Snow-covered landscapes and the polar night: how life works in the northernmost city of Alaska

American photographer Mark Mahaney (Mark Mahaney) went to Utkiagvik is the northernmost city in Alaska, where the polar night lasts for almost three months, and snow covers all available areas.

Utkiagvik, formerly called Barrow, is the northernmost city in the state of Alaska, located about 500 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. This is 54 square kilometers of permafrost and tundra, where about five thousand people live. There are no roads connecting the town to the rest of the state, and the majority of the population is made up of Inupiat Eskimos, traditionally engaged in hunting (particularly whaling) and fishing.

Every winter, there is a polar night — a period of continuous darkness. In Utkiagvik, it lasts for almost three months. The city comes to life in the warm season — a seasonal barge that transports heavy supplies and equipment begins to work in the settlement.

According to the photographer, indigenous people are already beginning to feel the effects of global warming. For example, whale hunting, which is a tradition of the Inupiatic culture, is under threat — the ice in the spring is no longer stable enough for hunters to pull the whale carcass out of the water. Oil production is also bad for the environment-not far from Utkiagvik is home to the Prudhoe Bay gas and oil field, one of the largest in North America.

To learn more about how life works in Alaska, you can buy a book by Mark Mahaney.