Prospect Creek, Alaska
| Prospect Creek, Alaska | |
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| CDP | |
Prospect Creek as viewed from a nearby hillside
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 Prospect Creek, Alaska
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| Coordinates: 66°48′48″N 150°38′38″W / 66.81333°N 150.64389°WCoordinates: 66°48′48″N 150°38′38″W / 66.81333°N 150.64389°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Census Area | Yukon-Koyukuk |
| Government | |
| • State senator | Donny Olson (D) |
| • State rep. | Dean Westlake (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 48 sq mi (125 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,014 ft (309 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | Uninhabited |
| Time zone | Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9) |
| • Summer (DST) | AKDT (UTC-8) |
| Area code(s) | 907 |
Prospect Creek is a very small settlement approximately 180 miles (290 km) north of present-day Fairbanks and 25 miles (40 km) southeast of present-day Bettles, Alaska. Years ago it was home to numerous mining expeditions and the camp for the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Today, it is the location of Pump Station 5 (Jim River Station) of the TAPS. Prospect Creek is also home to the United States record for lowest temperature. On January 23, 1971 the record low temperature of −80 °F (−62 °C) was recorded. Wildlife can be found there even with its extreme changes in temperature; local fauna include anything from black and brown bears to bald eagles. The elevation of Prospect Creek is 643 feet (196 m) above sea level. Nearby Moore Creek is widely known for its gold and quartz mining and sits alongside Prospect Creek in Alaska’s Innoko Mining District (Moorecreek Mining Line, MML). The Innoko Mining District is famous for its findings of large quartz.
A camp was set up near Prospect Creek in 1974 to help house some of the 27,000 people working on the construction of the TAPS and serve Pump Station 5. The camp contained little more than housing and washrooms. After the TAPS was completed in 1977 the camp was broken down and abandoned. There was little left afterward other than an airstrip (Prospect Creek(PPC)(PARP) 1095' MSL) and a large gravel pad.
In 1974 during the construction of the TAPS there was a recorded wolf attack, however the only resulting injury was some minor bruising with no apparent breaks in the skin. The wolf was killed and tested negative for rabies.
The camp was again used in 1992 as the first of the camp sites set up for the construction workers, engineers and their families while they helped with the replacement of the bridges along the nearby Dalton Highway.
Prospect Creek is situated 34 miles (55 km) north of the center of Alaska with coordinates: 66°48′48″N 150°38′38″W / 66.81333°N 150.64389°W, just above the Arctic Circle. It is located right off the James Dalton Highway on the 135th mile (217th kilometre).Coldfoot is the nearest city and is located about 31 miles (50 km) northeast of Prospect Creek. The camp was situated near the start of the winter road to Bettles which begins just south of TAPS Pump Station 5 on the Dalton Highway. None-the-less, Prospect Creek is still very much in the middle of nowhere.
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Wikipedia