September 23, 2007

Day 7 - The Pipeline

Our first pipeline sighting along the Tanana River

The pipeline's zigzag configuration allows for earthquake movement as well as expansion and contraction of the pipe due to temperature changes

I memoralize our anniversary in the sand along the Tanana River

Despite this warning, security seems non-existant along the pipeline

The pipeline has it's own bridge across the Tanana River

The 800 mile Alaska pipeline extends from the North Slope oil fields in Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic ocean to the Northern most ice free seaport in Alaksa, Valdez. The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company designed and services the pipeline. Construction began on April 29, 1974 and was completed just three years later at a cost of roughly $8 billion dollars. The pipeline transports nearly a million barrels of oil per day. The pipeline was the United States answer to the country's dependence on middle eastern oil and the resulting oil crisis of the 1970's. It appears politicians failed to foresee the popularity of the Hummer and Ford Excursion.

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