page_title: Fairbanks, Alaska
section_title: Topography
hierarchical_section_title: Fairbanks, Alaska / Geography and climate / Topography
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Tanana River. Seen from a non-stop AA flight Chicago-Beijing. Fairbanks Airport is in center left.
context_page_description: Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.
  Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska. 2019 estimates put the population of the city proper at 30,917, and the population of the Fairbanks North Star Borough at 96,849, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Alaska. The Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses all of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and is the northernmost Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States, located 196 miles by road south of the Arctic Circle. Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the founding campus of the University of Alaska system.
context_section_description: Fairbanks is in the central Tanana Valley, straddling the Chena River near its confluence with the Tanana River. Immediately north of the city is a chain of hills that rises gradually until it reaches the White Mountains and the Yukon River. The city's southern border is the Tanana River. South of the river is the Tanana Flats, an area of marsh and bog that stretches for more than 100 miles (160 km) until it rises into the Alaska Range, which is visible from Fairbanks on clear days. To the east and west are low valleys separated by ridges of hills up to 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level.
  The Tanana Valley is crossed by many low streams and rivers that flow into the Tanana River. In Fairbanks, the Chena River flows southwest until it empties into the Tanana. Noyes Slough, which heads and foots off the Chena River, creates Garden Island, a district connected to the rest of Fairbanks by bridges and culverted roads.
  According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 32.7 square miles (85 km²); 31.9 square miles (83 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (2.48%) is water.
caption: The Fairbanks area in winter, looking north. The Tanana River stretches across the photo south of the city; the airport is west of the city.
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