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Valdez (IPA: ) is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 4,036. The city is one of the most important ports in Alaska.
Economy
Valdez is a fishing port, both for commercial and sport fishing. Freight moves through Valdez bound for the interior of Alaska. Sightseeing of the marine life and glaciers, together with both deep-sea and freshwater fishing, support a tourist industry in Valdez. The oil from the Trans-Alaska pipeline is loaded onto ships at the Valdez oil terminal.
Valdez is connected to the interior of Alaska by the Richardson Highway, and is a port of call in the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system. Just north of Valdez on the highway is Thompson Pass, which has spectacular waterfalls and glaciers next to the highway. Thompson Pass is also known for treacherous driving conditions during the winter.
Valdez is also known as the "North Shore" of heli-skiing and is home to no less than five heli-ski operations.
History
The port of Valdez was named in 1790 by the Spanish explorer Don Salvador Fidalgo after the Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdés y Basán. The current Alaskan pronunciation is Val-DEEZ instead of Valdés. Because the Port of Valdez was an ice-free port, a town developed there in 1898. Some steamship companies promoted the Valdez Glacier Trail as a better way to reach the Klondike gold fields or as a better way to find new gold fields in Alaska than the route from Skagway. The prospectors that believed the promotion found that they had been deceived. The glacier trail was twice as long and steep as reported and many died attempting the crossing.
The Richardson Highway was built in 1899 and the early 1900s to connect Valdez to the interior of Alaska. It was a summer-only highway until 1950, when it became a year-round route.
The city was destroyed in the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Liquefaction of the glacial silt which formed the city's foundation led to massive underwater landslides, causing a section of the city to break off and sink into the sea. The underwater soil displacement caused a tsunami 30 feet high to slam the coast. In Valdez, 32 people lost their lives, most of those children on the city dock who were meeting a supply ship. The original site was abandoned; the Army Corps of Engineers transported 60 surviving houses to firmer foundations, restablishing the city at its present site.
From 1975-1977, the Trans-Alaska pipeline was built to carry oil from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields in northern Alaska to a terminal in Valdez, the nearest ice-free port, where the oil is loaded onto tanker ships for transport. The construction and operation of the pipeline and terminal boosted the economy of Valdez.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred as the oil tanker Exxon Valdez was leaving the terminal at Valdez full of oil. The spill occurred at Bligh Reef, about 40 km (25 miles) from Valdez. Although the oil did not reach Valdez, it destroyed much of the marine life in the surrounding area. The clean-up of the oil caused a short-term boost to the economy of Valdez but contributed to the bankruptcy of the neighboring Chugach Corporation, which had partially depended on the sea for its livelihood.
Geography
Valdez is located at .
Valdez is located near the head of a deep fjord in the northeast section of Prince William Sound in Alaska. It is surrounded by the Chugach Mountains, which are heavily glaciated. Valdez is the northernmost port in North America that is ice-free year-round. The northernmost point of the coastal Pacific temperate rain forest is in Valdez, on Blueberry Hill.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 717.6 km² (277.1 mi²). 574.9 km² (222.0 mi²) of it is land and 142.7 km² (55.1 mi²) of it (19.88%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,036 people, 1,494 households, and 1,042 families residing in the city. The population density was 7.0/km² (18.2/mi²). There were 1,645 housing units at an average density of 2.9/km² (7.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.62% White, 0.42% Black or African American, 7.19% Native American, 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 Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,494 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 107.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $66,532, and the median income for a family was $74,188. Males had a median income of $56,932 versus $31,855 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,341. About 5.0% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
External links
- Valdez Official Website
"Valdez, Alaska"