Deadhorse isn’t your average Alaskan town.
The community at the start of the pipeline exists solely as a service hub for North Slope oil workers.
There are no permanent residents, no public amenities, not even a school or church.
There is a post office, and Les Dunbar is the clerk responsible for making sure all the companies in Prudhoe Bay receive their mail.
Also, if you plan on biking along the haul road, you might just end up mailing your gear up to Les.
Deadhorse isn’t your average Alaskan town. The community at the start of the pipeline exists solely as a service hub for North Slope oil workers. There are no permanent residents, no public amenities, not even a school or church. There is a post office, and Les Dunbar is the clerk responsible for making sure all the companies in Prudhoe Bay receive their mail. Also, if you plan on biking along the haul road, you might just end up mailing your gear up to Les.
Oil started flowing down the trans-Alaska pipeline forty years ago, transforming Alaska into a wealthy oil state. But if it weren’t for a few determined individuals, the giant oil field that started it all might still be hidden under the tundra today.
On this episode: It’s hard to imagine now, but Alaska nearly lost out on the discovery of the century — and the billions of dollars that came with it.
Oil started flowing down the trans-Alaska pipeline forty years ago, transforming Alaska into a wealthy oil state. But if it weren’t for a few determined individuals, the giant oil field that started it all might still be hidden under the tundra today.
An old technology may play a role in the future of affordable energy in rural Alaska. Professor Tom Ravens has been working with students in his lab at the University of Alaska Anchorage to design a practical, low-cost hydrokinetic device for use in rural communities around the state.
