| Official Name: | Prudhoe Bay, Alaska |
| Settlement Type: | CDP |
| Pushpin Map: | Alaska |
| Pushpin Relief: | yes |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 265 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States of America |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Alaska |
| Subdivision Type2: | Borough |
| Subdivision Name2: | North Slope |
| Leader Title: | Borough mayor |
| Leader Name: | Harry K. Brower, Jr. |
| Leader Title1: | State senator |
| Leader Name1: | Donny Olson (D) |
| Leader Title2: | State rep. |
| Leader Name2: | Tom Baker (R) |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 1476.00 |
| Area Land Km2: | 1011.17 |
| Area Water Km2: | 464.83 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 569.89 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 390.42 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 179.47 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 1310 |
| Population Density Km2: | 1.30 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 3.36 |
| Timezone: | Alaska (AKST) |
| Utc Offset: | -9 |
| Timezone Dst: | AKDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -8 |
| Elevation Ft: | 26 |
| Coordinates: | 70.3256°N -148.7114°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 99734 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 02-64380 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2419192 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Prudhoe Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 1,310 people, down from 2,174 residents in the 2010 census, and up from just 5 residents in 2000; however, at any given time, several thousand transient workers support the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. The airport, lodging and general store are located in Deadhorse, and the rigs and processing facilities are located on scattered gravel pads laid atop the tundra. It is only during winter that the surface is hard enough to support heavy equipment, and new construction happens at that time.
Overland access is by the Dalton Highway. As the bay itself is still 10 miles further north through a security checkpoint, open water is not visible from the highway. A few tourists, arriving by bus or their own vehicles after a two-day ride up the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks, come to see the tundra, the Arctic Ocean and the midnight sun, staying in lodgings assembled from modular buildings. Tours must be arranged in advance to see the Arctic Ocean and the bay itself.
Prudhoe Bay was named in 1826 by British explorer Sir John Franklin after his classmate Captain Algernon Percy, Baron Prudhoe. Franklin traveled westerly along the coast from the mouth of the Mackenzie River in Canada almost to Point Barrow.[2]
Prudhoe Bay is located on the Sagavanirktok River.[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 558sqmi of which, 416.3sqmi is land and 141.8sqmi is water. The total area is 25.40% water.
Prudhoe Bay, along with similar communities on the North Slope of Alaska, features a tundra climate (Köppen ET). Winters are long and frigid, and because the area is above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise during several weeks of each winter. Summers bring long daylight hours, with 24 hours of daylight during some summer weeks, but are still cool, being mostly between 45and and sometimes dropping to the freezing point.
Prudhoe Bay first appeared on the 1970 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It was made a census-designated place (CDP) in 1980.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 2,174 people living in the CDP. The racial makeup of the CDP was 83.0% White, 1.9% Black, 7.5% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race and 1.6% from two or more races. 4.0% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Prudhoe Bay is classified as an isolated town/sub-regional center. It is found in EMS Region 6A in the North Slope Region. Emergency services have limited highway, coastal and airport access. Emergency service is provided by a paid emergency medical services unit and Fairweather Deadhorse Medical Clinic. Auxiliary health care is provided by oil company medical staff and the Greater Prudhoe Bay Fire Dept. Individuals requiring hospital care are usually transported to the nearest hospital/medical center, Sammuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, in Utqiaġvik. Because no roads connect Prudhoe Bay to Utqiaġvik, patients are transported by helicopter or air ambulance (a flight of approximately 45 minutes).[4]