Deadhorse
| Deadhorse, Alaska | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
Aerial view of Deadhorse, March 2007
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 Location in North Slope Borough and the state of Alaska |
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 Deadhorse, Alaska
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| Coordinates: 70°12′20″N 148°30′42″W / 70.20556°N 148.51167°WCoordinates: 70°12′20″N 148°30′42″W / 70.20556°N 148.51167°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Borough | North Slope |
| Government | |
| • Borough mayor | Harry K. Brower, Jr. |
| • State senator | Donny Olson (D) |
| • State rep. | Dean Westlake (D) |
| Elevation | 49 ft (15 m) |
| Time zone | Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9) |
| • Summer (DST) | AKDT (UTC-8) |
| GNIS ID | 2419433 |
Deadhorse is an unincorporated community in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States, along the North Slope near the Arctic Ocean. The town consists mainly of facilities for the workers and companies that operate at the nearby Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Deadhorse is accessible via the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks, 495 mi (797 km) south, or Deadhorse Airport. Limited accommodations are also available for tourists.
The permanent population is variously listed as being between 25 and 50 residents. Temporary residents (employed by various firms with local interests) can range as high as 3,000.
Companies with facilities in Deadhorse service Prudhoe Bay, nearby oil fields, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), which brings oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez on the south-central Alaska coast. Facilities in Deadhorse are built entirely on human-made gravel pads and usually consist of pre-fabricated modules shipped to Deadhorse via barge or air cargo.
The Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, area was developed to house personnel, provide support for drilling operations, and transport oil to the Alaskan pipeline. Prior to 1977, oil seeps (small pores or fissure networks through which liquid petroleum emerges at the surface of the land) on the Arctic coastal plain had caught the attention of the U.S. petroleum interests. The U.S. Navy drilled for oil between 1944 and 1953 with little success. However, 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.
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