In the past, when Howard Farley Sr. would go fishing for king crab, he’d point the bow of his vessel towards the rough and icy waters of the No

Welcome to Nomehenge, Home to Alaska’s Soviet-Era Antennas

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2021-06-21 05:00:04

In the past, when Howard Farley Sr. would go fishing for king crab, he’d point the bow of his vessel towards the rough and icy waters of the Norton Sound. State mandates require that he and other Nome, Alaska, crabbers travel at least 15 miles from their town’s shore to drop their pots, but as the number of successful crustacean catches dwindled in recent years, they’d often go farther and farther afield.

Farley could track his distance from home from GPS, but after a long day at sea, it didn’t feel like he was really back until he could see the four ghostly structures atop Anvil Mountain. “On a clear day you can see them at least five or six miles out,” Farley says. “They were always there, part of Nome.”

Colloquially, they’re known as “Nomehenge” or simply “the billboards,” though, given their concave shape, one could easily mistake them for unfinished skate ramps. Sitting on the summit of the otherwise-bald 1,200-foot mountain that looms behind the town, they’re useful wayfinding aids for aircraft pilots, boat captains, hikers, and snowmobilers—particularly in the winter, when it’s dark much of the day and the snow is deep enough to obscure most other landmarks.