<Li> The north section is the smallest and most isolated of the three sections, known to the residents as NARL because it was originally the site of the Naval Arctic Research Lab . It is connected to the central section only by Stevenson Street, a two - lane dirt road . The NARL facility was transferred by the federal government to the North Slope Borough, which adapted it for use as Iḷisaġvik College . This area also includes a small broadcasting station, which is run by the college students . </Li> <P> An ancient 8 km - sized crater, Avak, is situated near Barrow . </P> <P> Owing to its location 320 miles (515 km) north of the Arctic Circle, Utqiaġvik's climate is cold and dry, classified as a polar climate (Köppen ET). Winter weather can be extremely dangerous because of the combination of cold and wind, while summers are cool even at their warmest . Weather observations are available for Utqiaġvik dating back to the late 19th century . A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Monitoring Lab operates in Utqiaġvik . The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has a climate observation site in Utqiaġvik as part of its Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility . </P> <P> Despite the extreme northern location, temperatures at Utqiaġvik are moderated by the surrounding topography . The Arctic Ocean is on three sides, and flat tundra stretches some 200 miles (300 km) to the south . There are no wind barriers or protected valleys where dense cold air can settle or form temperature inversions in the lower atmosphere, as commonly happens in the interior between the Brooks and the Alaska ranges . </P>

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