Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
CDP
	Caribou walk across a gravel pad at Kuparuk, 45 miles away from Prudhoe Bay, with oilfield facilities in the background.
	Location in North Slope Borough and the state of Alaska
	Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Location in the United States of America
	Coordinates: 70°19′32″N 148°42′41″W / 70.32556°N 148.71139°W
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	North Slope
Government
• Borough mayor	Harry K. Brower, Jr.[citation needed]
• State senator	Donny Olson (D)[citation needed]
• State rep.	Tom Baker (R)[citation needed]
Area
• Total	569.89 sq mi (1,476.00 km2)
• Land	390.42 sq mi (1,011.17 km2)
• Water	179.47 sq mi (464.83 km2)
Elevation	26 ft (8 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	1,310
• Density	3.36/sq mi (1.30/km2)
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code	99734
Area code	907 (Local exchange prefix: 659)
FIPS code	02-64380
GNIS feature ID	2419192

Prudhoe Bay /ˈpruːdoʊ/ is a census-designated place (CDP) located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 1,310 people, down from 2,174 residents in the 2010 census, and up from just 5 residents in 2000; however, at any given time, several thousand transient workers support the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. The airport, lodging and general store are located in Deadhorse, and the rigs and processing facilities are located on scattered gravel pads laid atop the tundra. It is only during winter that the surface is hard enough to support heavy equipment, and new construction happens at that time.

Overland access is by the Dalton Highway. As the bay itself is still 10 miles further north through a security checkpoint, open water is not visible from the highway. A few tourists, arriving by bus or their own vehicles after a two-day ride up the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks, come to see the tundra, the Arctic Ocean and the midnight sun, staying in lodgings assembled from modular buildings. Tours must be arranged in advance to see the Arctic Ocean and the bay itself.

Prudhoe Bay was named in 1826 by British explorer Sir John Franklin after his classmate Captain Algernon Percy, Baron Prudhoe. Franklin traveled westerly along the coast from the mouth of the Mackenzie River in Canada almost to Point Barrow.^[3]

Geography

Prudhoe Bay is located on the Sagavanirktok River.^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 558.0 sq mi (1,445 km²) of which, 416.3 sq mi (1,078 km²) is land and 141.8 sq mi (367 km²) is water. The total area is 25.40% water.

Climate

Prudhoe Bay, along with similar communities on the North Slope of Alaska, features a tundra climate (Köppen ET). Winters are long and frigid, and because the area is above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise during several weeks of each winter. Summers bring long daylight hours, with 24 hours of daylight during some summer weeks, but are still cool, being mostly between 45 and 55 °F (7 and 13 °C) and sometimes dropping to the freezing point.

Climate data for Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	36 (2)	39 (4)	34 (1)	43 (6)	55 (13)	83 (28)	82 (28)	80 (27)	67 (19)	45 (7)	39 (4)	34 (1)	83 (28)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	19 (−7)	17 (−8)	16 (−9)	28 (−2)	43 (6)	65 (18)	74 (23)	69 (21)	56 (13)	37 (3)	24 (−4)	20 (−7)	77 (25)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	−11.9 (−24.4)	−10.1 (−23.4)	−5.2 (−20.7)	10.1 (−12.2)	28.8 (−1.8)	45.2 (7.3)	55.4 (13.0)	51.0 (10.6)	38.3 (3.5)	21.0 (−6.1)	0.9 (−17.3)	−6.6 (−21.4)	18.1 (−7.7)
Daily mean °F (°C)	−18.0 (−27.8)	−17.2 (−27.3)	−12.8 (−24.9)	2.7 (−16.3)	23.9 (−4.5)	39.0 (3.9)	47.8 (8.8)	44.3 (6.8)	33.6 (0.9)	15.4 (−9.2)	−5.1 (−20.6)	−12.9 (−24.9)	11.7 (−11.3)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	−24.0 (−31.1)	−24.3 (−31.3)	−20.3 (−29.1)	−4.8 (−20.4)	19.0 (−7.2)	32.7 (0.4)	39.7 (4.3)	37.5 (3.1)	28.9 (−1.7)	9.7 (−12.4)	−11.0 (−23.9)	−19.2 (−28.4)	5.3 (−14.8)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	−44 (−42)	−47 (−44)	−43 (−42)	−30 (−34)	−1 (−18)	25 (−4)	31 (−1)	29 (−2)	17 (−8)	−13 (−25)	−30 (−34)	−38 (−39)	−50 (−46)
Record low °F (°C)	−62 (−52)	−57 (−49)	−54 (−48)	−47 (−44)	−19 (−28)	18 (−8)	28 (−2)	23 (−5)	1 (−17)	−30 (−34)	−45 (−43)	−47 (−44)	−62 (−52)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	0.20 (5.1)	0.17 (4.3)	0.14 (3.6)	0.08 (2.0)	0.09 (2.3)	0.39 (9.9)	0.68 (17)	1.14 (29)	0.61 (15)	0.38 (9.7)	0.18 (4.6)	0.20 (5.1)	4.26 (107.6)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	2.8 (7.1)	2.4 (6.1)	2.7 (6.9)	1.7 (4.3)	1.4 (3.6)	1.0 (2.5)	0.0 (0.0)	0.5 (1.3)	3.5 (8.9)	9.3 (24)	4.3 (11)	3.5 (8.9)	33.1 (84)
Source: Desert Research Institute

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1970	49	—
1980	50	2.0%
1990	47	−6.0%
2000	5	−89.4%
2010	2,174	43,380.0%
2020	1,310	−39.7%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5]

Prudhoe Bay first appeared on the 1970 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It was made a census-designated place (CDP) in 1980.

Map of Alaska, showing place names and the Trans-Alaska pipeline route in red

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 2,174 people living in the CDP. The racial makeup of the CDP was 83.0% White, 1.9% Black, 7.5% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race and 1.6% from two or more races. 4.0% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Health care

Prudhoe Bay is classified as an isolated town/sub-regional center. It is found in EMS Region 6A in the North Slope Region. Emergency services have limited highway, coastal and airport access. Emergency service is provided by a paid emergency medical services unit and Fairweather Deadhorse Medical Clinic. Auxiliary health care is provided by oil company medical staff and the Greater Prudhoe Bay Fire Dept. Individuals requiring hospital care are usually transported to the nearest hospital/medical center, Sammuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, in Utqiaġvik. Because no roads connect Prudhoe Bay to Utqiaġvik, patients are transported by helicopter or air ambulance (a flight of approximately 45 minutes).^[6]