Point Barrow, the northernmost point of Alaska, USA, is located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Archaeological evidence dates human (Inupiaq Eskimo) habitation in the area to around 500 A.D. The cape was explored in 1826 by Frederick W. Beachy and named after Sir John Barrow, a British popularizer of Arctic exploration; its Inupiaq name is Ukpeagvik, meaning “Place where owls are hunted.” Once important in Arctic aviation, it was the starting point of Sir George Hubert Wilkins’ flight (1928) over the North Pole and the site of a plane crash (1935) that killed Will Rogers and Wiley Post (for whom the city of Barrow Airport shares a name). Point Barrow was the site of a U.S. Navy Arctic research station from the 1940s until the 1980s, when the station was closed. The area has huge oil and gas deposits and is the northernmost point of the vast National Petroleum Reserve.
Barrow was incorporated as a city in 1959. It is connected by regular air service to Anchorage (725 miles [1,165 km] to the south) and Fairbanks (500 miles [800 km] to the south-southeast). In June 1977, Barrow hosted the first international meeting of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, a non-governmental organization representing the Inuit of Alaska (USA), Canada, Greenland and Chukotka (Russia). The local economy of Barrow is based on oil, but is supplemented by tourism, when visitors arrive during the summer season to enjoy the midnight sun. Bird watching is a popular activity. Barrow is the site of the Iḷisaġvik (Community) College (1995), located on the grounds of a former U.S. Navy research laboratory. The Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station (1893) is the oldest frame building in the Arctic. Hunting and fishing are important for subsistence; food sources include whales, seals, walruses, polar bears, caribou, ducks, and whitefish. A bowhead whale hunt and festival are held annually in the spring.