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Fairbanks
 Fairbanks,
358 miles north of Anchorage. Its central location makes it the focal
point for the tiny villages scattered throughout the surrounding
wilderness, and Fairbanks is a staging point for North Slope villages such
as Barrow and the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. Fairbanks is called "The
Golden Heart of Alaska," a reference to the character of her people as
much as to the location of Fairbanks in Alaska's interior, or to the
discovery of gold in 1902. Alaska may be known for its harsh winter
climate, but Fairbanksans prefer to think of their wonderful Alaskan
summers, and enjoy them to the fullest while they can. The Interior has
temperatures ranging from 65 degrees below zero in the winter to 90
degrees above in the summer. Gardening in big in the Interior. Alaska
Gardens abound. Because Fairbanks is just 188 miles south of the Arctic
Circle (above which the sun neither sets during the summer solstice, nor
rises during the winter equinox) we also have very long summer days. The
shortest winter day of the year has less than three hours of sunlight, the
longest (around June 21) never really ends, though officially it has over
21 hours. |
