Alaska's cities

Delta Junction, Alaska

Highways meet along the Delta and Tanana rivers

Alaska.com

Once known mostly for its highway junction and its frosty climate, the 850-resident town has gained renewed fame as the home of a ballistic-missile defense base at Fort Greely.

Delta Junction is located at the convergence of the Richardson and Alaska highways about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks and 108 miles northwest of Tok. The city developed along the east bank of the Delta River, south of its junction with the Tanana River. It offers spectacular views of the Alaska Range.

This area of Interior Alaska experiences seasonal extremes. The average low temperature in January is minus 11; the average high during July is 69. Temperature extremes have been recorded from minus 63 to 92. The annual precipitation is 12 inches, including 37 inches of snow.

Delta Junction's makeup

More than 5 percent of the population is Alaska Native or part Native. Delta Junction provides services to summer tourist traffic. Schools and a visitor center are available, and farm tours may be available. The trans-Alaska pipeline is visible as it passes the town.

Major employers are the Delta/Greely School District and Alyeska Pipeline Services. Several state and federal highway maintenance staff are located in Delta. Nearly 40,000 acres are farmed in the Delta area, producing barley, other grains and forage, potatoes, dairy products, cattle and hogs. Four residents hold commercial fishing permits. Buffalo are hunted by lottery only; moose, caribou, bear, sheep and waterfowl are also hunted in this area.

Buses provide transportation to Fairbanks and Whitehorse. The city airport offers a 2,400-foot gravel airstrip with a 1,600-foot crosswind strip. Charter flight services are available. There are five other privately owned airstrips in the vicinity. Snowmobiles are used for recreation.

History

In 1903 an overland trail was cut from Valdez to Fairbanks, and a roadhouse was established a short time later at the junction of the Delta and Tanana Rivers. In 1904 the U.S. Army Signal Corps built the McCarty Telegraph Station. Rika's Roadhouse was built in 1910.

Ongoing mining activity just north of Delta Junction in the Tenderfoot area, and the Chisana Gold Strike of 1913, brought many prospectors and other travelers through the area. It became known as Buffalo Center in 1927, for the American bison that were transplanted here in the 1920s.

In 1942, construction of the Alaska Highway began, and a military base (later Fort Greely) was completed five miles to the south. In 1946, a dairy farm was established; beef cattle were brought in during 1953 by homesteaders. The city was incorporated in 1960. Construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline between 1974 and 1977 brought a dramatic upswing to the population and economy.