Dalton Highway
Encyclopedia
The James W. Dalton Highway, usually Dalton Highway (Alaska Route 11) is a 414-mile (667 km) road in Alaska
. It begins at the Elliott Highway
, north of Fairbanks
, and ends at Deadhorse
near the Arctic Ocean
and the Prudhoe Bay
oil
fields. Once called the North Slope Haul Road (a name by which it is still sometimes known), it was built as a supply road to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
in 1974. It is named for James Dalton, a lifelong Alaskan and an engineer who supervised construction of the Distant Early Warning Line
in Alaska and, as an expert in Arctic
engineering
, served as consultant in early oil exploration
in northern Alaska.
, is one of the most isolated roads in the United States. There are only three towns along the route: Coldfoot
(population 13) at Mile 175, Wiseman
(population 22) at Mile 188, and Deadhorse
(25 permanent residents, 3,500-5,000 or more seasonal residents depending on oil production) at the end of the highway at Mile 414. Gas is available at the E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge
(Mile 56), as well as Coldfoot and Deadhorse.
Despite its remoteness the Dalton Highway carries a good amount of truck traffic: about 160 trucks daily in the summer months and 250 trucks daily in the winter. The highway comes to within a few miles of the Arctic Ocean. Beyond the highway's terminus at Deadhorse are private road
s owned by oil companies, which are restricted to authorized vehicles only. There are, however, commercial tours that take people to the Arctic Ocean. All vehicles must take extreme precaution when driving on the road, and drive with headlights on at all times. There are quite a few steep grades (up to 12%) along the route, as well.
Truckers on the Dalton have given their own names to its various features, including: The Taps, The Shelf, The Bluffs, Oil Spill, Beaver Slide, Two and a Half Mile, Oh Shit Corner, and the Roller Coaster. The road reaches its highest altitude as it crosses the Brooks Range
at Atigun Pass
.
The highway is the featured road on the third, fourth and fifth seasons of the History reality television
series Ice Road Truckers
, which aired May 31, 2009 through August 23, 2009. It is also the subject of the second episode of America's Toughest Jobs
and the first episode of the BBC's World's Most Dangerous Roads featuring Charley Boorman
and Sue Perkins
.
Google Street View
has recently completed its coverage of nearly the entire highway, which can now be seen on Google Maps
(imaging stops at the security gate leading to the Prudhoe Bay oil field). It is one of the most northerly routes of Google street view.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. It begins at the Elliott Highway
Elliott Highway
The Elliott Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 152 miles from Fox, about 10 miles north of Fairbanks, to Manley Hot Springs...
, north of Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, and ends at Deadhorse
Deadhorse, Alaska
Deadhorse is an unincorporated community in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States, along the North Slope near the Arctic Ocean. The town consists mainly of facilities for the workers and companies that operate at the nearby Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Deadhorse is accessible via the Dalton Highway...
near the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
and the Prudhoe Bay
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
Prudhoe Bay or Sagavanirktok is a census-designated place located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 2,174 people; however, at any given time several thousand transient workers support the Prudhoe Bay oil field...
oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
fields. Once called the North Slope Haul Road (a name by which it is still sometimes known), it was built as a supply road to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
The Trans Alaska Pipeline System , includes the Trans Alaska Pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems...
in 1974. It is named for James Dalton, a lifelong Alaskan and an engineer who supervised construction of the Distant Early Warning Line
Distant Early Warning Line
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...
in Alaska and, as an expert in Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, served as consultant in early oil exploration
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
in northern Alaska.
Overview
The highway, which directly parallels the pipelineTrans-Alaska Pipeline System
The Trans Alaska Pipeline System , includes the Trans Alaska Pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems...
, is one of the most isolated roads in the United States. There are only three towns along the route: Coldfoot
Coldfoot, Alaska
Coldfoot is a census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 13 at the 2000 census....
(population 13) at Mile 175, Wiseman
Wiseman, Alaska
Wiseman is a census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 21 at the 2000 census.Wiseman is a small mining community in the Brooks Range. It was founded by gold miners who abandoned the Slate Creek settlement around 1919...
(population 22) at Mile 188, and Deadhorse
Deadhorse, Alaska
Deadhorse is an unincorporated community in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States, along the North Slope near the Arctic Ocean. The town consists mainly of facilities for the workers and companies that operate at the nearby Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Deadhorse is accessible via the Dalton Highway...
(25 permanent residents, 3,500-5,000 or more seasonal residents depending on oil production) at the end of the highway at Mile 414. Gas is available at the E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge
E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge
The E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge is a girder bridge spanning the Yukon River in Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska. The bridge carries both the Dalton Highway and the Alaska Pipeline in connecting Fairbanks with Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. Upon completion, the E. L...
(Mile 56), as well as Coldfoot and Deadhorse.
Despite its remoteness the Dalton Highway carries a good amount of truck traffic: about 160 trucks daily in the summer months and 250 trucks daily in the winter. The highway comes to within a few miles of the Arctic Ocean. Beyond the highway's terminus at Deadhorse are private road
Private road
A private road is a road owned and maintained by a private individual, organization, or company rather than by a government.Consequently, unauthorized use of the road may be considered trespassing, and some of the usual rules of the road may not apply...
s owned by oil companies, which are restricted to authorized vehicles only. There are, however, commercial tours that take people to the Arctic Ocean. All vehicles must take extreme precaution when driving on the road, and drive with headlights on at all times. There are quite a few steep grades (up to 12%) along the route, as well.
Truckers on the Dalton have given their own names to its various features, including: The Taps, The Shelf, The Bluffs, Oil Spill, Beaver Slide, Two and a Half Mile, Oh Shit Corner, and the Roller Coaster. The road reaches its highest altitude as it crosses the Brooks Range
Brooks Range
The Brooks Range is a mountain range in far northern North America. It stretches from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada's Yukon Territory, a total distance of about 1100 km . The mountains top out at over 2,700 m . The range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old...
at Atigun Pass
Atigun Pass
Atigun Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass across the Brooks Range in Alaska, located at the head of the Dietrich River.. It is where the Dalton Highway crosses the Continental Divide , and is the highest pass in Alaska that is maintained throughout the year. Atigun is the only pass in the...
.
The highway is the featured road on the third, fourth and fifth seasons of the History reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series Ice Road Truckers
Ice Road Truckers
Ice Road Truckers is a documentary-style reality television series that premiered on History on June 17, 2007.-History:In 2000, History aired a 46-minute episode titled "Ice Road Truckers" as part of the Suicide Missions series...
, which aired May 31, 2009 through August 23, 2009. It is also the subject of the second episode of America's Toughest Jobs
America's Toughest Jobs
America's Toughest Jobs is a reality television show that lasted one season and aired on the American television network NBC. It pitted contestants against each other as they attempted a series of difficult and dangerous jobs...
and the first episode of the BBC's World's Most Dangerous Roads featuring Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman is an English TV adventurer, travel writer and actor. He is well known for his association with motorcycles and enthusiasm for biking.-Education:...
and Sue Perkins
Sue Perkins
Sue Perkins is an English comedienne, broadcaster, actress, and writer.-Education:Perkins was educated at Croham Hurst School, an independent school for girls in Croydon in South London, at the same time as the BBC Breakfast News presenter Susanna Reid...
.
Google Street View
Google Street View
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world...
has recently completed its coverage of nearly the entire highway, which can now be seen on Google Maps
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
(imaging stops at the security gate leading to the Prudhoe Bay oil field). It is one of the most northerly routes of Google street view.
Places along the Dalton Highway
- Elliott HighwayElliott HighwayThe Elliott Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends 152 miles from Fox, about 10 miles north of Fairbanks, to Manley Hot Springs...
(Dalton Highway Junction), mile 0 (km 0) - The Taps, mile 0 - 15 (km 0 - 24)
- Hess Creek Overlook, Rest Area mile 21 (km 34) -- A pullout overlooking Hess Creek, which heads west to meet the Yukon RiverYukon RiverThe Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
. - Hess Creek, mile 24 (km 39)
- Trans-Alaska Pipeline SystemTrans-Alaska Pipeline SystemThe Trans Alaska Pipeline System , includes the Trans Alaska Pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems...
(TAPS) Pump Station No. 6, mile 54 (km 87) - E. L. Patton Yukon River BridgeE. L. Patton Yukon River BridgeThe E. L. Patton Yukon River Bridge is a girder bridge spanning the Yukon River in Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska. The bridge carries both the Dalton Highway and the Alaska Pipeline in connecting Fairbanks with Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. Upon completion, the E. L...
, mile 55 (km 90) - Hot Spot Cafe, mile 61 (km 98)
- 7 Mile Camp of Alaska Department of Transportation, mile 62 (km 100)
- Hamlin Hills Creek, mile 73 (km 117)
- Roller Coaster, mile 76 (km 122)
- Dall Creek, mile 91 (km 146)
- Finger MountainFinger MountainFinger Mountain is a topographical formation in interior Alaska. Not actually a mountain, it is a wide broad hill, with an altitude of around 1312 ft.. It is named for Finger Rock, a distinctive granite protrusion on its surface. Finger Mountain Wayside is a partially-maintained pullout along...
Wayside, mile 98 (km 158) - Kanuti River Bridge, mile 106 (km 171)
- Beaver Slide, mile 110 (km 177)
- Fish Creek, mile 114 (km 183)
- Arctic CircleArctic CircleThe Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
Wayside, Rest Area, mile 115 (km 185) – A short side road leads to viewing deck with interpretive displays. - Alder Mountain, mile 119 (km 192)
- Connection Rock, mile 121 (km 195)
- Bonanza Creek Bridges, mile 125 - 126 (km 201 - 202)
- Oh Shit Corner, mile 126 (km 202)
- Two and a Half Mile, mile 129 (km 208)
- Gobblers Knob, mile 132 (km 212) – A pullout offering a view of the Brooks RangeBrooks RangeThe Brooks Range is a mountain range in far northern North America. It stretches from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada's Yukon Territory, a total distance of about 1100 km . The mountains top out at over 2,700 m . The range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old...
to the north. - Prospect CreekProspect Creek, AlaskaProspect Creek is a very small settlement approximately 180 miles north of present day Fairbanks and 25 miles southeast of present day Bettles, Alaska. Years ago it was home to numerous mining expeditions and the camp for the building of the Alaskan pipeline. Today, it is mostly desolate with...
, mile 135 (km 217) – Site of the lowest recorded temperature in the United States. - Junction Bettles Winter Access Road, mile 136 (km 219)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 5, mile 137 (km 221)
- Jim River Camp of Alaska Department of Transportation, mile 139 (km 223)
- Jim River Bridges, mile 140 - 144 (km 225 - 232)
- Douglas Creek, mile 142 (km 229)
- Grayling Lake Wayside, Rest Area, mile 150 (km 241) – A glacier carved this U-shaped valley and left a shallow lake.
- South Fork Koyukuk River Bridge, mile 156 (km 251)
- Koyukuk, mile 157 (km 253)
- ColdfootColdfoot, AlaskaColdfoot is a census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 13 at the 2000 census....
, mile 175 (km 282) - Slate Creek, mile 176 (km 284)
- Marion Creek Campground, mile 180 (km 290) – A developed campground operated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
- WisemanWiseman, AlaskaWiseman is a census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 21 at the 2000 census.Wiseman is a small mining community in the Brooks Range. It was founded by gold miners who abandoned the Slate Creek settlement around 1919...
, mile 189 (km 304) - Rest Area, mile 205 (km 330)
- Mid Fork Koyukuk River Bridge, mile 206 (km 331)
- Dietrich River Bridge, mile 208 (km 334)
- Sukakpak Mountain, mile 209 (km 336)
- Dietrich Camp, mile 211 (km 340)
- Nutriwik Creek, mile 230 (km 370)
- Rest Area, mile 238 (km 383)
- Chandalar Shelf ("The Shelf"), mile 240 (km 385)
- Chandalar Camp of Alaska Department of Transportation, mile 241 (km 387)
- West Fork of North Fork Chandalar River Bridge, mile 245 (km 394)
- Avalanche Zone (around 40 avalanche paths), mile 246 - 250 (km 396 - 402)
- Continental DivideContinental DivideThe Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
/ Atigun PassAtigun PassAtigun Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass across the Brooks Range in Alaska, located at the head of the Dietrich River.. It is where the Dalton Highway crosses the Continental Divide , and is the highest pass in Alaska that is maintained throughout the year. Atigun is the only pass in the...
, mile 248 (km 399) – The highest-altitude point on the road (elevation 4,739 ft / 1,422 m). Rivers to the south flow to the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
or Bering SeaBering SeaThe Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
; rivers north of here flow into the Arctic OceanArctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
. - Atigun Camp, mile 252 (km 406)
- Atigun River Bridge, mile 255 (km 410)
- Trevor Creek, mile 260 (km 418)
- Roche Mountonee Creek, mile 267 (km 430)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 4, mile 269 (km 433)
- Holden Creek, mile 269 (km 433)
- Galbraith Lake, mile 275 (km 443) – The remains of a large glacial lakeGlacial lakeA glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...
that once occupied the entire Atigun Valley. Downstream from the bridge is the Atigun Gorge and the western boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife RefugeArctic National Wildlife RefugeThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
. The Galbraith Lake AirportGalbraith Lake AirportGalbraith Lake Airport is a state-owned, public-use airport located at Galbraith Lake in the North Slope Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has an office at the airport. The lake and airport are located west of the Dalton Highway and north of the Trans-Alaska...
is located to the northwest of the lake. - Island Lake, mile 278 (km 447)
- Toolik Lake, mile 284 (km 457) – The University of Alaska FairbanksUniversity of Alaska FairbanksThe University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
built a research station here in 1975. - Toolik Hill, mile 288 (km 463)
- Kuparuk River Bridge, mile 290 (km 467)
- Sag River Camp of Alaska Department of Transportation, mile 307 (km 494)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 3, mile 312 (km 502)
- Oil Spill Hill, mile 321 (km 516)
- Ice Cut, mile 327 (km 526)
- Dan Creek, mile 332 (km 534)
- Happy Valley, mile 336 (km 541) – Originally the site of a pipeline construction camp. Offers access to the Sagavanirktok RiverSagavanirktok RiverThe Sagavanirktok River is a river in Alaska's North Slope. It is approximately 180 miles long, and originates on the north slope of the Brooks Range, flowing north to the Beaufort Sea near Prudhoe Bay. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and Dalton Highway roughly parallel it from Atigun Pass to...
as well as room for camping. There is an active airstrip here. - Sag River Overlook, mile 348 (km 560) – Trail leads to a viewing deck with interpretive displays. The Philip Smith Mountains, located 35 miles away, are visible on a clear day.
- Roadside Rest Area, mile 356 (km 573)
- TAPS Pump Station No. 2, mile 359 (km 577)
- Franklin Bluffs ("The Bluffs"), mile 379 (km 610) – Named for John FranklinJohn FranklinRear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
, a British explorer who mapped the arctic coastline and searched for the Northwest PassageNorthwest PassageThe Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
. - DeadhorseDeadhorse, AlaskaDeadhorse is an unincorporated community in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States, along the North Slope near the Arctic Ocean. The town consists mainly of facilities for the workers and companies that operate at the nearby Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Deadhorse is accessible via the Dalton Highway...
, mile 414 (km 666) – The public highway ends here, about 8 miles (13 km) from the Arctic Ocean.