Prospect Creek is a very small settlement approximately 180 miles (290 km) north of present-day Fairbanks and 25 miles (40 km) southeast of present-day Bettles, Alaska. Years ago it was home to numerous mining expeditions and the camp for the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Today, it is the location of Pump Station 5 (Jim River Station) of the TAPS. Prospect Creek is also home to the United States record for lowest temperature.
Under the Köppen climate classification system, Prospect Creek has a subarctic climate. Prospect has received some of the coldest winters in U.S. history. Prospect Creek was declared the coldest place in the United States at −79.8 °F (−62.1 °C) on January 23, 1971.
Wildlife can be found there even with its extreme changes in temperature; local fauna include anything from black and brown bears to bald eagles. The elevation of Prospect Creek is 643 feet (196 m) above sea level. Nearby Moore Creek is widely known for its gold and quartz mining and sits alongside Prospect Creek in Alaska’s Innoko Mining District (Moorecreek Mining Line, MML). The Innoko Mining District is famous for its findings of large quartz.
