Page Contents for Northway Village, Alaska

Statistics & Facts

Location

Weather & Climate

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Economy

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Alaska state capital is Juneau.
The population of Northway Village is approximately 103 (1999), 98 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 37 (1990), 30 (2010).
The amount of land area in Northway Village is 10.871 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 1.121 sq kilometers.
The distance from Northway Village to Washington DC is 3398 miles.
The distance to the Alaska state capital is 429 miles. (as the crow flies)
Northway Village is positioned 62.97 degrees north of the equator and 141.90 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Northway Village average annual precipitation is 10 inches peryear.
Northway Village average annual snowfall is 30 inches per year.
The average low temperature is -27.0 (winter), 14.7 (spring), 48.1 (summer), 13.1 (fall) degrees F.
The average high temperature is -10.3 (winter), 41.4 (spring), 69.4 (summer), 29.7 (fall) degrees F.

Location

located between Nabesna River and Skate Lake, on a 9-mile spur road off of the Alaskan Highway. It lies in the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, 42 miles from the Canadian border.
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Climate

in the Continental climate zone, with long, cold winters and relatively warm summers. Temperatures range from -27 to 70. Extreme temperatures have been recorded from -72 to 91
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Weather

variable with long, cold winters and relatively warm summers. Temperatures range from -27 to 70. . Most of the precipitation comes in the summer with July having the highest amount of over 2 inches. Extreme temperatures have been recorded from -72 to 91. Northway lies in the Continental climate zone. Here is a weather almanac page for the Northway area.
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History & History Related Items

The area around Northway was first utilized by semi-nomadic Athabascans who pursued seasonal subsistence activities in the vicinity of Scottie and Gardiner Creeks and Chisana, Nabesna, and Tanana Rivers. Their first contacts with white people probably occurred in the late 1880s during periodic trips to trading posts along the Yukon River. White traders entered the region as early as 1912, and by the 1920s, had established trading posts at Gardiner Creek and along the Nabesna River. Nabesna, the first settlement in the area, was located across the Nabesna River from the site now occupied by Northway Village. Flooding led to the abandonment of Nabesna in the 1940s. Residence at the new site provided Native workers with construction jobs on the Alaska Highway and at the Northway airfield during World War II. A post office was first established in 1941. In 1942, the name of the village was changed to Northway to honor the village chief, T'aiy Ta', who had adopted the name Northway from a riverboat captain who traveled the Tanana and Nabesna Rivers in the early 1900s. Chief Walter Northway was thought to be 117 years old at the time of his death in 1993.
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Attractions

Northway Village is a traditional Upper Tanana Athabascan community, practicing a subsistence lifestyle. Traditions such as dancing, crafts, hunting and trapping continue today.

Northway Village is connected to the Alaska Highway by an unpaved road. Regular buses and truck services are available. There is an asphalt runway at nearby Northway. Regular flights are available to Fairbanks, as well as charter services.
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Economy & Industry

The school, clinic and other local services provide the only employment opportunities in the village. Subsistence activities provide most food sources - moose, rabbit, ptarmigan, ducks, geese, whitefish and berries are harvested. Some residents travel to the Copper River for salmon. Families also trap and sell furs, and produce birch-bark baskets, moccasins, mukluks, mittens, hats, and beadwork accessories.
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Northway Village

Miscellany

All village households currently lack plumbing facilities. Individual wells and septic tanks have significant freezing problems. Residents currently haul water and use honeybuckets or privies, although major improvements are underway. A new community well, water treatment, washeteria, and sewage lagoon were recently completed. A water and sewer haul system is under construction in the village, and will include holding tanks and household plumbing. Refuse is hauled to Northway's landfill.

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The population of Northway Junction was:
No population was recorded prior to the 1980 census
1980 112
1990 113
1999 103