Barrow is located on the coast of the Chukchi Sea, 10 miles south of Point
Barrow from which it takes its name. The name Barrow is derived from Sir
John Barrow, 2nd Secretary of the British Admiralty. The area that includes
the present village of Barrow is traditionally known as Ukpeagvik, 'place
where snowy owls are hunted' (Utqiagvik is an alternate spelling). An
arctic climate is present in Barrow with an average precipitation of 5
inches/year, including snowfall of approximately 20 inches. Temperatures
range from -50 to 80 °F throughout the year, with an average temperature
of 40 °F in the summer. Barrow also experiences 24 hour/day of day
light during the summer for approximately 3 months. Conversely, 3 months
of darkness occurs during the winter months. Barrow is the largest city
on the North Slope with a population of 4,541 people, the majority of
which are Iñupiat Eskimos.
Traditional marine mammal hunting and other subsistence practices remain an important aspect of local culture. Bowhead, gray, killer, and beluga whales migrate near Barrow in the spring and fall. The most important subsistence activity is the pursuit of bowhead whales. Barrow whalers pursue the bowhead during the spring and fall migrations. During the spring, the passing whales are hunted at sea ice openings called leads. During the fall, whaling is a shore-based activity. Generally, the spring whaling season produces the majority of the whales landed in Barrow each year. While the actual hunting of bowheads occurs for brief periods during the spring and fall, whaling involves preparations that take place throughout the entire year. AEWC Executive Director, Maggie Ahmaogak, and Barbara Bodenhorn provide explanations of year around whaling preparations and activities.
The Utqiagvik archaeological site consists of over 60 mounds representing
prehistoric winter dwellings and associated archaeological features. A
major archaeological excavation was conducted in Barrow from 1981-1983
that resulted in the investigation of many houses and associated features.
Many house mounds are still visible in the village of Barrow today and
some of the collection can be viewed at the Iñupiaq
Heritage Center. A full
report is available from the NSB-IHLC. Additional archaeological sites
are located at the Nuwuk site and along the coast in the vicinity of Barrow.
A meteorological and magnetic research station was established near Barrow
in 1881. In 1893, the Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station was constructed.
Barrow was also home to the Naval
Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL). Barrow is currently the economic,
transportation and administrative hub for the North
Slope Borough and the Ukpeagvik
Iñupiat Corporation is the Barrow village corporation. Barrow
has three schools: Ipalook
Elementary School, Hopson
Middle School, and Barrow
High School.
Angier, John. 1980. Umealit: the Whale Hunters. Boston, MA: WGBH Boston.
Arctic Anthropology: The Frozen Family from the Utqiagvik Site, Barrow, Alaska: Papers from a Symposium. Barrow, AK: Commission on Iñupiat History, Language and Culture Commission
Blackman, Margaret B. 1989. Sadie Brower Neakok, an Iñupiaq Woman. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Bodenhorn, Barbara A. 1989. The Animals Come to Me, They Know I Share: Iñupiaq Kinship, Changing Economic Relations and Enduring World Views on Alaska's North Slope. Thesis (Ph. D.) - University of Cambridge.
Bodenhorn, Barbara A. 1988. Documenting Iñupiat Family Relationships in Changing Times. Report prepared for North Slope Borough Commission on Iñupiat History, Language and Culture Commission and Alaska Humanities Forum.
Brewster, Karen Nichols. 1998. An Umialik's Life : Conversations with Harry Brower Sr. Thesis (M.A.) - University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Brower, Charles D.; Farrelly, Philip J. ; Anson, Lyman. 1994 1942. Fifty Years Below Zero: A Lifetime of Adventure in the Far North. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press.
Burch, Ernest. S. 1998. The Iñupiaq Eskimo Nations of Northwest Alaska. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press.
Burkher, Pauline C. and Wallace Itta. 1989. Ten Legged Bear and Other Barrow Eskimo Stories. Anchorage: P.C. Burkher.
Ford, James Alfred. 1959. Eskimo Prehistory in the Vicinity of Point Barrow, Alaska. New York: Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, v. 47, pt. 1.
Hall, Edwin S.; Dekin, Albert A.; and Cassedy, Daniel F. 1990. The Utqiagvik Excavations. Barrow, AK: North Slope Borough Commission on Iñupiat History, Language and Culture.
Libbey, David. 1981. Utqiagvik Ethnohistory: A Report. Fairbanks, AK: Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Murdoch, John. 1988 1892. Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Sheehan G. W. 1997. In the Belly of the Whale: Trade and War in Eskimo Society: An Account of Politics, Ceremonialism, and Survival in Northern Alaska, AD 1200-1900. Aurora Monograph Series, Vol. 5.
Spencer, Robert F. 1959. The North Alaskan Eskimo a Study in Ecology and Society. Washington : U.S. G.P.O. Washington : U.S. G.P.O., Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulletin,171 .
Stanford, Dennis J. 1973. The Origins of Thule Culture. Albuquerque : University of New Mexico.
Stephen R. Braund & Associates with Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage. 1987. North Slope Subsistence Study: Barrow. Anchorage: The Region.
Weather:
http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/PABR.html
From the National Weather service
http://www.weather.com/weather/cities/us_ak_barrow.html
From Weather.com
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/AKCityClimo/BRW_rh.html
Barrow Climatology
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/AKCityClimo/akstats.html
Other charts depicting Barrow weather
Sea Ice:
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/westarct.htm
Current Conditions
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/special_support/forecast/west/
30 - Day Forecast
http://polar.wwb.noaa.gov/seaice/alaska.html
Sea Ice conditions for AK, images from the last 14 days
http://polar.wwb.noaa.gov/seaice/ak.html#click
Sea ice map from NOAA
http://polar.wwb.noaa.gov/seaice/Forecasts.html
Sea Ice forecast models for AK - 1 through 6 day forecasts
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/~eicken/he_proj/BRWICE/bcam1.htm
Barrow sea ice camera
http://www.dced.state.ak.us/mra/CF_CIS.cfm
From AK Dept. of Community and Economic Development
http://www.co.north-slope.ak.us/ihlc/
Iñupiaq History Language & Culture (IHLC)
http://www.nps.gov/inup/home.htm
Inupiat Heritage Center
http://www.arcticculture.about.com/culture/arcticculture/library/communities/bl-Barrow.htm
A history of Barrow from About.com
http://www.arcticculture.about.com/culture/arcticculture/library/communities/bl-Barrow.htm
Barrow Web Camera
http://www.nsbsd.org/bhs/default.htm
Barrow High School
http://www.nsbsd.org/hms/default.htm
Hopson Middle School
http://www.nsbsd.org/ipk/default.htm
Ipalook Elementary School
http://www.sfos.uaf.edu/basc/
Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC)
http://www.ukpik.com/heritage.htm
General Barrow information from UIC Construction
