North Slope Borough, Alaska

North Slope Borough, Alaska
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Alaska
Alaska's location in the U.S.
Incorporated	July 2, 1972[1][2]
Seat	Utqiaġvik
Largest city	Utqiaġvik
Area
• Total	94,796 sq mi (245,521 km2)
• Land	88,695 sq mi (229,719 km2)
• Water	6,101 sq mi (15,802 km2), 6.4%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	9,687
• Density	0.1/sq mi (0/km²)
Congressional district	At-large
Time zone	Alaska: UTC-9/-8
Website	www.north-slope.org

The Anaktuvuk River flows North toward the Arctic Ocean. Much of the North Slope Borough is characterized by vast, uninhabited gently rolling tundra.

North Slope Borough is a borough located largely in the North Slope region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was established in 1972. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,430.^[3] The borough seat is Utqiaġvik.^[4] The mayor is Harry K. Brower Jr., elected in a special election in July 2016 after recall of the previous mayor by an April 2016 election.

History

The borough was established in 1972 by an election of the indigenous people in the region following Congressional passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. It was the first time that Native Americans had established a municipal government. The Borough had first-class status and exercised the powers of planning, zoning, taxation and schools. In 1974 it adopted a Home Rule Charter, enabling it to exercise any legitimate governmental power.^[5]

Government

It has a seven-member assembly body, elected to staggered three-year terms. The Borough's executive and administrative powers are vested in a Mayor, limited to two consecutive three-year terms.

Politics

The current mayor, Harry K. Brower Jr, was elected in July 2016 in a run-off election to serve the rest of former mayor Charlotte Brower's second term. She was recalled in April 2016, after it was reported the year before that her office had made numerous donations to individuals (including family members), sports clubs and other groups that amounted to more than $800,000 since 2011.^[6]

Harry Brower is her brother-in-law; he defeated George Ahmaogak in the runoff. Brower will have to run again in October 2017 if he wants to be re-elected to serve a full 3-year term as mayor.^[7]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 94,796 square miles (245,520 km²), of which 88,695 square miles (229,720 km²) is land and 6,101 square miles (15,800 km²) (6.4%) is water.^[8] The borough is larger than 39 states.^[9]

Its western coastline is along the Chukchi Sea, while its eastern shores (beyond Point Barrow) are on the Beaufort Sea.

The North Slope Borough is the largest county-level political subdivision in the United States by area, with a larger land area than that of the state of Utah (UT is the 13th-largest state in the nation). Although the adjacent Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is larger in area, it has no borough-level government. The borough is the fourth-least densely populated county-level entity in the United States. The Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is the least densely populated county-level entity).

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

• Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska - southeast
• Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska - southwest

It shares its eastern border with Yukon, Canada, which has no subdivisions.

National protected areas

Map of northern Alaska showing location of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, (ANWR), and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA).

• Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (part of the Chukchi Sea unit)
  • Cape Lisburne
  • Cape Thompson

• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (part)
  • Mollie Beattie Wilderness (part)

• Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (part)
  • Gates of the Arctic Wilderness (part)

• Noatak National Preserve (part)
  • Noatak Wilderness (part)

Other federal areas

• National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska

Demographics

As of the census^[15] of 2010, there were 7,385 people, 2,109 households, and 1,524 families residing in the borough. The population density was 12.03 square miles (31.2 km²) per person. There were 2,538 housing units at an average density of 35 square miles (91 km²) per unit. The racial makeup of the borough was 17.09% White, 0.72% Black or African American, 68.38% Native American, mostly Inuit, 5.92% Asian, 0.84% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 6.55% from two or more races. 2.37% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. 42.84% reported speaking Iñupiaq or "Eskimo" at home, while 4.21% reported speaking Tagalog.^[16]

There were 2,109 households out of which 48.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 4.05.

In the borough the population was spread out with 38.2% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 18.10% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 112.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.90 males.

Communities

See also

• Iñupiat
• Inuit
• Eskimo
• Nalukataq -- traditional blanket toss celebrations
• List of airports in Alaska

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Slope Borough, Alaska.

• North-Slope.org - Official Borough Website
• Borough map, 2000 census: Alaska Department of Labor
• Borough map, 2010 census: Alaska Department of Labor

		Arctic Ocean
			Yukon Territory, Canada
		North Slope Borough, Alaska
	Northwest Arctic Borough		Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area

Municipalities and communities of North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States
Borough seat: Barrow
Cities	Anaktuvuk Pass Atqasuk Barrow Kaktovik Nuiqsut Point Hope Wainwright
CDPs	Point Lay Prudhoe Bay
Unincorporated communities	Alpine Deadhorse Sagwon
Ghost towns	Umiat Wevok

State of Alaska
Juneau (capital)
Topics	Index Geography Earthquakes Climate Wildlife History People Transportation Government Delegations Music Visitor attractions
Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Health (Rural dentistry) Politics Sports
Regions	Alaska Peninsula Aleutian Islands Arctic The Bush Inside Passage Interior Kenai Peninsula Mat‑Su Valley North Slope Seward Peninsula Southcentral Southeast Southwest Tanana Valley Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta
Largest cities	Anchorage Badger Barrow Bethel Dillingham Fairbanks Homer Juneau Kenai Ketchikan Kodiak Kotzebue Nome Palmer Petersburg Seward Sitka Soldotna Unalaska Valdez Wasilla
Boroughs	Aleutians East Anchorage Bristol Bay Denali Fairbanks North Star Haines Juneau Kenai Peninsula Ketchikan Gateway Kodiak Island Lake and Peninsula Matanuska‑Susitna North Slope Northwest Arctic Petersburg Sitka Skagway Wrangell Yakutat Unorganized
Census Areas	Aleutians West Bethel Dillingham Hoonah–Angoon Kusilvak Nome Prince of Wales–Hyder Southeast Fairbanks Valdez–Cordova Yukon–Koyukuk

Coordinates: 69°18′N 153°27′W / 69.30°N 153.45°W / 69.30; -153.45