Highway, often features truckers transporting equipment to the oil companies located in or around the Prudhoe Bay area.[2]

Dillingham

Dillingham attracted national attention in 2006 when the City of Dillingham installed 80 cameras at City owned facilities such as the dock, harbor and police station [7], funded by a Department of Homeland Security grant.[8] The City justified them by stating that they enhanced the ability to monitor and enforcement at those facilities. Many criticized the project as an infringement on privacy and also that the funds were intended for national rather than local public safety issues. After spirited public debate, locally and nationally, the community held a referendum vote on the system on October 12, 2006, resulting in a rejection of the anti-camera initiative by a vote of 370 to 235. In 2007, among cities with available data, the city experienced the nation's highest rate of forcible rape per person, with 1 incident for every 103.9 residents. The city ranked 22nd (out of 8,659 cities with available data) for overall violent crime, with 1 incident for every 32.8 residents.

Eagle

It includes Eagle Historic District, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. In 1905, Roald Amundsen arrived in Eagle and telegraphed the news of the Northwest Passage to the rest of the world.

Elim

Boulder Creek Uranium Mine Controversy In 2005, mining company Full Metal Minerals announced a partnership with Triex Minerals Corporation to develop a uranium deposit north of Elim.[5] Development of the site began with survey and exploration work in Sept 2005.[6] Initial drilling exploration was completed in July 2006[7][8], confirming deposits of "sandstone-hosted uranium" at the Boulder Creek site in Death Valley, north of Elim.[9] The Boulder Creek mine site is located on part of the Tubutulik River. Serious water and air pollution risks, including radioactive byproducts, have been identified with "in-situ leeching," the type of uranium mining proposed for the site.[10] Villagers have raised concerns that radioactive by-products of uranium mining would adversely affect the plants, fish, and wildlife on which they rely.[11] In Sept 2007, Irene Murray of Aniguiin High School in Elim wrote an open letter to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, drawing attention to projected impacts on the local environment and human health.[12] Protests led by Elim Students Against Uranium (ESAU)[13] have included demonstrations in 2008 and 2009 at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ceremonial start, and on the Iditarod trail in Elim.[14][15] The village has raised legal concerns over the project that include an alleged failure by the federal Bureau of Land Management to provide adequate public notice and public comment periods regarding the Boulder Creek mine project.[16] Portions of the regulatory process are under the purview of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.[10]

Emmonak

Emmonak In the winter of 2008-2009, a combination of a cold winter and increased fuel prices led to economic hardship. Due to a collapse in local king salmon fisheries in 2008[citation needed], residents were unable to generate enough economic capital to buy increased amounts of heating oil at higher prices. On January 10, 2009 Nicholas C. Tucker, Sr., a town elder, circulated a letter asking for aid.[4] The letter was circulated by Alaska bloggers, where it was picked up by national media.

Eagle

Fort Yukon In the winter of 2008-2009, a combination of a cold winter and increased fuel prices led to economic hardship. Due to a collapse in local king salmon fisheries in 2008[citation needed], residents were unable to generate enough economic capital to buy increased amounts of heating oil at higher prices. On January 10, 2009 Nicholas C. Tucker, Sr., a town elder, circulated a letter asking for aid.[4] The letter was circulated by Alaska bloggers, where it was picked up by national media. The highest temperature ever recorded in Alaska occurred in Fort Yukon on June 27, 1915, when it reached 100°F (38°C).

Galena

Galena In the fictional video game Metal Gear Solid, two F-16's take off from Galena AFB to provide Solid Snake with air support early on in the game. Later on, B2 bombers are also mentioned as leaving Galena AFB. Galena is also mentioned in the film "War Games", as a point from which the US was to launch F-16s. The town features heavily in Guy Grieve's Book Call of the Wild. The town is the nominal subject of a holiday song by San Francisco Bay Area band The Parents, released on netlabel Beat the Indie Drum.

Gambell On August 30, 1975, Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 crashed when trying to land in Gambell. 10 of the 32 passengers and crew on board were killed.

Grayling Since 1977, the Athabaskan village has seen a surge of interest on odd-numbered years, when it is the site of a checkpoint during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Gustavus

Bruce Shingledecker, wildlife painter

Kake

The Kake War involved the United States and the tribe of the Tlingits, on Kupreanof Island. These tribes had already experienced minor conflicts with European explorers and settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries. They ran afoul of Captain George Vancouver during his voyages and sometimes had conflicts with trappers. In 1869, a sentry in Sitka shot a Kake. The Kakes killed two Sitka traders in revenge for the shooting. This act began the Kake War. The United States Navy vessel USS Saginaw destroyed, by bombardment, three Kake villages during successive reprisals for the shooting of the traders. The Kakes did not rebuild their villages for many years, but finally settled around 1890 at their present site of Kake. Kake is the site of a 128-foot totem pole, the world's largest, carved in 1967 for the Alaska Purchase centennial.

Ketchikan

Ketchikan's economy is based upon tourism and fishing, and the city is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World." The Misty Fjords National Monument is one of the area's major attractions. Ketchikan's secondary post office box zip code, 99950, is the highest zip code ever assigned in the United States Ketchikan also has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and the Totem Heritage Center.

Kivalina

The city of Kivalina and a federally recognized tribe, the Alaska Native village of Kivalina, sued Exxon Mobil Corporation, eight other oil companies, 14 power companies and one coal company in a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco February 26, 2008, claiming that the large amounts of greenhouse gases they emit contribute to global warming that threatens the community's existence.[4] The lawsuit estimates the cost of relocation at $400 million.[5] Kivalina has also sued Canadian mining company Teck Cominco for polluting its water source.

Klawock

Klawock hosts the oldest hatchery in Alaska. This industry enhances the salmon runs including sockeye, coho, and steelhead There is a Totem Park with one of the largest collection (21) of totem poles in Alaska: it displays original and replica totems from the old village of Tuxekan.

Kodiak

A tectonic tsunami struck the city in March 1964 with 30-foot (9.1 m) waves that killed 15 people and caused $11 million in damages. It also wiped out the neighboring Eskimo villages of Old Harbor and Kaguyak. The Standard Oil Company, the Alaskan King Crab Company and much of the fishing fleet were also destroyed.

Kotzebue

John Baker and Ed Iten, both top 10 finishers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, are residents of Kotzebue.

Napakiak

Napakiak is the terminus of a unique 8.5 mile prototype single-wire earth return electrical intertie from Bethel, Alaska, constructed in 1981.

Nenana

Residents of Nenana sponsor the Nenana Ice Classic, where entrants buy a ticket and pick the date and time to the closest minute in April or May when the winter ice on the Tanana River breaks.

   

Nome

Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the most populous city in Alaska. The city of Nome claims to be home to the world's largest gold pan, although this claim has been disputed by the Canadian city of Quesnel, British Columbia. In the winter of 1925, a diphtheria epidemic raged among Inuit in the Nome area. Fierce statewide blizzard conditions prevented delivery of a life-saving serum by airplane from Anchorage. A relay of dog sled teams was organized to deliver the serum. The annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates this historic event. Nome also is home to Alaska's oldest newspaper, the Nome Nugget. The 1995 film Balto starring Kevin Bacon was set in Nome, but not filmed there. The 2009 movie The Fourth Kind starring Milla Jovovich was set in Nome, although not filmed there. .

North Pole

Its biggest attraction is a gift shop named Santa Claus House with the world's largest fiberglass statue of Santa Claus outside. Prior to Christmas each year, the USPS post office in North Pole receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa Claus, and thousands more from people wanting the town's postmark on their Christmas greeting cards to their families. It advertises the ZIP code 99705 as the ZIP code of Santa. On April 22, 2006, police arrested several students at North Pole Middle School for allegedly plotting a school shooting, much along the lines of the Columbine High School massacre. Death in Santaland, a TV documentary about the town and the foiled school shooting plot, was made by the British journalist Jon Ronson and broadcast on the television channel More 4 in 2007. In the Marvel Comics series New Avengers, the town was depicted as destroyed in "the Collective" story arc published over the course of the spring of 2006. The ABC reality show Extreme Makeover Home Edition built a new house for a local family in one week in July 2006. The episode of the show was used as a premiere to the show's season, and as a kickoff point for the show's plans to rebuild a home in each state.

Palmer

Palmer is most noted in Alaska as the location of the annual Alaska State Fair, where Palmer's agricultural spirit lives on. The Alaska State Fair holds contests for largest vegetable in several categories, and many national and even world records have been recorded at the fair, with the cabbage, radish, spinach and lettuce categories usually dominating local interest. In 2008, Scott Robb of Palmer won 1st place and a $2,000 prize for his 79.1 lb (35.9 kg) cabbage.

Point Hope

Point Hope residents successfully opposed Operation Chariot (1958), which would have involved atmospheric thermonuclear detonations some 30 miles from the village to create a deep-water artificial harbor, which would only have been usable about three months out of the year.

Ruby

Noted people

The largest gold nugget ever found in Alaska(294.10 Troy Ounces)was found near Ruby, Alaska in 1998.

Notable People

Emmitt Peters- Last rookie to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Barry Clay - Discovered Alaska's largest gold nugget, 294 oz (9.15 kg), in 1998 in the Ruby mining district. [1]

Donald Honea Sr.- Traditional Chief of the Athabascan People

St. Paul

Because Alaskan crab fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, the U.S. Coast Guard rescue squads stationed at Integrated Support Command Kodiak (Kodiak, Alaska) and their outpost on St. Paul Island, near the northern end of the crab fishing grounds, are frequently shown doing their own dangerous work: rescuing crab boat crew members who fall victim to the harsh conditions on the Bering Sea. The USCG rescue squad was featured prominently during the episodes surrounding the loss of F/V Big Valley in January 2005, the loss of F/V Ocean Challenger in October 2006, and the loss of F/V Katmai in October 2008. Original Productions keeps a camera crew stationed with the Coast Guard during the filming of the show.

Savoonga

The local economy consists largely of subsistence hunting for walrus, seals, fish, and bowhead whales; the city calls itself the "Walrus Capital of the World".

Saxman

Saxman is one of the totem capitals of Alaska.

Seldovia

The town was one of many communities along the shores of Cook Inlet, already noted for having one of the most severe tidal movements in North America. Similar to the dramatic tides of Bay of Fundy, the Cook Inlet's waters prior to 1964 would rise or fall 26 feet every six hours during the peak tides. After the Good Friday Earthquake on March 27, 1964, which registered 9.2 on the Richter scale the surrounding land mass dropped six feet.

Seward

Notable people from Seward In 1927, thirteen-year old Seward resident and Native Alaskan, Benny Benson, won a territory-wide American Legion contest to design a flag for Alaska. Born in Chignik in 1913, he was three when his mother died of pneumonia. Soon after her death the family's house burned and his Swedish fisherman father sent Benny and his brother to the Jesse Lee Home in Seward. Winning the contest changed Benny’s life. The prize for designing the flag included a $1000 scholarship which he used to become an airplane mechanic. He married, raised a family, and died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 58. His design became the territorial flag and eventually the state flag. He is memorialized in Seward by the Benny Benson Memorial Park.[5] Chad Bentz, Major League Baseball Player Harry Kawabe, Japanese-American businessman sent to internment camp during WWII Mount Marathon and its famous Mount Marathon Race>

Shishmaref

Shishmaref was also home to one of Alaska's most-beloved dog mushers. Herbie Nayokpuk, known as the "Shishmaref Cannonball," died in December 2006. He finished the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race numerous times, including a second-place finish.

Sitka

Sitka was the site of the ceremony in which the Russian flag was lowered and the United States flag raised after Alaska was purchased by the United States in 1867 after the sea otter pelt trade died out. The port has the largest harbour system in Alaska with 1,347 permanent slips. Richard Nelson, cultural anthropologist, writer, and activist John Straley, award-winning author

Skagway

The port of Skagway is a popular stop for cruise ships, and the tourist trade is a big part of the business of Skagway. The White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad, part of the area's mining past, is now in operation purely for the tourist trade and runs throughout the summer months. Skagway is also part of the setting for Jack London's book The Call of the Wild. One prominent resident of early Skagway was William "Billy" Moore, a former steamboat captain. As a member of an 1887 boundary survey expedition, he had made the first recorded investigation of the pass over the Coast Mountains, which later became known as White Pass The Skagway area today is home to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and White Pass and Chilkoot Trails. In the Three Stooges short In the Sweet Pie and Pie, Skagway receives a humorous mention: "Edam Neckties, with three convenient locations: Skagway, Alaska; Little America; and Pago Pago." Skagway is a town featured in the computer game Yukon Trail. In an episode of Homeland Security USA, the border crossing in Skagway was featured as being the least-used crossing in the US.

Soldotna

Notable People

Brock Lindow, lead singer of the post-matalcore band 36 Crazyfists was born in Soldotna.

Jason Elam, kicker for the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons and Karl Malone, formerly of the Utah Jazz, both have summer homes in Soldotna.

Franklin Graham operates a branch of Samaritan's Purse out of the Soldotna airport and can be seen around town when here.

Travis Hall of the Atlanta Falcons was born and raised in the Soldotna area

Tanana

Famous residents Morris Thompson, an Alaskan politician, was born and raised in Tanana. After he died in the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, his body was buried in Tanana

 

Teller

When the airship Zeppelin flow around the world and flew over Siberia they came to Alaska - Teller was named as the first spot they reached in US. Thorne Bay In the 1960s and 1970s it was the largest logging camp in North America and was host to over 1500 residents at its peak.

Unalakleet

Unalakleet is the first checkpoint on the Norton Sound in the famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race 851 miles from the start in Anchorage. The first musher to reach this checkpoint each year is awarded the Gold Coast Award, which includes $2,500 in gold nuggets. Unalakleet also plays an important role in the Iron Dog snowmobile race.

Valdez

The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred as the oil tanker Exxon Valdez was leaving the terminal at Valdez full of oil. The spill occurred at Bligh Reef, about 40 km (25 miles) from Valdez. Although the oil did not reach Valdez, it destroyed much of the marine life in the surrounding area. The clean-up of the oil caused a short-term boost to the economy of Valdez but bankrupted the neighboring Chugach tribe, who had depended on the sea for their livelihood. On Deadly Ground (1994), was filmed at Worthington Glacier, Alaska, 30 miles (48 km) from Valdez on Thompson Pass in the Chugach Mountains. Notable residents William Allen Egan, first governor of Alaska George M. Sullivan, Alaska politicianWales It is the westernmost city (or settlement of any sort) on the North American mainland.

Wasilla

Wasilla gained international attention when Sarah Palin, who served as Wasilla's mayor before her election as Governor of Alaska, was chosen by John McCain as his vice-presidential running mate in the 2008 United States presidential election. Chad Carpenter,[46] cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Tundra Mahala Ashley Dickerson, Alaska's first African-American lawyer Lyda Green, President of the Alaska Senate Eric Howk, lead guitarist of Seattle-based power-pop band The Lashes Charlie Huggins, Alaska Senate, Silver Star recipient Levi Johnston, Playgirl model, aspiring actor, and former fiancé of Bristol Palin Lisa Kelly, Ice Road Truckers Season 3 Driver Vic Kohring, state legislator[47] Carlos Owens, real-life mecha builder[48] Bristol Palin, Teen Abstinence Ambassador for the Candie's Foundation [49][50] Sarah Palin, former mayor of Wasilla, former Alaska Governor, and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Todd Palin, husband of Sarah Palin Members of the indie rock band Portugal. The Man

White Mountain

White Mountain is most notable as the last of three mandatory rest stops for teams competing in the annual Iditarod. All mushers are required to take an 8-hour rest stop at White Mountain before making the final push to the end of the race, 99 miles (159 km) away in Nome.

Whittier

Whittier The two huge buildings that dominate Whittier were built after World War II. The Hodge Building (now Begich Towers) was built for housing soldiers and the Buckner Building, completed in 1953, was called the "city under one roof". Both buildings were at one time the largest buildings in Alaska.

Willow

Willow is now the official host of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart

Yakutat City

Yakutat City Yakutat City is the largest city in the United States by area, and the eighth largest city in the world by area.