The North Slope Oil Patch

Prudhoe Bay, home to the nation's largest oil field, is what single-handedly transformed Alaska into an oil-producing powerhouse and became the source of the state's greatest wealth. According to historian Terrance Cole, The balance sheet of Alaskan history is simple: One Prudhoe Bay is worth more in real dollars than everything that has been dug out, cut down, caught, or killed in Alaska since the beginning of time. And yet, it's a place few Alaskans ever visit.