Fairbanks

Fairbanks

Fairbanks is located in east-central Alaska along the Chena River, about 580 km north of Anchorage and 160 km south of the Arctic Circle. The site was first populated by nomadic Athabaskan Indians, who have used the area for thousands of years, despite the fact that there are no known permanent Alaska Native settlements at the Fairbanks site. An archaeological site on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus has uncovered a Native American camp dating back some 3,500 years. Based on the evidence collected at the site, archaeologists speculate that Native American activity in the area was restricted to seasonal hunting and fishing, as freezing temperatures prevented berry picking. The city was founded during a gold rush in 1902 and was named after Charles Warren Fairbanks, a senator from Indiana. The city prospered during the gold rush, and it quickly became Alaska's largest city. The population had fallen by the First World War, but during the Great Depression it rose again as the price of gold went up. Between the 1940s and 1950s, the city was the site of the construction of military depots during World War II and the Cold War. In 1968, after the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, the city served as a supply point for the oil field and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. The city of Fairbanks and the Fairbanks area are home to a variety of attractions and events that attract visitors from outside Alaska all year round. Summer tourism is mainly made up of cruise ship passengers, while the rest of the year tourism is mainly concentrated in the winter season, with the focus on the Northern Lights, ice carving and winter sports.