Fort Yukon (Gwichyaa Zheh in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle.

Murray drew numerous sketches of fur trade posts and of people and wrote the Journal of the Yukon, 1847–48, which gave valuable insight into the culture of the Gwich’in at the time.

During the Klondike Gold Rush, in the winter of 1897–1898, Fort Yukon received two hundred prospectors from Dawson City, which was short of supply.

During the 1950s, the United States Air Force established a base and radar station at Fort Yukon; the town was officially incorporated in 1959.

Since the late 20th century, due in part to its extreme northerly location and its proximity to Fairbanks, it has become a minor tourist destination.

On February 7, 1984, a Terrier Malemute-type sounding rocket, with a maximum altitude of 310 miles (500 km), was launched from Fort Yukon.

Summer temperatures are exceptionally high for such a northerly area, being far warmer than the tree line threshold.

[9][10] This was also the highest temperature recorded north of the Arctic Circle until June 20, 2020, when it was finally exceeded by a 38 °C (100.4 °F) reading at Verkhoyansk,[11][12] a location similarly known for its extremely continental climate.

[21] The University of Alaska (Fairbanks) operates a rural campus facility called the Yukon Flats Center.