Valdez, Alaska (AK), United States

Facts & Statistics
Place Name	Valdez
Pronunciation	val-DEEZ
Place Status (Type)	city
Population	4,068 (1990)
Location	Alaska, United States, North America
Latitude	61°07'N
Longitude	146°16'W

Valdez (val-DEEZ), city (1990 pop. 4,068), Valdez-Cordova census div., S Alaska, at the head of Valdez Arm inside Prince William Sound; 61°07'N 146°16'W. It has tourist and fishing industries, as well as salmon spawning grounds. The city's excellent landlocked, ice-free harbor was explored and named by the Spaniards in 1790. Valdez was est. 1898 as a debarkation point for those seeking a route to the Yukon goldfields that would obviate the necessity of paying duty to Canada. Connected to Fairbanks and Anchorage over Thompson pass via Richardson and Glenn highways. The city was devastated by the 1964 earthquake; the resulting tidal wave swept over the wharf and destroyed downtown Valdez. It was rebuilt at a location 5 mi/8 km W of the old site. Valdez is the S terminus of the trans-Alaskan (Alyeska) oil pipeline, built in the 1970s (begun 1974, completed 1977), that originates in Prudhoe Bay. Its port facilities were greatly enlarged in the mid-1970s. On Mar. 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez hit a reef near Valdez and spilled approximately 11 million gals/41 million liters of oil into Prince William Sound. Clean-up efforts ensued, but much wildlife was killed or endangered as a result of the environmental disaster. Inc. 1901.