CHALLENGES

• extreme temperature

  • Average temperature in Prudhoe Bay is -9 Celsius.
  • Extreme weather like snow and strong winds are common.
  • Exposure to the cold can cause injury or death and also healthcare could be a long distance away.
  • Lack of sunlight, as it is so far north it experiences months without sunlight in the far north.
  • Cold temperatures and lack of sunlight make it extremely difficult place to build a home and then get suitable jobs in.
• inaccessibility


  • Alaska is a long way from the rest of the USA.
  • This makes it difficult and expensive to access, often having to use air transport or dangerous ice roads.
  • Permafrost underlies most of Alaska so in summer you cannot go off-road due to this layer melting and causing your vehicle to get stuck in the permafrost.
  • Low population density of less than 1 person per sq. kilometre, means people are far away from employment opportunities and services like a doctor.
• provision of buildings and infastructure


  • Construction work can only take place during the summer when there is daylight and warmer temperatures.
  • Old buildings sink into the ground when the permafrost melts which causes a lot of homes to be unsafe to live in.
  • New buildings today are raised on piles to prevent melting.
  • Airports runways are painted white to reflect sunlight and stop them from warming up too much on sunny days, so stopping damage to the runway through the permafrost melting.