Ophir (Alaska)
| Ophir | |||
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Location in Alaska
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| Basic data | |||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | Alaska | ||
| Coordinates : | 63 ° 9 ′ N , 156 ° 31 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Alaska ( UTC − 9 / −8 ) | ||
| Residents : | 0 (as of: 2018) | ||
| Height : | 175 m | ||
.jpg) Dog sledding on the Iditarod National Historic Trail |
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Ophir is a ghost town in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the US state of Alaska .
geography
Ophir is located in the Kuskokwim Mountains , on the banks of the Innoko River . The distance to the east located City McGrath is 50, to the northeast Anchorage 400 and to the southeast Fairbanks 480 kilometers. Ophir is on the Iditarod National Historic Trail .
history
Gold was first discovered in the Ophir area in the late 1800s. At its peak in the years 1907 to 1908, up to 1000 people lived in the place with a large number of dogs. In gold rush towns, dogs were invaluable for hauling equipment and food to shelters and mines. The miners named the place after Ophir , who is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible . Allegedly, the wealthy King Solomon received supplies of gold from the famous rich gold country of the biblical Ophir. When the gold supply was no longer economically viable, the miners left the place again. Today there are no permanent residents there and only a few empty buildings, a gold digger and a dilapidated airport runway are left to mark the location of the once bustling mining town. In some mining operations in the area, however, work is being done again at times and precious metal is still being found.
Ophir is still a checkpoint today as part of the Iditarod , the world's longest dog sled race .
Individual evidence
Web links
- airport - Ophir Airport