Contents.History For at least 10,000 years, Indians have inhabited portions of the interior of. Early inhabitants survived by hunting and fishing.The early history of non-native settlement in the area occurred at the river crossing at Big Delta and is found at the entry,.
In 1904, the town first served as a telegraph station. In 1928, a herd of 23 were brought from the in to an area south of Big Delta to provide an additional game species for hunters.
Buffalo Center, a small community near the center of present-day Delta Junction, was named because of their presence, especially during the winter months. The huge animals were troublesome, and sometimes made landings dangerous at nearby Allen Army Airfield.The herd is now kept at several hundred animals by the annual issuance of hunting permits. In the early 1980s, the 90,000-acre (360 km 2) Delta Junction Bison Range, south of the Alaska Highway and between Ft. Greely and the Little Gerstle River was established; the range is now managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to provide fall habitat for bison to reduce farm depredations and to provide habitat for other wildlife.During World War II, the United States aided the Soviet Union against Germany by sending airplanes and supplies authorized by the Act to the Soviet Union through Alaska into the Russian Far East.
The was built to connect an existing road in, Canada, with the in Alaska, a distance of 2,290 km (1,420 mi).The Alaska Highway met the Richardson Highway at a point 12 km (7.5 mi) south along the Delta River from Big Delta. The place where the highways met became known as Delta Junction. Allen Army Airfield was constructed 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Delta Junction for use in sending supplies to Russia. The was built from to what is now, where it met the Richardson Highway.
This connection created a motor route between Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.After World War II, a U.S. Army base, was built next to the air field.
The base, and a huge tract of land around it, was used for training soldiers for cold weather combat during the with the former Soviet Union.In 1957, the Richardson Highway was paved. About this time, portions of the Alaska Highway were also paved. The army base and tourism brought on the highways, caused a boom in the area's economy and the commercial center of the area moved from Big Delta to Delta Junction. After World War II, some people also began farming and raising livestock in the Delta Junction area. This farming required new techniques to accommodate the short growing season and the cold and dark winters of interior Alaska.Delta Junction was incorporated as a municipality in 1960.
Was discovered in the of Alaska in 1968. In 1974, construction began on the to transport the oil from the North Slope to Valdez. The pipeline construction also aided the economy of the area.
Delta Junction experienced a temporary boom, similar to the gold rush, that resulted in a wave of new residents and businesses in the community. Cost of living during this period was well above the national average due to transportation costs, as well as gouging.
Prostitution and bars flourished — as did churches and religious communes.In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the was designated as a potential agricultural area for Alaska. The state of Alaska then made large tracts of land available to future farmers for purchase. Significant was establishment of the 'Barley Project' east of the city. Plans were made to grow barley, ship it to via a future rail terminal, and from there ship it overseas to Asia.
Though farms were established and a storage facility constructed in Valdez, the railroad never came, essentially resulting in the failure of the project. Political pressure and growing costs resulted in the project being defunded upon change in governors.
Today, these original farms are primarily used as pasture or for hay production though, and even are still grown with limited commercial success. With the availability of a nearby meat processing facility (Delta Meat and Sausage Company), many farmers turned to cattle with limited success.
In addition, the area is now known for production of exotic meats such as, bison, and.In 1971, the between Anchorage and Fairbanks was completed. This highway followed the railroad route and was a shorter route for motorists traveling between Anchorage and Fairbanks than the Glenn and Richardson Highway route. Many travelers used the new highway, bypassing Delta Junction.
In 1977, pipeline construction ended. The Cold War also ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. These events caused a decline in the economy of Delta Junction.During the 1990s and 2000s, immigrants from the former Soviet republics came to the area, significantly changing the makeup of the local population.Fort Greely was included on the (BRAC) list in 1995. From 1995 to 2002, Fort Greely was gradually re-aligned through a gradual drawdown in both military and civilian personnel. Once BRAC was complete in 2002, Fort Greely remained open but was staffed with less than 100 military and civilian personnel. During this time the remaining workers were either associated with public works functions or the Cold Regions Test Center, which continued testing on the installation. Headquarters for both the Cold Regions Test Center and the Northern Warfare Training Center moved to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks in 2002.
Base housing and numerous surplus buildings remained vacant, though the Army continued heating and maintaining them.Re-alignment of Fort Greely resulted in heated discussion throughout the Delta Junction community over a proposal to site a privately operated state within surplus buildings on Fort Greely. Eventually, the city of Delta Junction entered into a contract with to operate this prison. Plans for the prison eventually fell through. Allvest Corporation subsequently sued Delta Junction for $1 million for breach of contract.Shortly after BRAC was complete, the United States government announced plans to build a missile defense installation at Ft. The installation was then divided into two parts operated by two different commands — U.S.
Army Garrison Alaska and Space and Missile Defense Command. The main post retained the name Fort Greely and is operated by the Space and Missile Defense Command. Outlying range, training and impact areas were absorbed by Fort Wainwright and were renamed Donnelly Training Area.From 2002 to 2005, Delta Junction experienced an economic boom similar to the pipeline days as Fort Greely became fully operational again and the missile test bed was constructed. National firms such as, and, as well as regional firms including Chugach opened up offices on the installation, under contract to the government. Construction of the Pogo Gold Mine just north of Delta Junction, near the, also contributed significantly to the economic fortune of the city.
Mineral deposits near Tangle Lakes, south of Delta Junction, will likely result in additional development of mining in the area.Geography Delta Junction is located at (64.047669, −145.718655).According to the, the city has a total area of 17.3 square miles (45 km 2), all of it land.' Big Delta' lies at the intersection of the and the. The city of Delta Junction sits on the Delta River at the intersection of the Richardson Highway and the famed Alaska Highway (actually, the end of the Alaska Highway). The city and Delta community lie within the fertile. Three mountain ranges—the White Mountains to the north, the Granite Mountains to the southeast, and the to the southwest—and the Delta River to the west surround the city.Once overlain by glaciers, the geology is marked by glacial moraines as well as alluvial deposits from the Delta and Tanana Rivers. Numerous mineral deposits are found in the vicinity of Delta Junction ranging from gold to molybdenum to coal.
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A prominent natural feature on the landscape is Donnelly Dome, located within the Donnelly Training Area of Fort Wainwright (formerly a part of nearby Fort Greely until 2001), to the south of Delta Junction. This dome was formed as a glacier coming from the Alaska Range split in two, carving away sides of a former mountain.Climate As is typical of the Alaska Interior, Delta Junction has a ( Dwc). The average high temperature is below freezing from mid-October thru late March, and during the height of winter cold, as the town is located in 2, the coldest conditions of the year typically bottom out in the −40 to −50 °F (−40 to −46 °C) range, with sub-0 °F (−18 °C) highs a common occurrence. Precipitation averages at only 11.62 inches (295 mm) annually, and over half of this total occurs from June to August. Snow, which typically falls from October to April and sometimes May and September, is generally not heavy due to the dry climate, and averages 54 inches (140 cm) per season. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −63 °F (−53 °C) on January 30, 1947 up to 92 °F (33 °C) on June 15, 1969.Delta Junction was known as the 'Windy City' and 'Little Chicago' by many soldiers on Fort Greely.
In Delta Junction itself, but not in the nearby areas, wind blows many days from the south down the Delta River from the, bringing river silt in the summer and snowdrifts in the winter. There are usually several days in the winter when the temperature is in the range of −40 °F/°C when a wind (known as a ) begins to blow. A few minutes later, the temperature climbs to above the freezing mark.
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When the wind stops, the temperature returns to colder ranges.Delta Junction's prevailing winds are from the east. 1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory.: Alaska Municipal League/. January 1996. P. 46. 2015 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League. United States Census Bureau.
Retrieved Jul 1, 2019. ^. Retrieved June 4, 2019. Retrieved 2011-04-23. ^. Retrieved 2019-11-01. Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e.
The highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2019-11-01. Archived from on April 26, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015. Archived from on 2013-09-11.
Retrieved 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-08-12.,.,.
(PDF). US Department of Education. Retrieved March 1, 2011.External links.
The Peppersauce Wild Cave Tour will take you up the backside of Mt. Lemmon for an Off-Road Adventure and deep into the Catalina Mountains with experienced guides to explore the natural limestone caverns. Please see FAQs for requirements Introductory Tour Price $60Reservations Required (taxes and fees not included).This is a wild cave, which means that paved walkways do not exist! Expedition groups will explore the cracks and crannies by walking, climbing, and crawling through natural passages.