Deadhorse, Alaska

The Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, area was developed to house personnel, provide support for drilling operations, and transport oil to the Alaskan pipeline.[2] Prior to 1977, oil seeps (small pores or fissure networks through which liquid petroleum emerges at the surface of the land)[3] on the Arctic coastal plain had caught the attention of the U.S. petroleum interests.[2] The U.S. Navy drilled for oil between 1944 and 1953 with little success.[2] In 1967, after several attempts at drilling for oil, oil company mergers, and competitive bidding for state lease sales, the Prudhoe Bay oil field was discovered.[2]

Sources conflict on the origin of the area's name. The most cited theory appears to be that the area takes its name from a local business prominent in the late 1960s and 1970s, the "Dead Horse Haulers" trucking company. How the trucking company got its name remains in dispute.[4]

In February 2023, a "high altitude object" about the size of a small car was shot down near the area after a decision by President Joe Biden.[5]

Deadhorse first appeared on the 1970 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It was made a census-designated place (CDP) in 1980. It appeared last on the 1990 census. After 2000, it was merged into the Prudhoe Bay CDP.

The general store in Deadhorse in 2003

Tourists traveling to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay typically take tour buses from Fairbanks via the James Dalton Highway, a two-day journey with an overnight stop in Coldfoot. During the summer months, visitors can arrange for tours to the Arctic Ocean via a guided tour only. There is no longer any public Arctic Ocean access from Deadhorse. All tours must be booked 24 hours in advance to allow time for background checks on all passengers going through the oilfield check point. Tourists can also experience the midnight sun due to Deadhorse's location above the Arctic Circle. In winter, the opposite phenomenon, polar night, occurs.

The area often features large herds of caribou and over 200 bird and waterfowl species, including geese, swans, gulls and eagles.[7] Other indigenous wildlife include Arctic foxes, Arctic ground squirrels, grizzly bears, polar bears, musk oxen, and Arctic hares.[7]

Because alcoholic beverages are not sold in Deadhorse, a humorous slogan for the town is "All that far and still no bar."[8]

The town serves as a start/end or turn-around point of several motorcycle-riding challenges offered by the Iron Butt Association. One of these, the Ultimate Coast to Coast, gives riders 30 days to travel between Deadhorse and Key West (the southernmost city in the contiguous United States) in either direction.[9]

Like all of the North Slope, Deadhorse features a cold and dry tundra climate (Köppen ET), as even the hottest month, July, has a daily average temperature of only 48 °F (9 °C), although Deadhorse reaches 80 °F (27 °C) on average once every four years, Deadhorse averages four days per year where temperatures reaches at or above 70 °F (21 °C), since 1968 the only years that fail to reach that mark was 1972 and 1980.[10] Precipitation is very light, averaging only 5.70 in (144.8 mm), including only 23.73 in (60.3 cm) of snow – less snowfall than even the warmest places in the Alaska Panhandle like Ketchikan. The mean annual temperature is 14 °F (−10 °C), with maximum temperatures reliably remaining below freezing from early/mid October to late April. As the area is located in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 2,[11] temperatures below −40 °F (−40 °C) can be expected during the height of winter.

• Longest day: 63 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes (12:09 a.m. on May 20 to 11:18 p.m. on July 22)
• Shortest day: 45 min (11:42 a.m. to 12:27 p.m. on November 24)
• Longest night: 54 days, 22 hours, 51 min (12:27 p.m. on November 24 to 11:18 a.m. on January 18)
• Shortest night: 26 min (11:43 p.m. on May 19 to 12:09 a.m. on May 20)
• Highest recorded temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) on 13 July 2016
• Lowest recorded temperature: −62 °F (−52 °C) on 27 January 1989
• Highest wind speed recorded: 95 knots (109 mph; 176 km/h) on 25 February 1989
• Official lowest wind chill: −102 °F (−74 °C) on 28 January 1989 (air temperature of −54 °F (−48 °C)) and wind speed of 31 kn (36 mph; 57 km/h)

Deadhorse (including 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 paid EMS service 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 Utqiagvik, Alaska. Because no roads connect Deadhorse to Utqiagvik, individuals are transported by plane or helicopter (an approximately 45 minute flight).[15]

• 
  Sign at General Store, Deadhorse, Alaska (January 2008)
• 
  Deadhorse General Store (2003)
• 
  The Dalton Highway at Deadhorse (July 2010)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deadhorse, Alaska.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Deadhorse.

• Deadhorse Alaska website
• Deadhorse local weather
• Dalton Highway

• Dead horse (disambiguation)