Utqiaġvik
North Slope · USGS GNIS name record 1398635
Explore statistics nearby
These Census tracts have reference points near Utqiaġvik. Their figures describe the entire named tract, not this locality. Open a tract to inspect its map, sources and demographic percentages.
Browse all local statistics in AK →The source behind the name
USGS GNIS Populated Place names in all 50 states and DC. Features in the historical extract or explicitly named historical are excluded; duplicate decision records with identical identities and coordinates are collapsed. GNIS points identify names, not legal or neighborhood boundaries, current occupancy, school attendance or a statistical population. Nearby Census places and tracts remain separately named geographies. Name completeness and currency vary; this is not a claim to include every locally used neighborhood name.
Original USGS record for Utqiaġvik ↗Dataset snapshot 2026-09-02 · Source record edited 02/01/2018 · NAD83 · approximate source location
USGS description & history
On Chukchi Sea coast, 10 mi. SW of Point Barrow, Arctic Plain.
The former name Barrow was derived from Point Barrow, and was originally a general designation, because non-native residents found it easier to pronounce than the native name. A post office established in 1901 helped the name "Barrow" to become dominant. The native name, also rendered "Utkiakvik," refers to a "high place for viewing," because the community was situated on relatively high (30 ft) land at Cape Smyth. Although Captain Beechey's party (1831, p307), Royal Navy (RN), mentions a village at Cape Smyth in 1826, the name was first recorded in 1853 as "Ot-ki-a-wing" by Commander Maguire, Royal Navy (RN), (Great Britain, 1854, map facing p186). John Simpson's native map dated 1855 records the name "Otkiawik," which was misprinted on the subsequent British Admiralty (Brit. Adm.) Chart as "Otkiovik." Lieutenant P.H. Ray's party established a station located one-half mile northeast of the native village for meteorologic and magnetic observations in 1881. They called the station "Ooglaamie" or "Uglaamie," a name that was later often transferred to the village (Murdoch, 1892, p26), USA. See Cape Smyth and Browerville.
Source notes may describe earlier conditions.Source files & checksums
SHA-256 20c96936a3ba430b345eed1c7395b6aab52875aac8e1e2905fab37b388cab381
SHA-256 45ad8d56b3bb4990ad8105cdda15ee7d2f07afd6941afe75b783f29b02723697
SHA-256 919fac887628b8547ec1b24fae319522a9481a56909c3914d1e0a2b56783147c