Alaska North Slope

Alaska North Slope or Arctic North Slope, region, N Alaska, sloping from the Brooks Range N to the Arctic Ocean. In 1968 large petroleum reserves were found in the Prudhoe Bay area. In 1977 the 800-mi (1,287 km) Trans-Alaska pipeline was completed to carry oil S to the port of Valdez, on the Pacific. Proposals for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, E of Prudhoe Bay, have brought continuing controversy. A 2003 National Research Council report on drilling concluded that lasting environmental damage had resulted because the harsh climate slows natural recovery and because there is little incentive to restore areas where drilling has ceased.

Alaska Current An oceanic water boundary current produced by the deflection of the North Pacific Current by the North American continent. It flows in a north-westward direction along the south-eastern margin of Alaska. The Alaska Current is also called the Aleutian Current in some texts.

Alaska current Oceanic water boundary current produced by the deflection of the N. Pacific current by the N. American continent. It flows in a north-westward direction along the south-eastern margin of Alaska. The Alaska current is also called the Aleutian current in some texts.