Valdez
Valdez is a super gorgeous town! The folks that say there is nowhere prettier than Whittier probably haven’t visited Valdez! Summertime glacier and snow melt creates picturesque waterfalls pouring off the mountainsides. Waterfalls can be seen from many bays out of the Port of Valdez and from land. Kayaking, bicycling and fishing are all great activities here. Saltwater fishing is fantastic here with large freshwater runs of Coho and Pink Salmon. Catching salmon from the docks or shoreline here is about as easy as catching bluegills in a lower 48 farm pond!
Interesting History
Valdez is a city in the Chugach Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to the 2010 US Census, the population of the city is 3,976, down from 4,036 in 2000. The city was named in 1790 after the Spanish Navy Minister Antonio Valdés y FernándezBazán. A former Gold Rush town, it is located at the head of a fjord on the eastern side of Prince William Sound. The port did not flourish until after the road link to Fairbanks was constructed in 1899. It suffered catastrophic damage during the 1964 Alaska earthquake, and is located near the site of the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill. Today, it is one of the most important ports in Alaska, a commercial fishing port as well as a freight terminal.
The port of Valdez was named in 1790 by the Spanish explorer Salvador Fidalgo after the Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdés y FernándezBazán.[5] A scam to lure prospectors off the Klondike Gold Rush trail led to a town being developed there in 1898. Some steamship companies promoted the Valdez Glacier Trail as a better route for miners to reach the Klondike gold fields and discover new ones in the Copper River country of interior Alaska than that from Skagway.
The prospectors who believed the promotion found that they had been deceived. The glacier trail was twice as long and steep as reported, and many men died attempting the crossing, in part by contracting scurvy during the long cold winter without adequate supplies. The town did not flourish until after the construction of the Richardson Highway in 1899, which connected Valdez and Fairbanks. With a new road and its ice-free port, Valdez became permanently established as the first overland supply route into the interior of Alaska. The highway was open in summer-only until 1950, when it was operated as a year-round route.
Valdez according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 277.1 square miles, of which, 222.0 square miles is land and 55.1 square miles (19.88%) is water.Valdez is located near the head of a deep fjord in the Prince William Sound in Alaska. It is surrounded by the Chugach Mountains, which are heavily glaciated. According to the Weather Channel and NOAA, Valdez is the snowiest city in the United States, with an average of almost 300 inches per year.
Valdez first appeared on the 1900 U.S. Census as the unincorporated village of “Valdes.” It formally incorporated as Valdez in 1901, and has reported in every successive census. The original townsite was relocated in 1967 from the east side to the north side of Port Valdez after the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, but still lays within the present city limits.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 3,976 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 78.6% White, 0.6% Black, 7.6% Native American or Alaska Native, 1.9% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander and 5.8% from two or more races. 4.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,036 people, 1,494 households, and 1,042 families living in the city. The population density was 18.2 people per square mile (7.0/km2). There were 1,645 housing units at an average density of 7.4 per square mile (2.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.62% White, 0.42% Black or African American, 7.19% Native American or Alaska Native, 2.18% Asian, 0.45% Pacific Islander, 1.41% from other races, and 4.73% from two or more races. 3.96% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.