Anaktuvuk Pass

Anaktuvuk Pass
Elevation 2,200 ft (671 m)
Location North Slope Borough, Alaska, U.S.
Range Brooks Range
Coordinates 68°08′47″N 151°43′21″W / 68.14639°N 151.72250°W

The Anaktuvuk Pass ("the place of caribou droppings", el. 2,200 ft.) is a mountain pass located in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in North Slope Borough in northern Alaska. The Anaktuvuk Pass is in the Brooks Range which divides the Anaktuvuk River with the John River.

Anaktuvuk Pass is a village in the pass, the home of the only concentrated population of the Nunamiut, the only true inland Iñupiat group in Alaska.

Climate

Anaktuvuk Pass has a Polar climate, specifically a tundra climate, but lies within the southern periphery of the climate zone, bearing some characteristics of a cold subarctic climate, but overall being a clear cut tundra climate, with the low precipitation being not much different than that of a desert. The village holds the June record low of -1 and is the only place in the United States to have recorded a subzero June temperature. Anaktuvuk Pass also has not seen temperatures rise above freezing during January or February. Summer is defined as the time period when they receive the most precipitation, often in the form of rain, June through September, in the winter they receive snowfall but not as much as places further south, such as Fairbanks, but it lasts much more into the "spring" season.

Climate data for Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 29
(−2)		 30
(−1)		 44
(7)		 67
(19)		 79
(26)		 86
(30)		 94
(34)		 89
(32)		 72
(22)		 64
(18)		 52
(11)		 37
(3)		 94
(34)
Average high °F (°C) −6
(−21)		 −4
(−20)		 9
(−13)		 30
(−1)		 51
(11)		 64
(18)		 67
(19)		 60
(16)		 45
(7)		 24
(−4)		 5
(−15)		 −3
(−19)		 28.5
(−1.8)
Average low °F (°C) −30
(−34)		 −31
(−35)		 −18
(−28)		 0
(−18)		 21
(−6)		 38
(3)		 43
(6)		 36
(2)		 21
(−6)		 2
(−17)		 −14
(−26)		 −25
(−32)		 3.6
(−15.9)
Record low °F (°C) −76
(−60)		 −73
(−58)		 −63
(−53)		 −47
(−44)		 −22
(−30)		 −1
(−18)		 16
(−9)		 8
(−13)		 −9
(−23)		 −42
(−41)		 −58
(−50)		 −68
(−56)		 −76
(−60)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.43
(10.9)		 0.26
(6.6)		 0.33
(8.4)		 0.78
(19.8)		 0.94
(23.9)		 1.33
(33.8)		 1.87
(47.5)		 2.04
(51.8)		 1.72
(43.7)		 1.14
(29)		 0.66
(16.8)		 0.42
(10.7)		 11.92
(302.8)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 3.3
(8.4)		 2.6
(6.6)		 4.2
(10.7)		 5.8
(14.7)		 8.7
(22.1)		 1.8
(4.6)		 0.3
(0.8)		 0.7
(1.8)		 5.3
(13.5)		 10.2
(25.9)		 6.2
(15.7)		 3.8
(9.7)		 52.9
(134.4)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 5.9 5.1 5.2 6.5 9.8 10.4 13.1 14.2 13.7 12.2 11.3 7.1 114.5
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 6.4 5.8 8.9 9.3 10.1 6.3 2.1 3.6 11.4 15.8 12.6 7.2 99.5
Source: NOAA

See also

External links

Coordinates: 68°08′47″N 151°43′21″W / 68.14639°N 151.72250°W