POINT BARROW

northernmost point of Alaska, U.S., on the Arctic Ocean. It is connected with Anchorage and Fairbanks by regular air service. The headland was discovered in 1826 by Frederick W. Beechey and named for Sir John Barrow, promoter of Arctic exploration. Once important in Arctic aviation, it was the departure point of Sir George Hubert Wilkins' flight (1928) over the North Pole and was the site of the air crash (1935) that killed Will Rogers and Wiley Post. An Arctic research station was constructed by the U.S. Navy in the 1940s. The area has vast oil and gas deposits. The city of Barrow was incorporated in 1959. In June 1977 it was the site of the first international Inuit (Eskimo People's) Circumpolar Conference. Pop. (1990) Barrow city, 3,469.