Prudhoe Bay is a
census-designated placeA census-designated place is a type of place identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) located in
North Slope BoroughNorth Slope Borough is a borough located largely in the North Slope region of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population was 7,385...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. As of the 2000 census, the
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
of the CDP was 5 people; however, at any given time several thousand transient workers support the
Prudhoe Bay oil fieldPrudhoe Bay oil field is a large oil field on Alaska's North Slope. It is the largest oil field in both the United States and in North America, covering and originally containing approximately of oil.[. BP. August 2006. ][Sands,...]
. The airport, lodging, and
general storeThe general store or general merchandise store is a store that carries a general line of merchandise.In Australia, Canada and the United States, a store named or subtitled "general store" is traditionally a retailer located in a small town or in a rural area...
are located at Deadhorse; the rigs and processing facilities are located on scattered gravel pads laid atop the
tundraIn physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from Kildin Sami tūndâr, which means "uplands, treeless mountain tract." There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra...
. Only during winter is the surface hard enough to support heavy equipment; new construction happens then.
Prudhoe Bay is the unofficial northern terminus of the
Pan-American HighwayThe Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about 47,958 kilometres in total length. Except for an 87 kilometre rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system...
.
Prudhoe Bay is a
census-designated placeA census-designated place is a type of place identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) located in
North Slope BoroughNorth Slope Borough is a borough located largely in the North Slope region of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population was 7,385...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. As of the 2000 census, the
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
of the CDP was 5 people; however, at any given time several thousand transient workers support the
Prudhoe Bay oil fieldPrudhoe Bay oil field is a large oil field on Alaska's North Slope. It is the largest oil field in both the United States and in North America, covering and originally containing approximately of oil.[. BP. August 2006. ][Sands,...]
. The airport, lodging, and
general storeThe general store or general merchandise store is a store that carries a general line of merchandise.In Australia, Canada and the United States, a store named or subtitled "general store" is traditionally a retailer located in a small town or in a rural area...
are located at Deadhorse; the rigs and processing facilities are located on scattered gravel pads laid atop the
tundraIn physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from Kildin Sami tūndâr, which means "uplands, treeless mountain tract." There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra...
. Only during winter is the surface hard enough to support heavy equipment; new construction happens then.
Prudhoe Bay is the unofficial northern terminus of the
Pan-American HighwayThe Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about 47,958 kilometres in total length. Except for an 87 kilometre rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system...
. A few tourists, arriving by bus after a two-day ride up the
Dalton HighwayThe James W. Dalton Highway, usually Dalton Highway is a 414-mile road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields...
from
FairbanksFairbanks is a Home Rule City in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, come to see the tundra, the
Arctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest, and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions.
The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although some...
, and the
midnight sunThe midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight...
, staying in lodgings assembled from
modular buildingModular buildings and modular homes are sectional prefabricated buildings or houses that consist of multiple modules or sections which are manufactured in a remote facility and then delivered to their intended site of use. The modules are assembled into a single residential building using either a...
s.
Prudhoe Bay was named in 1826 by British explorer Sir John Franklin after his classmate Captain Algernon Percy, Baron Prudhoe.
Geography
Prudhoe Bay is located at .
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the CDP has a total area of 558.0
square mileThe square mile is an imperial and US unit of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one statute mile.
s (1,445.3 km²), of which, 416.3 square miles (1,078.1 km²) of it is land and 141.8 square miles (367.2 km²) of it is
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
. The total area is 25.40% water.
Demographics
As of the 2000
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
, there was one household in the town, consisting of one married couple between 25 and 44 with three children, two boys and one girl who were under the age of 18; the median age of the family was 12 years. One parent was White, the other one was Native American, and the three children were biracial. The income for this household was $90,957, or $19,880 per capita. There was one housing unit.
Prudhoe Bay oil field
Prudhoe Bay is adjacent to the largest oil field in the United States.
External links