Atigun Pass

{{Short description|Mountain pass across the Brooks Range, Alaska}}

{{Infobox mountain pass

| name = Atigun Pass

| photo = atigun_pass.jpg

| photo_caption = Composite 240-degree view of Atigun Pass

| elevation = approx. 4700 ft. (1,444 m)

| traversed = Dalton Highway

| location = North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States

| range = Brooks Range

| coordinates = {{Coord|68|07|46|N|149|28|33|W|type:pass}}

| topo =

}}

File:Atigun Pass, Dalton Highway .jpg]]

Atigun Pass ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|t|ɪ|g|ə|n|}} {{respell|AT|i-gən}}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXiJFamDh9g Atigun Pass, after an avalanche].), elevation {{convert|4739|ft|m}}, is a high mountain pass across the Brooks Range in Alaska, located at the head of the Dietrich River.{{cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/education/feature/1998/alaska/akfeature.html |title=Gold Rush Days and Endless Nights at Alaska's Coldfoot Visitor Center |url-status=dead |publisher=Bureau of Land Management | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620231431/http://www.blm.gov/education/feature/1998/alaska/akfeature.html |archive-date=2010-06-20}}[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/41008/Atigun-Pass "Atigun Pass." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.] It is where the Dalton Highway crosses the Continental Divide (at mile marker 244), and is the highest pass in Alaska that is maintained throughout the year.{{cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/recreation/dalton_hwy/dalton_maps.html |title=Dalton Highway Maps |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301104642/https://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/recreation/dalton_hwy/dalton_maps.html |archive-date=2016-03-01 |website=blm.gov |publisher=Bureau of Land Management}} Atigun is the only pass in the Brooks Range that is crossed by a road.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} The pass has been responsible for taking many drivers off the road and is also home to avalanches during the winter.

Atigun is known among bush pilots for the difficulty of crossing the pass with small planes; Anaktuvuk Pass is favored as the safer flying route.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

The pass is often shown on the third and fourth seasons of the History Channel reality series Ice Road Truckers, which focuses on the challenges of driving on the Dalton Highway.

Climate

File:Atigun Pass facing north.jpg

Although the latitude of Atigun Pass is very high, the climate type of the place is still close to the alpine climate (Köppen: ETH). In addition, the precipitation in this place is about 5 times that of places such as Utqiagvik and Umiat.

{{Weather box|width = auto

|location = Atigun Pass (2006–2020 normals, extremes 2006–present)

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 42

|Feb record high F = 35

|Mar record high F = 35

|Apr record high F = 47

|May record high F = 62

|Jun record high F = 67

|Jul record high F = 69

|Aug record high F = 64

|Sep record high F = 52

|Oct record high F = 44

|Nov record high F = 42

|Dec record high F = 42

|year record high F = 69

|Jan avg record high F = 25.6

|Feb avg record high F = 27.3

|Mar avg record high F = 24.5

|Apr avg record high F = 36.1

|May avg record high F = 54.6

|Jun avg record high F = 60.9

|Jul avg record high F = 63.3

|Aug avg record high F = 55.5

|Sep avg record high F = 44.9

|Oct avg record high F = 32.1

|Nov avg record high F = 24.4

|Dec avg record high F = 25.0

|year avg record high F = 64.4

|Jan high F = 2.1

|Feb high F = 5.7

|Mar high F = 7.5

|Apr high F = 20.4

|May high F = 37.5

|Jun high F = 49.2

|Jul high F = 51.4

|Aug high F = 44.2

|Sep high F = 33.6

|Oct high F = 18.9

|Nov high F = 7.7

|Dec high F = 5.6

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = -4.3

|Feb mean F = -0.9

|Mar mean F = 0.6

|Apr mean F = 13.8

|May mean F = 31.0

|Jun mean F = 43.3

|Jul mean F = 46.4

|Aug mean F = 39.8

|Sep mean F = 28.5

|Oct mean F = 14.8

|Nov mean F = 2.2

|Dec mean F = -0.8

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = -10.6

|Feb low F = -7.5

|Mar low F = -6.3

|Apr low F = 7.3

|May low F = 24.6

|Jun low F = 37.3

|Jul low F = 41.5

|Aug low F = 35.3

|Sep low F = 24.4

|Oct low F = 10.7

|Nov low F = -3.3

|Dec low F = -7.1

|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -36.7

|Feb avg record low F = -33.4

|Mar avg record low F = -27.9

|Apr avg record low F = -13.7

|May avg record low F = 3.1

|Jun avg record low F = 25.0

|Jul avg record low F = 31.6

|Aug avg record low F = 23.4

|Sep avg record low F = 11.4

|Oct avg record low F = -6.1

|Nov avg record low F = -22.2

|Dec avg record low F = -28.7

|year avg record low F = -40.4

|Jan record low F = -46

|Feb record low F = -44

|Mar record low F = -47

|Apr record low F = -44

|May record low F = -16

|Jun record low F = 16

|Jul record low F = 23

|Aug record low F = 14

|Sep record low F = 0

|Oct record low F = -14

|Nov record low F = -40

|Dec record low F = -42

|year record low F = -47

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 0.79

|Feb precipitation inch = 0.94

|Mar precipitation inch = 0.70

|Apr precipitation inch = 0.98

|May precipitation inch = 1.55

|Jun precipitation inch = 2.95

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.20

|Aug precipitation inch = 4.35

|Sep precipitation inch = 2.69

|Oct precipitation inch = 1.30

|Nov precipitation inch = 0.82

|Dec precipitation inch = 0.82

|year precipitation inch = 22.09

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 inch

|Jan precipitation days = 4.7

|Feb precipitation days = 6.0

|Mar precipitation days = 5.6

|Apr precipitation days = 7.1

|May precipitation days = 8.5

|Jun precipitation days = 12.6

|Jul precipitation days = 15.0

|Aug precipitation days = 15.5

|Sep precipitation days = 13.4

|Oct precipitation days = 9.6

|Nov precipitation days = 6.2

|Dec precipitation days = 5.2

|year precipitation days = 109.4

|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-2006-2020&stations=USS0049T03S&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|title = NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = July 23, 2023

|archive-date = July 23, 2023

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230723023944/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-2006-2020&stations=USS0049T03S&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|url-status = live }}

|source 2 = XMACIS2 (mean maxima/minima 2006–2020)

{{cite web

|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = xmACIS2

|access-date = July 23, 2023

}}

References

Category:Mountain passes of Alaska

Category:Great Divide of North America

Category:Landforms of North Slope Borough, Alaska

Category:Brooks Range