Valdez, Alaska
Location of Valdez, Alaska
Coordinates: 61°7′51″N 146°20′54″W / 61.13083, -146.34833
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Valdez-Cordova
Area
- Total	277. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent The US state of Alaska is not divided into counties, as are 48 other states but it is divided into boroughs ( Louisiana is divided into parishes Valdez-Cordova Census Area is a Census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 1 sq mi (717. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 6 km²)
- Land	222. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 0 sq mi (574. 9 km²)
- Water	55. 1 sq mi (142. 7 km²)
Elevation	98 ft (30 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	4,036
- Density	18. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 2/sq mi (7. 0/km²)
Time zone	Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
- Summer (DST)	AKDT (UTC-8)
Area code(s)	907
FIPS code	02-82200
GNIS feature ID	1412465

Valdez (pronounced /val-deez/) is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Alaska Time Zone observes Standard time by subtracting nine hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC-9) The UTC−9 time zone is used in French Polynesia Gambier Islands United States (AKST— Alaska Standard Daylight saving time ( DST UTC−8 is a band of Timezones separated from the Universal Coordinated Time by 8 hours A telephone numbering plan is a plan for allocating Telephone number ranges to countries regions areas and exchanges and to non-fixed telephone networks Area code 907 covers the entire state of Alaska, except for the small southeastern Alaska community of Hyder Alaska, which uses the 250 Federal Information Processing Standards ( FIPS) are publicly announced standards developed by the United States Federal government for use by all non-military The Geographic Names Information System ( GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout Valdez-Cordova Census Area is a Census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,020. ^[1] The city is one of the most important ports in Alaska. Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent

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 freshwater fishing, and heli skiing support a tourist industry in Valdez. The oil from the Trans-Alaska pipeline is loaded onto ships at the Valdez oil terminal. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System ( TAPS) usually called the Alyeska Pipeline in Alaska or the Alaska Pipeline elsewhere is a major U The Valdez Oil Terminal is an oil port in Valdez Alaska, at the southern end of the Alaska The natural setting for Valdez is one of the most beautiful on Earth, and it has been called the Switzerland of Alaska.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company is one of the biggest employers in town but it started to move several positions to its headquarters in Anchorage since the town council passed a resolution charging a tax to all the tankers coming into the port to be loaded with oil. The Alyeska consortium refers to the major oil companies that own and operate the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS through the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. This has had an impact in the population size and the economy.

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. See also Alaska Route 1, Alaska Route 2 The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U Alaska Marine Highway or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS is a Ferry service operated by the government of the U 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. Heliskiing is off-trail downhill skiing that is accessed by a Helicopter, not a Ski lift.

Valdez is also home to several World Extreme Skiing Champs such as Dean Cummings of H2O Guides.

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. Salvador Fidalgo ( 6 August 1756 – 27 September 1803) was a Spanish explorer who commanded an exploring expedition for Spain Because the Port of Valdez was an ice-free port, a town developed there in 1898. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo 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 Klondike or Clondike is a region of the Yukon Territory in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border Skagway (ˈskægweɪ is a first-class borough in Alaska, on the Alaska Panhandle. 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 died attempting the crossing.

Valdez in 1910.

The Richardson Highway was built in 1899 and the early 1900s to connect Valdez to the interior of Alaska. See also Alaska Route 1, Alaska Route 2 The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U In 1907 a shootout between two rival railroad companies ended Valdez’s hope to own the railroad line to the Kennicott Mine, one of the richest copper ore deposits on the continent. A half-completed tunnel marks the location of the right-of-way dispute in Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway. 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 that formed the city's foundation led to massive underwater landslides, causing a section of the city's shoreline to break off and sink into the sea. The underwater soil displacement caused a tsunami 30 feet (9. A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when 1 m) high to slam the coast. In Valdez, 32 people lost their lives, most of them on the city dock, meeting a supply ship. The original town site was abandoned; the Army Corps of Engineers transported 60 surviving houses to firmer foundations, reestablishing the city at its present site. The United States Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE) is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34600 Civilian and 650 Military personnel

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 Trans-Alaska Pipeline System ( TAPS) usually called the Alyeska Pipeline in Alaska or the Alaska Pipeline elsewhere is a major U Prudhoe Bay (ˈpruːdoʊ is a Census-designated place (CDP located in North Slope Borough in the U The Valdez Oil Terminal is an oil port in Valdez Alaska, at the southern end of the Alaska 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 Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24 1989 The spill occurred at Bligh Reef, about 40 km (25 miles) from Valdez. Bligh Reef, sometimes known as Bligh Island Reef, is a Reef off the coast of Bligh Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. 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 bankrupted the neighboring Chugach tribe, who had depended on the sea for their livelihood. Chugach (ˈtʃuːgætʃ is the name of an Alaska Native culture and group of people in the region of the Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound.

The port of Valdez, set against a natural backdrop of mountains and daylight in July. The midnight sun is a phenomenon occurring in Latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle and south and nearby to the north of the Also visible is the shipping terminal for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System ( TAPS) usually called the Alyeska Pipeline in Alaska or the Alaska Pipeline elsewhere is a major U

Geography and climate

Valdez is located at 61°7′51″N, 146°20′54″W.

Valdez is located near the head of a deep fjord in the northeast section of Prince William Sound in Alaska. A fjord or fiord (fjɔːd|fiːɔːd or fiːɔːd is a long narrow Inlet with steep sides created in a valley carved by glacial activity. Prince William Sound is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent It is surrounded by the Chugach Mountains, which are heavily glaciated. The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several Mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge 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. The Pacific temperate rain forests of North America are the largest Temperate rain forest zone on the planet Blueberry Hill (also known as Meals Hill) is located near downtown Valdez, Alaska. ^[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 277. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census 1 square miles (717. 6 km²), of which, 222. 0 square miles (574. 9 km²) of it is land and 55. 1 square miles (142. 7 km²) 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. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population The population density was 18. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 2 people per square mile (7. 0/km²). There were 1,645 housing units at an average density of 7. 4/sq mi (2. 9/km²). 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. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** 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. Per capita income means how much each individual receives in monetary terms of the yearly income generated in the country About 5. 0% of families and 6. 2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5. The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of Income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate Standard of living in a given country 3% of those under age 18 and 11. 4% of those age 65 or over.

Media and culture

Despite its small size, Valdez was at one time home to two weekly newspapers, the Valdez Star and the Valdez Vanguard. The Valdez Star is a small independent weekly newspaper in Valdez, Alaska. In 2004, the Star bought out the Vanguard. Valdez is also home to radio broadcasters KCHU and KVAK. KCHU (770 AM) is a non-commercial Radio station in Valdez Alaska.

Valdez is also home to the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, hosted by the Prince William Sound Community College. The Last Frontier Theatre Conference is an annual conference on American Theatre held in Valdez, Alaska that focuses on Playwrighting It is in University of Alaska Anchorage, a United States educational faculty is the largest member of the University of Alaska System, with more than 17000 students 14000 of whom The annual conference attracts playwrights and actors from around the United States. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works

References

External links

• Valdez Official Website

• Valdez, Alaska is at coordinates 61°07′51″N 146°20′54″W / 61.13083, -146.34833 (Valdez, Alaska)Coordinates: 61°07′51″N 146°20′54″W / 61.13083, -146.34833 (Valdez, Alaska)