North Pole Facts

Geography: Interior Alaska’s Lat. /Long. is 64.83° N, 14.7° W, the same as Oslo, Norway. North Pole lies 360 miles north Of Anchorage and 125 miles south of the Arctic Circle. North Pole is located 11 miles southeast of Fairbanks, the largest city in the Interior, and midway between Eielson AFB and Ft. Wainwright Army post. The community of Salcha lies 10 miles to the southeast of North Pole, with Delta Junction another 80 miles to the southeast on the Richardson Hwy. The area’s elevation is 436 ft. and nearby rivers includes the Chena, Tanana, Badger (Slough) and Salcha Rivers. The White Mountains lie to the north and the Alaska Range to the South, with the Tanana Valley comprising the vast 200,000 square miles in between.

Weather: Locals claim Interior Alaska has only two seasons - winter and “break-up.” It is true that North Pole generally has snow on the ground from late September through April. The big thaw that follows marks the beginning of an all too short “spring-summer-fall” season. Average January temperatures range from -20 to -2 °F; average July temperatures range from +49 to +75 °F. The record high was +95 °F in 1969 and record low as -67 °F (that’s minus 67°F absolute, not “chill factor”) in 1975. Annual precipitation is 11.5 inches, with 67.8 inches of snowfall.

Moderate rainfall, dry air, and long hours of daylight characterize the summers, while moderate snowfall, even drier air, and many hours of darkness rule in winter. The longest day in summer has nearly 23 hours sunlight and the shortest day of winter has just 3 hours and 43 minutes of sunlight.

North Pole - Santa’s Official Post Office: Thousands of letters addressed simply to “Santa Claus, North Pole” arrive at the North Pole Post Office each Christmas season. Several North Pole businesses and service organizations endeavor to continue a long-standing tradition, started decades ago at Eielson AFB, of sending individual hand-written answers to each child’s letter.