The World's Most Beautiful Places
Steam billows from a coal-fired fossil fuel power plant in Alaska on a cold sub-zero night in the middle of winter. Located along the Chena River, in Fairbanks, which is located in the North Star Borough, the Interior part of the state and in many ways the coldest, especially as you head north toward the Arctic Circle a few hundred miles away.
A polar bear ice sculpture in winter at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, at sunset. The polar bear, also known as Nanook to the native Inuit, is the symbol of the university, and considered the master of bears, that decides whether hunters deserve to find and successfully hunt other bears.
A view of the setting sun around the winter solstice (December 21st) in Fairbanks, from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks campus. Given Fairbanks’ proximity to the Arctic Circle, approximately 200 miles away by road, it experiences only 3 hours and 42 minute of sunlight above the horizon on the shortest day of the year. This leads to long nights, short days, and brutally cold temperatures on average. On this particular day it was -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius).
Conversely, on June 21st, the Summer Solstice Fairbanks experiences 21 hrs and 50 minutes of sunlight above the horizon, and in truth it never really gets dark at that time of year, which is why many residents put covers over their windows at night.
And for those wondering what the significance of the Arctic Circle is to all this, the Arctic Circle is the northern latitude on the Earth’s surface, where for one day each summer the sun never sets, and for one day each winter, the sun never rises.