"Fairbanks: The Gold ..." a Fairbanks Travel Page by Stephen-KarenConn

Fairbanks is Alaska's second largest city with a population of 30,000 in the city and 85,000 in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. It is located in the interior of Alaska, 192 miles south of the Arctic Circle and 100 miles north of Denali National Park.

Fairbanks was established in 1901, as a trading post on the banks of the Chena River in the Tanana Valley by E. T. Barnette from Ohio. Barnette named the new town in honor of Indiana Senator Charles Fairbanks, who later became a Vice President of the United States.

Gold was discovered near the new town in 1902, and by 1908 it had become the largest, busiest city in the Alaska Territory, boasting electric lights, city sewer , fire and police protection, a courthouse, jail, hospital, school, library and three newspapers.

Summer temperatures in Fairbanks average around 60 F, but can range to 85 F or more, as they were in my recent visit there. Almost 24 hours of daylight at the summer soltice allow for a "Midnight Sun Baseball Game" to be played every summer with no artifical lighting. In winter, temperatures of -20 F are not unusual, with a record low of -66. Winter snowfall averages 68.9 inches. Fairbanks is considered one of the best places on earth to view the northern lights.