The Fairbanks North Star Borough is about the same size as New Jersey but contains fewer than 90,000 people, a third of whom live in Fairbanks. Centrally located only 120 miles north of Denali National Park and 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks remains today the largest and most important commercial, social, and tourist center in the Interior.

The origins of modern day Fairbanks can be traced to a series of mishaps that occurred to a would-be goldfield merchant named E. T. Barnette. In 1901, in an attempt to capitalize on the need for supplies at the Tanacross goldfields far up the Tanana River, Barnette loaded a sternwheeler with supplies and set out. After the boat ran aground in the Tanana’s shallow waters, Barnette decided to try to reach the area via the nearby Chena River, which proved equally unsuccessful. In defeat, he unloaded the boat on the banks of the Chena and set up a small trading post on the spot, very close to where Italian prospector Felix Pedro struck gold the following year. In the ensuing gold rush, Barnette’s business prospered and a town eventually grew up around it. Even today, Fairbanks is still very much a river city, with parks and walkways scattered along the Chena River and tour boats and rental kayaks plying the waters. One of the most popular attractions in the downtown area is a historic sternwheeler that takes passengers for scenic rides on the river during the summer.

One of Fairbanks's main distinctions is that it is subject to some of the widest temperature variations of any city on earth. Summertime temperatures occasionally hit the 90 degree mark, while winter temperatures have dipped as low as -62. Despite this, tourists still visit Fairbanks during winter, primarily because the long hours of darkness and cold night air provides excellent opportunities to view the aurora borealis, Alaska’s northern lights. During the summer, the aurora is not visible as the area basks under nearly constant daylight.