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Kougarok / Quartz Creek is a mining area about 90 miles (145km) north of Nome, Alaska. Historic mining activity as well as more recent mineral exploration has created road access to the area from Nome, and a local airstrip. In addition, there is a public use cabin owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the airstrip, along with ample space for a field tent camp. The Kougarok area has been under study since 1999, by the Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC) of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF). The program is named "Arctic Transitions in the Land-Atmosphere System" (ATLAS). Details of the study, and data, are available at the WERC-ATLAS web site.
The page header image above is from a photo courtesy of Larry Hinzman.
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| Location | ||||
| Country: | United States | |||
| State/Province/Region: | Alaska | |||
| Description: | Quartz Creek is on the Seward Penninsula in Alaska, 82 miles (132 km) north of Nome. | |||
| Latitude (Decimal, Degreesºmm'ss") : | 65.4° N | |||
| Longitude (Decimal, Degreesºmm'ss") : | 164.63° W | |||
| Environment Types Accessible at this Location | ||||
| Interior : | ||||
| Riparian : | ||||
| Tundra : | ||||
| Primary Logistics Provider | ||||
| Organization: | Veco Polar Resources | |||
| Name and title of contact person: | Marin Kuizenga, Alaska Logistics Manager | |||
| Address: | VECO Polar Resources 3535 College Road Suite 201 Fairbanks, AK 99709 |  | ||
| Telephone: | 907-455-4214 | |||
| Fax: | 907-455-4126 | |||
| E-mail: | marin@polarfield.com | |||
| Contact person or agency web page: | http://204.133.253.219/vpr/ | |||
| Permits and Legal Issues | ||||
| Name of the permitting agency: | Alaska Department of Natural Resources 3700 Airport Way Fairbanks, AK 99709-4699 phone: 907-451-2705 fax: 907-451-2706 TDD (hearing impaired): 907-451-2770 e-mail: fbx-pic@dnr.state.ak.us | |||
| Permitting agency web page: | http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/ | |||
| Physical Access | ||||
| Air service, Road | ||||
| Road: | The Nome/Teller road is generally passable from mid-June through August, but this should not be assumed. The road is occasionally closed by washouts, early/late snowfall, etc. Seek local advice when planning to drive to Quartz Creek from Nome. If the road is impassable, Quartz Creek can be reached by air. | |||
| Other modes of access: | Winter access to Quartz Creek is by snowmachine or ski-equipped aircraft. | |||
| Buildings | ||||
| Food service, Lodging | ||||
| Comments: | Veco Polar Resources maintains a camp (for NSF-funded researchers) near the Quartz Creek airstrip and the Bureau of Land Management/Department of Transportation cabin. Camp residents are provided with food, water, shelter, power, and fuel. The BLM/DOT cabin is open to all on a first-come basis, and can be overcrowed at times. | |||
| Laboratory Space | ||||
| Lab space: | Veco Polar Resources maintains a Weatherport lab near their camp in Quartz Creek. | |||
| Current Projects and Research History | ||||
| Research sources: | Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC): http://www.uaf.edu/water/ WERC/ATLAS Kougarok site: http://www.uaf.edu/water/projects/atlas/kougarok/kougarok.html Click here for information on research in the vicinity of Kougarok/Quartz Creek from the database of Veco Polar Resources. | |||