Imagine waking up in December, looking out the window, and knowing the sun won't come up today. Or tomorrow. Or any day for weeks. For most Americans, a short winter day is gloomy enough. But in one Alaska town, the sun takes a very long vacation. So where is this place, and how do people live with it?
The short answer is Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost town in the United States, formerly known as Barrow. When the sun sets around November 18, it stays below the horizon until about January 23. That's a polar night lasting about 66 days. It isn't completely black, though. Hours of twilight still brighten the sky around midday.
Life at the Top of America
Utqiagvik sits north of the Arctic Circle, on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Nearby Point Barrow is the northernmost point in the country. About 4,900 people lived there at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Alaska's North Slope Borough.
It's also very old. One science writer noted that the town may look like a temporary pioneer settlement, but it is among the oldest permanent settlements in the United States. The Iñupiat people have lived in the area for more than 1,500 years. Its Iñupiaq name refers to a place for gathering wild roots. For about a century, the town was officially called Barrow, after Point Barrow. In 2016, residents voted to change the name to Utqiagvik, and the change became official on December 1 of that year.
Why the Sun Disappears
Earth is tilted on its axis. During the Northern Hemisphere's winter, the North Pole leans away from the Sun. Places far enough north, above the Arctic Circle, tip so far into shadow that the Sun never makes it above the horizon for a stretch of days. That's called polar night.
In Utqiagvik, it doesn't mean total darkness all day. At the start of the polar night, there are about six hours of civil twilight each day, when the sky glows even though the sun stays hidden. That shrinks to about three hours around the winter solstice, then grows back to around six hours by late January.
And Then, Endless Daylight
Summer brings the opposite extreme. By March 1, the sun is up for nine hours. By May 1, it's up for 19 hours. Then, around May 10 or 11, the sun stops setting altogether. This is the midnight sun, and in Utqiagvik it lasts 83 days, until about August 1 or 2.
So over the course of a year, residents get roughly two months without a sunrise and nearly three months without a sunset. It's a rhythm that takes some getting used to.
Cold, Cloudy, and Tough
Darkness isn't the only challenge. February is usually the coldest month, averaging about 12 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Utqiagvik is also one of the cloudiest places on Earth, completely overcast a little more than half the year. Dense fog rolls in on about 65 days a year, and ice fog is common in winter when temperatures drop below 30 below zero.
Still, people have made a life here for many centuries, hunting, gathering, and building community through the long winters. So the next time a gray December afternoon gets you down, think of Utqiagvik. Somewhere up north, a whole town is waiting patiently for late January, when the sun peeks back over the horizon.
