This is a list of White Alice Communications System sites. The White Alice Communications System

White Alice Communications System

The White Alice Communications System was a United States Air Force telecommunication link system constructed in Alaska during the cold war. It featured tropospheric scatter links and line-of-sight microwave radio links...

 (WACS) was a United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 telecommunication

Telecommunication

Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...

 link system constructed in Alaska

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...

 during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. It featured tropospheric scatter

Tropospheric scatter

Tropospheric scatter is a method of transmitting and receiving microwave radio signals over considerable distances – often up to 300 km...

 links and line-of-sight

Line-of-sight propagation

Line-of-sight propagation refers to electro-magnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling in a straight line...

 microwave radio links.

Original White Alice installations

These sites were part of the initial White Alice system and connected Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) sites with central command and control facilities. The Boswell Bay to Neklasson Lake link was both the first and last operational link in the White Alice system, serving from 1956 to 1985.

Tropospheric scatter sites

Location	Operational	Collocated with	Coordinates	Notes
Aniak, Alaska Aniak, Alaska Aniak is a city in the Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 572.-Geography: ....	1958–1979	N/A	61°34′58"N 159°35′33"W	In flight path for Aniak Airport and antennas were painted with a red and white checkerboard pattern.
Anvil Mountain, Alaska Nome, Alaska Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...	1958–1978	N/A	64°33′52"N 165°22′25"W	7½ km (4.7 mi.) north of Nome, Alaska
Bear Creek, Alaska Tanana, Alaska Tanana is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 308. It is formerly known as Clachotin...	1958?-1979?	N/A	65°10′49"N 152°13′22"W	Stand-alone site with a 5200 sq ft (483.1 m²) dormitory and a 7200 sq ft (668.9 m²) equipment and power building approximately six miles north of Tanana, Alaska
Bethel, Alaska Bethel, Alaska Bethel is a city located near the west coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, west of Anchorage. Accessible only by air and river, Bethel is the main port on the Kuskokwim River and is an administrative and transportation hub for the 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.Bethel is the largest...	1958–1979	AC&W site	60°44′36"N 161°39′58"W	Originally six antennae. Last antenna demolished in August 2011.
Big Mountain, Alaska Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska -National protected areas:* Alagnak Wild River* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Sutwik Island* Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge * Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve...	1957–1979	N/A	59°23′25"N 155°13′39"W	Demolished 2003–2005
Boswell Bay, Alaska Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska Valdez-Cordova Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 10,195. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...	1956–1985	N/A	60°25′01"N 146°09′12"W	Demolished 1987 after extensive historical documentation.
Fort Yukon, Alaska Fort Yukon, Alaska As of the census of 2000, there were 595 people, 225 households, and 137 families residing in the city. The population density was 85.0 people per square mile . There were 317 housing units at an average density of 45.3 per square mile...	1958-UKN	709th AC&W	Est.66°34′10"N 145°14′26"W	150 ft antennas added in 1962 to Barter Island. Demolished Summer of 1999.
Granite Mountain, Alaska Nome Census Area, Alaska Nome Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 9,196. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest community by far is the city of Nome....	1957–1976	N/A	65°25′55"N 161°14′9"W	Lease to Alascom 1976. 4x60 ft, 2x 30 ft (9.1 m) dishes
Indian Mountain, Alaska Hughes, Alaska Hughes is a city in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 78 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....		AC&W / Long Range RADAR	66°04′07"N 153°41′23"W	Top camp was around 4200 ft (1,280.2 m) and 10 miles (16.1 km) away from bottom camp, which contained airfield and Geodesic dome Geodesic dome A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...  support buildings.
Kalakaket Creek, Alaska Galena, Alaska Galena is the largest city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 675.-History:...	1957-	N/A	64°25′48"N 156°50′19"W	Originally Tropo only, TD-2 microwave link added later.
King Salmon, Alaska King Salmon, Alaska King Salmon is a census-designated place in Bristol Bay Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2000 census the population was 442...	1957–1979	King Salmon Air Force Base	58°42′19"N 156°40′08"W
Kotzebue, Alaska Kotzebue, Alaska As of the census of 2000, there were 3,082 people, 889 households, and 656 families residing in the city. The population density was 114.1 people per square mile . There were 1,007 housing units at an average density of 37.3 per square mile...	1957–1979	AC&W station / FAA	66°50′34"N 162°36′13"W	3 miles south of Kotzebue
Cape Lisburne, Alaska Point Hope, Alaska Point Hope is a city in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 757.-Geography:...	1957–1979	AC&W / Long range radar site	68°52′11"N 166°08′56"W	Northern-most and only seasonal WACS, closed during winter. A $6.5 million composite building was constructed in 1970.
Middleton Island, Alaska	1956–1985	AC&W station / FAA	59°27′36"N 146°18′21"W	30 ft parabolic dish
Cape Newenham, Alaska Platinum, Alaska Platinum is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 41 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Platinum is located at .-History:...	1958–1979	Originally AC&W, now Long Range RADAR	Est.58°38′46"N 162°01′48"W	Revamped in 1974 for $6 Million. Demolished by 1987.
North River, Alaska Unalakleet, Alaska Unalakleet is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States, in the western part of the state. At the 2000 census the population was 747. Unalakleet is known in the region and around Alaska for its salmon and king crab harvests; the residents rely heavily on caribou, ptarmigan, oogruk , and...	1958–1978	Near an AC&W site	63°53′00"N 160°31′50"W	Demolished 1993–1995
Northeast Cape, Alaska St. Lawrence Island St. Lawrence Island is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait, at about 63°30' North 173°20' West. The village of Gambell is located on the northwest cape, from the Chukchi Peninsula in the Russian Far East. The island is part of Alaska, but closer to...	1958-	AC&W	63°17′34"N 168°42′05"W	A very remote site, demolished in 2003 for $10.5 million. The While Alice site was located about 1/2 mile from the USAF AC&W site.
Pillar Mountain, Kodiak, Alaska Kodiak, Alaska Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...	1957–1979	N/A	Est.57°47′19"N 152°26′12"W	Dismantled in 1997
Cape Romanzof, Alaska Wade Hampton Census Area, Alaska Wade Hampton Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population was 7,028. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...	1958–1979	AC&W / Minimally attended RADAR	61°46′53"N 165°57′04"W	Upper camp was accessible via tramway and by road. The AC&W site was located in the crater of an extinct volcano. The While Alice site was perched on, I believe, the west rim of the crater.
Sparrevohn, Alaska Lime Village, Alaska Lime Village is a census-designated place in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. The 2000 census found a population of six.In July 2008, Lime Village gained notoriety when it was reported that their gasoline prices were more than double of the already-high national average of over $4/gallon...	1957–1979	AC&W	61°06′22"N 155°36′36"W	Demolished prior to 1987. Very costly construction, dangerous runway. Long Range RADAR still at site.
Tatalina, Alaska McGrath, Alaska As of the census of 2000, there were 401 people, 145 households, and 99 families residing in the city. The population density was 8.2 people per square mile . There were 213 housing units at an average density of 4.4 per square mile...	1957–1979	AC&W site	62°55′41"N 156°01′30"W	Tram used to reach top camp. WACS located west of RADARs in Top camp.
Tin City, Alaska Nome Census Area, Alaska Nome Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 9,196. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest community by far is the city of Nome....	1958–1975	AC&W/Long range radar	65°34′58"N 167°56′25"W	Located on Cape Mountain, on a different peak from the radar.

Microwave sites

Location	Operational	Collocated with	Coordinates	Notes
Clam Gulch, Alaska Clam Gulch, Alaska Clam Gulch is a census-designated place in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 173.-Geography:Clam Gulch is located at on the shores of Cook Inlet...	1957-	N/A	Est.60°12′51"N 151°24′52.4"W	TD-2 Microwave, Acquired by Alascom operating in 1987
Naptowne, Alaska Kenai, Alaska Kenai is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 7,464...		N/A
Rabbit Creek, Alaska		N/A
R1-N aka Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...	1956-	Located on Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...	Est.61°15′00"N 149°48′00"W	Unattended TD-2 microwave link
Soldotna, Alaska Soldotna, Alaska As of the census of 2000, there were 3,759 people, 1,465 households, and 969 families residing in the city. As of 2008, the population was close to 4,200. The population density was 541.9 people per square mile . There were 1,670 housing units at an average density of 240.7 per square mile...		N/A
Starisky, Alaska Homer, Alaska Homer is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 5,364. One of Homer's nicknames is "the cosmic hamlet by the sea"; another is "the end of the road"...		N/A

Dual Tropo/Micro

Location	Operational	Collocated with	Coordinates	Notes
Neklasson Lake, Alaska Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...	1956–1985	N/A	Est.61°37′43"N 149°16′09"W	Boswell Bay to Neklasson Lake was the last operational link
Diamond Ridge, Alaska Homer, Alaska Homer is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 5,364. One of Homer's nicknames is "the cosmic hamlet by the sea"; another is "the end of the road"...	1957-	FAA?/Homer, Alaska Homer, Alaska Homer is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 5,364. One of Homer's nicknames is "the cosmic hamlet by the sea"; another is "the end of the road"...	59°40′14.6"N 151°34′07"W	Acquired by Alascom, Micro in use / Tropo removed as of 1987
Pedro Dome, Alaska Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska -Demographics:As of the 2000 census, 82,840 people, 29,777 households, and 20,516 families were residing in the borough. The population density was 11 people per square mile . There were 33,291 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...	1958-?	N/A	65°02′2.5"N 147°30′07"W	Tropo was demolished prior to 1986. Micro still operated by AT&T.

Note: There were Tropo Billboards at Soldotna (co-located with the TD2) and at Fire Island, as well.
Also, There was a TD-2 site at what is now the Civil Air Patrol Wing Headquarters on Elmendorf AFB—it was called R2N.
And, there is a TD-2 site at Rabbit Creek, that was originally, and briefly, called R1S, which linked into the TD-2 site at Naptowne.

• Est. indicates location unclear from USGS topo

The BMEWS Network

The second segment of White Alice was a pair of TD-2 microwave radio links that supported the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System

The United States Air Force Ballistic Missile Early Warning System was the first operational ballistic missile detection radar. The original system was built in 1959 and could provide long-range warning of a ballistic missile attack over the polar region of the Northern Hemisphere. They also...

 (BMEWS) at Clear Air Force Station

Clear Air Force Station

Clear Air Force Station is a United States Air Force Station located 5 miles south of Anderson, Alaska, USA, northeast of Mount McKinley, and southwest of Fairbanks. Its primary mission is to detect incoming ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.-Overview:Clear AFS is operated by the...

. This section provided two routes from Alaska to NORAD

North American Aerospace Defense Command

North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...

 in Colorado, for this reason it was also known as the Rearward Communications System. The A Route went down the southeast coast of Alaska to a submarine cable and the B Route went east into Canada. Some of the systems were collocated with previous sites.

A Route

Aurora, Black Rapids, Boswell Bay, Cape Yakataga, Clear, Donnelly Dome, Duncan Canal, Glennallen, Harding Lake, Hoonah, McCallum, Murphy Dome, Neklasson Lake, Ocean Cape, Paxson, Pedro Dome, Sawmill, Sheep Mountain, Smuggler Cove, Tahneta Pass, Tolsona

B Route

Beaver Creek, Canyon Creek, Cathedral, Delta Junction, Gerstle River, Gold King Creek, Knob Ridge, Tok Junction

Project Stretchout sites

Project Stretchout began in 1959 and finished in the mid-1960s. It was the extension of White Alice to the Alaska Peninsula

Alaska Peninsula

The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea....

 including the Aleutian DEW 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...

 system.

Location	Operational	Collocated with	Coordinates	Notes
Cold Bay, Alaska Cold Bay, Alaska Cold Bay is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.Cold Bay is one of the main commercial centers of the Alaska Peninsula, and is home to Cold Bay Airport.-History:...		DEW Line	Est.55°15′49"N 162°53′08"W	About $8 million combined cost for Cold Bay and Cape Sarichef
Driftwood Bay, Alaska Umnak Umnak is one of the Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands. With of land area, it is the third largest island in the Aleutian archipelago and the 19th largest island in the United States. The island is home to a large volcanic caldera on Mount Okmok and is separated from Unalaska Island by Umnak Pass...		DEW Line	Est.53°58′12"N 166°52′46"W
Nikolski, Alaska Nikolski, Alaska Nikolski is a census-designated place on Umnak Island in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 39 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Nikolski is located at .According to the U.S...		DEW Line, Navy, FAA	Est.52°58′12"N 168°51′20"W
Port Heiden, Alaska Port Heiden, Alaska Port Heiden is a city in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 119.-Geography:Port Heiden is located at ....		DEW Line	Est.56°58′38"N 158°39′09"W	$3.5 million
Port Moller, Alaska Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea....		DEW Line	Est.55°58′41"N 160°30′01"W	$4.4 million to construct.
Cape Sarichef, Alaska Unimak Island Unimak Island is the largest island in the Aleutian Islands chain of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of 1,571.41 mi² , the ninth largest island in the United States and the 134th largest island in the world. It is home to Mount...	late 1950s to the mid 1970s	DEW line / LORAN station / Airfield	Est.54°35′37"N 164°55′06"W	Built atop a levelled cinder cone Volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption...

Project Bluegrass sites

Extension of the White Alice system from Nikolski to Shemya near the end of the Aleutian Islands. Both shots were over 340 miles (547.2 km), requiring large 120 ft (36.6 m) antennas and 50 kW transmitters. Both sites were demolished before 1987. In addition to the Aleutian Island extension, Project Bluegrass also included a 50 kW shot from Fort Yukon to Barter Island

Barter Island

Barter Island is an island located on the Arctic coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, east of Arey Island in the Beaufort Sea. It is about four miles long and about two miles wide at its widest point....

 to connect the northern DEW line to the White Alice system.

Location	Operational	Collocated with	Coordinates	Notes
Shemya island, Alaska Shemya Shemya or Simiya is a small island in the Near Islands group of the Semichi Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at . It has a land area of 5.903 sq mi , and is about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.The Russian vessel Saint Peter and Paul wrecked at...	Late-60s to late-70s	AC&W / FAA	52°43′25"N 174°08′21"E	Shemya to Adak shot was 393 miles (632.5 km)
Adak, Alaska Adak, Alaska Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...	Late-60s to late-70s	Navy and others	Est.51°54′25"N 176°38′26"W	Adak to Nikolski shot was 341 miles (548.8 km).