Utqiaġvik, The Coldest And Northernmost City In The United States
Wikimedia CommonsUtqiaġvik, Alaska, formerly known as Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States.
Utqiaġvik, formerly known as Barrow, is the northernmost city in the United States, located on the shore of the Arctic Ocean in Alaska, some 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It’s also one of the coldest places on Earth.
Utqiaġvik experiences an extreme polar climate, with long, harsh winters and brief, cool summers. The city experiences 66 days of continuous darkness during the winter months, which significantly influences its temperatures.
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Utqiaġvik was negative 56 degrees Fahrenheit on Feb. 3, 1924, but even during typical years, temperatures normally don’t rise above freezing between October and May and remain below zero from December to March.
Despite these frigid conditions, Utqiaġvik has a population of nearly 5,000. The majority of these residents are Indigenous Iñupiat who still hunt and fish for much of their food. There are also six restaurants in the town, including a Subway, as well as three hotels, a bank, a large grocery store, and even an indoor swimming pool at the local high school.
