Tiny Town in Alaska Won’t See the Sun Again Until January 23

Alaska is a place of almost unparalleled beauty, but the harshness of its climate means it’s not for the faint of heart.

Photo Credit: YouTube

The intense winters attract people who can only be classified as tough. And there is one town that has it extremely tough, even by Alaskan standards. The town of Utqiaġvik (formerly called Barrow) was plunged into darkness on November 18, and the sun won’t rise again there until January 23.

That’s 65 days without sunlight for the northernmost town in America.

Photo Credit: Twitter, weatherchannel

The period of constant darkness is known as “polar night.” Weather.com describes the phenomenon like this: “From mid-November through late January, the sun doesn’t rise north of the Arctic Circle due to the tilt of the Earth away from the sun’s most direct radiation.” Utqiaġvik is north of the Arctic Circle and has a population of just over 4,000 residents.