Utqiagvik, located at the top of Alaska, is a roadless city where polar bears roam. And now tourists are discovering this place.
Utqiagvik (pronounced uut-kee-ah-vik), officially known as Barrow until 2016, is a remote town on the edge of Alaska, 515 km north of the Arctic Circle with a population of 4438. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it yet; the city is mostly deserted. On one side is the flat Arctic tundra, on the other is the Arctic Ocean, which remains ice for most of the year.
Despite being part of the United States, Utqiagvik feels completely cut off from the rest of the world. Technically, it is closer to Tokyo and St. Petersburg than it is to Washington.
The airport is Utqiagvik’s lifeline. The city relies solely on airplanes to deliver vital supplies, such as food and medical supplies, and to get people out. Only for a few months in the summer, when the ocean is thawing, can the city transport goods that cannot fit on an airplane, meaning that locals who need a car or building materials have the opportunity to order them once a year.
There are no roads connecting Utqiagvik to the outside world. The dirt roads that do exist end only a couple of kilometers outside of town.
Utqiagvik is the cultural center of the Inupiat tribe, a group of Alaska Natives. Archaeological sites in the area indicate that the Inupiat have lived in the area for more than 1500 years.
Utqiagvik is also home to some impressive wildlife. Seals, whales, polar bears, reindeer, and more can be seen on the outskirts of the city.
The locals survive mainly by hunting and fishing from the Arctic Ocean or neighboring rivers and lakes. Local communities and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manage all levels of harvest through international agreements and cooperative arrangements.
Utqiagvik has all the usual amenities, such as a large grocery store, several restaurants, a hospital, schools, a heritage center, a library, and a post office. Most restaurants in the city serve reindeer soup, similar to the traditional caribou soup eaten by locals who live off the land as their ancestors did generations before them.