International Falls, Minn

OK, so maybe International Falls, Minn., isn't half as cold as Oymyakon or Verkhoyansk, but what it lacks in sheer chill it makes up for by being one of the coldest places in the contiguous United States. About 6,703 people live in International Falls (according to the 2000 census), which sits on the border between the U.S. and Canada.

Winters in International Falls are long and cold with average temperatures in January hovering around 2.7 degrees F. The mercury hits zero on more than 60 nights a year, and the area gets a lot of snow (65.5 inches of annual snowfall). International Falls is waging a war with the next entry, Fraser, Colo., for the trademarked title of "Icebox of the Nation."

Oymyakon, Russia

Folks in Oymyakon take exception whenever Verkhoyansk lays claim to being the coldest location in the Northern Hemisphere, pointing out that they recorded a low of minus 90 degrees F on Feb. 6, 1933. Depending on whom you ask, 500 to 800 people call Oymyakon home, a three-day drive from Yakutsk. Schools stay open through minus 52 degrees.

The village is named after a local hot spring, which some residents tap during the winter by breaking through the thick crust of ice rimming the warm water. Oymyakon's tourism board has promoted the town as a perfect destination for adventure travelers hungry for a taste of the extreme.

Verkhoyansk, Russia

According to the 2002 census, Verkhoyansk in Russia has 1,434 hardy residents who carve out a living in the deep Siberian wilderness. It was founded as a fort in 1638 and serves as a regional hub in cattle breeding and tin and gold mining. Located 404 miles from Yakutsk, another cold locale on our list and and 1,500 miles south of the North Pole, Verkhoyansk was used to house political exiles between the 1860s and early 20th century.

It was no wonder they chose to send exiles to Verkhoyansk: In January the average temperature is minus 50.4 degrees Fahrenheit and mean monthly temperatures stay below freezing from October through April. In 1892, residents recorded the still all-time low of minus 90 degrees F. Modern-day residents pile on huge fur hats and coats and tend to stay indoors when it gets really cold.