Fairbanks is Alaska's second largest city and is located near the center of the state in the lowland marsh region of the Tanana Valley. It has a rather extreme subarctic climate with long and very cold winters, and short warm summers. The lowest recorded temperature is -54.4C (−66F) and the highest is 37.2C (99F).

The pink flowers are known as Fireweed and are very common throughout the northern boreal forest areas. The name derives from its tendency to rapidly colonize open areas with little competition, such as sites of recent forest fires.