# Point Barrow

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This article is about the headland in Alaska. For the cape in Nunavut, Canada, see [Cape Barrow (Nunavut)](/source/Cape_Barrow_(Nunavut)). For the nearby city formerly known as Barrow, Alaska, see [Utqiagvik, Alaska](/source/Utqiagvik%2C_Alaska).

Northernmost point of the United States in Alaska

Point Barrow Nuvuk (Inupiaq) Northernmost point of the United States Point Barrow Location within the state of Alaska Coordinates: 71°23′20″N 156°28′45″W / 71.38889°N 156.47917°W / 71.38889; -156.47917 Country United States State Alaska Borough North Slope Time zone UTC-9 (AKST) • Summer (DST) UTC-8 (AKDT)

**Point Barrow** or **Nuvuk** is a headland on the [Arctic coast](/source/Arctic_Ocean) in the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [Alaska](/source/Alaska), 9 miles (14 km) northeast of [Utqiagvik](/source/Utqiagvik%2C_Alaska) (formerly Barrow). It is the [northernmost point](/source/Extreme_points_of_the_United_States) of all the territory of the United States, at [71°23′20″N 156°28′45″W / 71.38889°N 156.47917°W / 71.38889; -156.47917 (Point Barrow)](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Point_Barrow&params=71_23_20_N_156_28_45_W_region:US-AK_type:landmark&title=Point+Barrow), 1,122 [nautical miles](/source/Nautical_mile) (1,291 mi; 2,078 km) south of the [North Pole](/source/North_Pole). (The [northernmost point on the North American mainland](/source/Extreme_points_of_the_Americas), [Murchison Promontory](/source/Murchison_Promontory) in Canada, is 40 miles (64 km) further north.)

## Geography

Point Barrow is an important geographical landmark, marking the limit between two marginal seas of the [Arctic Ocean](/source/Arctic_Ocean), the [Chukchi Sea](/source/Chukchi_Sea) to the west and the [Beaufort Sea](/source/Beaufort_Sea) to the east.[1]

## History

Ukpeagvik mounds

Point Barrow in the 1940s

Archaeological evidence indicates that Point Barrow was occupied by the ancestors of the [Iñupiat](/source/I%C3%B1upiat_people) for almost 1,000 years prior to the arrival of the first Europeans. Occupation continued into the 1940s. The headland is an important archaeological site, yielding burials and artifacts associated with the [Thule culture](/source/Thule_people), including [uluit](/source/Ulu) and [bola](/source/Bolas). The waters off Point Barrow are on the [bowhead whale](/source/Bowhead_whale) migration route and it is surmised, that the site was chosen to make hunting easier.[2] There are also [burial mounds](/source/Tumulus) in the area, at the nearby [Birnirk site](/source/Birnirk_site), associated with the earlier [Birnirk culture](/source/Birnirk_culture), a pre-Thule culture first identified in 1912 by [Vilhjalmur Stefansson](/source/Vilhjalmur_Stefansson) while excavating in the area.[3]: 72 The settlement was called [Nuvuk](/source/Nuvuk_site), and it was near the "migration path of bowhead whales which would become the cultural and nutritional centre of Nuvuk life."[2]

Point Barrow was named in 1826 by English explorer [Frederick William Beechey](/source/Frederick_William_Beechey) for [Sir John Barrow](/source/Sir_John_Barrow%2C_1st_Baronet), a statesman and geographer of the [British Admiralty](/source/British_Admiralty).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The water around it is normally[*[when?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*] ice-free for two or three months a year, but this was not the experience of the early explorers. Beechey could not reach it by ship and had to send a ship's boat ahead.

In 1826, [John Franklin](/source/John_Franklin) tried to reach it from the east, but was blocked by ice.

In 1837, [Thomas Simpson](/source/Thomas_Simpson_(explorer)) walked 50 miles west to Point Barrow after his boats were stopped by ice.

In 1849, [William Pullen](/source/William_Pullen) rounded it in two whale boats after sending two larger boats back west because of the ice.

During the winter of 1897–1898, the [Overland Relief Expedition](/source/Overland_Relief_Expedition) took place to rescue 265 whalers trapped near Point Barrow.

Point Barrow has been a jumping-off point for many [Arctic expeditions](/source/List_of_Arctic_expeditions), including the 1926 Wilkins [Detroit Arctic Expedition](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Detroit_Arctic_Expedition&action=edit&redlink=1) and the April 15, 1928, [Eielson](/source/Carl_Ben_Eielson)–[Wilkins](/source/George_Hubert_Wilkins) flight across the Arctic Ocean to [Spitsbergen](/source/Spitsbergen).

Wilkins-Detroit Arctic Expedition

On August 15, 1935, an airplane crash killed aviator [Wiley Post](/source/Wiley_Post) and his passenger, the entertainer [Will Rogers](/source/Will_Rogers), at the [Rogers–Post Site](/source/Rogers%E2%80%93Post_Site), 33 km (20.5 mi) southwest of Point Barrow.

In 1946, [William C. Trimble](/source/William_C._Trimble) of the State Department discussed an alternate offer of land in Point Barrow, as part of a $100 million in gold bullion offer to [Denmark](/source/Denmark) to [purchase Greenland](/source/Proposals_for_the_United_States_to_purchase_Greenland#1946_proposal).[4][5] Had the Alaska trade occurred, from 1967 Denmark would have benefited from [Prudhoe Bay Oil Field](/source/Prudhoe_Bay_Oil_Field), the richest petroleum discovery in American history.[6]

In 1988, [gray whales](/source/Gray_whale) were trapped in the ice at Point Barrow, which attracted attention from the public worldwide. The Iñupiat do not hunt gray whales and joined in rescue operation *[Operation Breakthrough](/source/Operation_Breakthrough)*, which also involved Soviet icebreakers.[7]

Nuvuk (Point Barrow)

## Demographics

Historical population Census Pop. Note %± 1880 200 — 1890 152 −24.0% 1910 127 — 1920 91 −28.3% 1930 82 −9.9% 1940 28 −65.9% U.S. Decennial Census[8]

Point Barrow first appeared in the 1880 U.S. census as the unincorporated Inuit village of "Kokmullit" (AKA Nuwuk).[9] All 200 residents were Inuit.[10] In 1890, it returned as Point Barrow, which also included the Refuge & Whaling Station and native settlements of Nuwuk, Ongovehenok and winter village on "Kugaru" (Inaru) River. It reported 152 residents, of which 143 were Native American, eight were "other race" and one was white.[11] It did not report in 1900, but appeared again from 1910-1940. It has not reported separately since.

Barrow, a city of 5,000, changed its name to [Utqiagvik](/source/Utqiagvik), its Inupiaq name, on December 1, 2016.[12]

## See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Point Barrow](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Point_Barrow).

- [Alaska North Slope](/source/Alaska_North_Slope)

- [Iḷisaġvik College](/source/I%E1%B8%B7isa%C4%A1vik_College)

- [Umiak](/source/Umiak)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Northernmost Points In The United States"](https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-are-the-northernmost-points-in-the-united-states.html). *worldatlas.com*. 25 April 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BBC_2007_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BBC_2007_2-1) Black, Richard (December 31, 2007). ["Bodies point to Alaska's past"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6902858.stm). *BBC*. Retrieved November 11, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Birnick_3-0)** Anderson, Douglas D. (1998). ["Birnick culture"](https://books.google.com/books?id=_0u2y_SVnmoC&q=Birnirk+culture+Point+Barrow&pg=PA72). In Gibbons, Guy E.; Ames, Kenneth M. (eds.). [*Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: an Encyclopedia*](https://archive.org/details/archaeologyofpre0000unse/page/941). Taylor & Francis. pp. [941](https://archive.org/details/archaeologyofpre0000unse/page/941). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780815307259](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780815307259).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Heymann, Matthias; Nielsen, Henry; Nielsen, Kristen Hvidtfelt; Knudsen, Henrik (2015). "Small State versus Superpower". In van Dongen, Jeroen (ed.). *Cold War Science and the Transatlantic Circulation of Knowledge*. History of Modern Science. Brill. p. 251. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-26422-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-26422-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Oakley, Don (August 31, 1977). ["Historian Claims U.S. Tried to Buy Greenland"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/15307813/). *[Hattiesburg American](/source/Hattiesburg_American)*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). Retrieved August 16, 2019 – via [newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).(subscription required)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ap_6-0)** Nelson, W. Dale (May 2, 1991). ["Wanna Buy Greenland? The United States Once Did"](https://www.apnews.com/9d4a8021c3650800fdf6dd5903f68972). *[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press)*. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Mauer, Richard (1988-10-18). ["Unlikely Allies Rush to Free 3 Whales"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DF153DF93BA25753C1A96E948260). *New York Times*. Retrieved 2008-06-12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["U.S. Decennial Census"](https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html). Census.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Geological Survey Professional Paper"](https://books.google.com/books?id=Rr9RAQAAMAAJ&q=kokmullit&pg=PA49). 1949.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Statistics of the Population of Alaska"](https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1880a_v1-17.pdf) (PDF). *United States Census Bureau*. 1880.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Report on Population and Resources of Alaska at the Eleventh Census: 1890"](http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1890a_v8-01.pdf) (PDF). *United States Census Bureau*. Government Printing Office.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** DeMarba, Alex (November 8, 2016). ["Tributes pour into Alaska for North Slope leader Edward Itta"](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2016/11/07/tributes-pour-into-alaska-for-north-slope-leader-edward-itta/). Retrieved 2023-02-05.

## External links

- [Rocket launches at Point Barrow](https://web.archive.org/web/20030904164752/http://astronautix.com/sites/poiarrow.htm)

- [The papers of Henry W. Greist on Point Barrow](https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/1155) at Dartmouth College Library

Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Israel Other IdRef NARA Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Point Barrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Barrow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Barrow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.