Fairbanks
Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks – this is Alaska’s second-largest city (with just over 100,000 residents). The city has a university (University of Alaska), an Army base and an Air Force Base and is known for dog mushing, northern lights and its extremes of light, dark, warmth and cold. In winter, temperatures as low as -62 degrees have been recorded; temperatures in the 80s are common in summer. Summer days are also long – Fairbanks enjoys more than 22 hours of daylight when the solstice arrives on June 21.
Fairbanks was founded during the early 20th century by gold prospectors. The city’s Fort Knox Gold Mine is currently the state’s largest. Fairbanks sits at the confluence of the Richardson Highway, George Parks Highway, Steese Highway and Elliott Highway, which is why it’s known as a hub city. An international airport also serves Fairbanks with frequent flights from within Alaska as well as from the Lower 48 and even countries like Japan and Germany. The Alaska Railroad offers service from Anchorage via Denali National Park.