Barrow, Alaska
| Barrow, Alaska | |
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| City | |
| Utqiaġvik | |
Street view of Barrow in July 2008. This street, like all the others in Barrow, has been left unpaved due to the prevalence of permafrost. It creates problematic maintenance issues for paved streets.
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 Barrow
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| Coordinates: 71°17′26″N 156°47′19″W / 71.29056°N 156.78861°WCoordinates: 71°17′26″N 156°47′19″W / 71.29056°N 156.78861°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Borough | North Slope |
| Incorporated | June 8, 1959 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Fannie Suvlu |
| • Borough mayor | Harry Brower, Jr |
| • State Senator | Donny Olson (D) |
| • State Rep | Dean Westlake (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 21.3 sq mi (55.2 km2) |
| • Land | 18.4 sq mi (47.6 km2) |
| • Water | 2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 4,212 |
| • Estimate (2015) | 4,384 |
| • Density | 200/sq mi (76/km2) |
| Time zone | Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9) |
| • Summer (DST) | AKDT (UTC-8) |
| ZIP code | 99723 |
| Area code | 907 |
| FIPS code | 20-05200 |
| GNIS ID | 1398635 |
| Website | cityofbarrow |
Barrow (/ˈbɛəroʊ/), originally known as Utqiaġvik and officially by that name since late 2016, is the largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska and is located above the Arctic Circle. It is the 11th northernmost public community in the world and is the northernmost city in the United States (US). Nearby Point Barrow is the US's northernmost point. Barrow's population was 4,683 at the 2000 census and 4,212 at the 2010 census.
The location has been home to the Iñupiat, an indigenous Inuit ethnic group, for more than 1,500 years. The city's official name, Utqiaġvik, refers to a place for gathering wild roots. It is derived from the Iñupiat word utqiq, also used for "potato". The former name, Barrow, comes from Point Barrow, which was named after Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty by explorer Frederick William Beechey in 1825.
In an October 2016 referendum, city voters narrowly approved to change its name from Barrow to its traditional Iñupiaq name, Utqiaġvik. The governor had 45 days to rule on the name change and it was officially adopted on December 1, 2016. City Council member Qaiyaan Harcharek described the name change as supporting use of the Iñupiaq language and being part of a process of "decolonization."
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