Area Information
Welcome to LORAN Station Port Clarence, Alaska, in the land of the midnight sun. Port Clarence is located on the western coast of the Seward Peninsula at the end of a finger of land called Point Spencer. This is the world's northernmost Coast Guard Station. It is located approximately 75 miles north of Nome, Alaska and 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It is also the closest military installation to Russia.
The climate at Port Clarence varies greatly from summer to winter and is very typical of the harsh conditions one experiences in the arctic tundra. Temperatures may reach highs of 70 degrees, fareinheit in the summer with frequent rain and fog. In the winter the temperature plummets to a bone chilling minus 40 degrees with winds frequently exceeding 30 miles per hour, bringing the wind chill factor to well below minus 75 degrees below zero. Snow fall averages are moderate but the blowing winds can accumilate drifts of snow in excess of 8 feet. In the summer the arctic plains come alive with plant and animal life with everything competing for food duing the brief reprieve from the harsh arctic winter. The area around Port Clarence is teeming with wildlife. Residing around the station and on Point Spencer are ground squirrles, field mice and arctic foxes. At times larger animals will pay us a visit such as the alaskan grizzly bear and moose. Of course, our list of visitors would not be complete without mentioning the abundant population of seals and their long toothed friend, the walrus. Occasionally a passing Orca or migrating whale may be spotted off shore. The marshs and shallow ponds also provide a rest stop for migrating birds. Fishing is abundant as the salmon make their annual pilgrimage back to the streams and rivers of their birth.