North Pole in Alaska
Friday, 23 December 2022 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika General
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© Dylan Avery/cc-by-sa-4.0
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North Pole is a small city in the
Fairbanks North Star Borough ,
Alaska ,
United States . Incorporated in 1953, it is part of the Fairbanks
metropolitan statistical area . As of the
2020 census , the city had a population of 2,243, up from 2,117 in 2010. Despite its name, the city is about 1,700 miles (2,700 km) south of Earth’s geographic
North Pole and 125 miles (200 km) south of the
Arctic Circle . The city is a summertime attraction for tourists visiting nearby Fairbanks and, due to its location on the
Richardson Highway , those traveling to and from the
Alaska Highway and
Valdez . North Pole was home to two oil refineries, the town’s major industry aside from tourism, but closed because of
sulfolane contamination in groundwater. The larger refinery, operated by
Flint Hills Resources , was a major source of jet fuel for
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport . Tanker car traffic on the
Alaska Railroad , entering and leaving the refinery, frequently bisects the city.
North Pole’s biggest attraction is a gift shop named Santa Claus House, the modern-day incarnation of a trading post (gift shop) established in the town’s early days. The Santa Claus House is known for the world’s largest fiberglass statue of Santa Claus outside. A small group of domesticated reindeer are just outside.
Grass roof helps keep warmth inside © Library of Congress - Carol M. Highsmith
Before
Christmas each year, the
USPS post office in North Pole receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa Claus, and thousands more from people wanting the town’s
postmark on their Christmas
greeting cards to their families. It advertises the
ZIP code 99705 as the ZIP code of Santa. A community program also responds to letters addressed to 1 Santa Claus Lane.
Christmas-themed streets in North Pole include Santa Claus Lane, St. Nicholas Drive, Snowman Lane, and Kris Kringle Drive. Street lights in the city are decorated in a
candy cane motif, and many local businesses have similar decorations. The city’s firetrucks and ambulances are all red, while the police cars are green and white. The city also has an all-female flat-track
Roller Derby league, the North Pole Babes in Toyland (NPBT), whose athletes have Christmas and North Pole-inspired Skater names.
Read more on
North Pole ,
travelalaska.com – North Pole ,
explorefairbanks.com – North Pole ,
Wikivoyage North Pole and
Wikipedia North Pole (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine - Coronavirus Resource Center -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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