The remote Mesa site is located 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in the northern foothills of Alaska's forbidding Brooks Range. An isolated feature on the tundra, the Mesa itself is 200 feet high and steep-sided, with a relatively flat top and faintly sinuous appearance when viewed from the air. The cultural resources are scattered within the thin soil layer covering these four areas. They draw fresh water, for drinking and washing, from nearby Iteriak Creek. The weather at the Mesa is highly variable, hour to hour and day to day.
Squalls can bring rain or snow at any time, and storm-driven, rapid drops in temperature are common.
Alaskan mosquitos are notorious for their size, ferocity and ravenous appetites. Mesa Team members sleep in tents to avoid the worst of the onslaught, but some have even resorted to working in clothing elaborately rigged with protective netting. More serious threats from wildlife are present as well. Workers keep a respectful distance, and never venture far outside the base camp without loaded rifles. Thankfully, though, there have been no hostile confrontations with grizzlies at the site so far.