 Healy lies at the mouth of Healy Creek on the Nenana River, 78 miles southwest of Fairbanks. It is located on a 2.5-mile spur road, just north of the entrance to the Denali National Park and Preserve on the George Parks Highway.
Healy was developed by the Usibelli Coal Mine in 1918, and has grown to become Alaska's largest coal mining operation. The mine supplies 800,000 tons of coal a year, to Golden Valley Electric, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the military, and South Korea. The Usibelli Coal Mine began a successful environmental reclamation program in 1971. Dall sheep now graze where there was once a strip mine. 5.3% of the population are Alaska Native or part Native. Healy is a coal mining town that has evolved into an economically-diverse community. Tourism also greatly affects the economy during summer months. |
