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Valdez is a city with approximately 4,000 inhabitants, and it is one of the largest cities in Alaska. The city’s Spanish name comes from 1790, when the place was named after the Spanish naval officer and minister, Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán. It was the explorer Salvador Fidalgo who named the place during an expedition to northwestern America.
Since 1493, Spain had claimed all land in the Western Hemisphere with the exception of Brazil, but they did not take advantage of this right during the first centuries. In the 18th century, Russia and England expanded overseas, and this caused Spain to send Salvador Fidalgo on an expedition that, among other things, had to ensure knowledge of Russian and English interests and presence in the area. At the time, Nootka was Spain’s northernmost settlement, and Fidalgo sailed from here. On June 15, 1790, Fidalgo discovered a natural harbor and named it Puerto Valdez.
However, a city did not immediately arise at Puerto Valdez. It took until 1898 before a smaller town arose. It happened when some were lured here instead of following the gold rush of the time towards the Klondike. This was done by companies promising easier access to the Klondike than from Skagway, which turned out to be wrong. The town was established, however, and in 1899 the Richardson Highway opened from Valdez to Fairbanks, bringing growth with it.
Valdez grew over the years until 1964, when the town was destroyed during the Good Friday earthquake. It shook much of Alaska on March 27, and the waterlogged soil under Valdez caused a large landslide under the town that destroyed part of it and resulted in the death of 32 people and a subsequent tsunami. The earthquake had the aftereffect that Valdez was moved a few kilometers to the west to safer ground at the present city’s location. 54 houses were moved here, and quite a few other buildings were abandoned or burned after the move.
Today, Valdez is a port town popular with tourists who want to experience the area’s nature. Many people choose to go on an exciting sailing trip on Prince William Sound, where the icebergs float and where there is a view of glaciers and a rich wildlife with e.g. otters, whales and eagles. The Valdez Glacier Lake is also worth a trip, and in the city itself you can enjoy the view of the surrounding mountains or go for a walk in the small center. The city’s marina is located here, and you can visit the Valdez Museum & Historical Archive. At the museum, there are exhibitions about the city with a focus on e.g. the gold mining era and the 1964 earthquake.
North Harbor Drive is the street that runs along Valdez’s harbor basin and is where much of the town’s life takes place. Some of the city’s cafes and restaurants are located here, and from here you can go on several sailing trips in Port Valdez and to Prince William Sound.
It is also at North Harbor Drive that you can take a closer look at the city’s fishing. The fishing boats come into port, and the day’s catch is landed and hung up, so that you can really see the impressive halibut and other fish that are caught. The fish are filleted on the waterfront at the Harbormaster’s house, and the fish remains attract, among other things, sea eagles with the characteristic white head.
At the Valdez Museum you can learn about the interesting history of Valdez from the first inhabitants to the European explorers and the gold rush that made Alaska boom. You can also learn more about aviation in the area, the important oil industry and the 1964 earthquake.
The museum has two departments. At the Egan Drive address, a large part of the history is conveyed, while the branch on Hazelet Avenue concentrates on the great and devastating earthquake that struck in 1964, and on the historic Valdez, which was moved to the present city after that very earthquake.
The Dock Point Trail is a hilly hiking trail that starts from the Dock Point Trailhead, which is located immediately north of the Port of Valdez. It’s a wonderful trip, where you e.g. comes through what is a northerly located rainforest with all the flora that the heavy rainfall brings.
Along the route you can also see over the Duck Flats wetlands, which are a large salt marsh. The area with the large mud banks nurtures a rich ecosystem with, among other things, fish fry and many birds. The area also attracts otters and bears, so there is often something to see.
The town of Valdez’ was originally located at the bottom of Valdez Port, but in 1964 an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 hit large parts of Alaska. Valdez was built on the embankment, which partly slipped into the water with great destruction and loss of life as a result. After the earthquake, it was decided to move Valdez to the city’s current location, which is on a safer underground, and thereby the old Valdez was abandoned.
They chose to demolish the remaining houses and move them, and the rest of the old town was burned, so that there was no risk of more people settling down and living in the unsafe area. Therefore, Old Town Valdez is today deserted and without buildings, but you can still see parts of the road network and go on walks where there is information about what was on the site before 1964. If you visit the Valdez Museum before the trip, you can see, for example, what life was like along McKinley Avenue and other streets.
East of Valdez is the Valdez Glacier, which originates from the Chugach Mountains. The glacier empties into Valdez Glacier Lake, where you can see the ice from the calving glacier. It is a beautiful sight that you can enjoy from the lakeside.
If you also want to see the Valdez Glacier itself, you can go on one of the popular kayak trips, where you paddle between the ice in the glacier lake, while you approach the edge of the glacier itself without getting too close, because the glacier continuously calves quite large icebergs into the lake .
Dayville Road is a road that runs along the south side of Port Valdez and thereby across from the town of Valdez. The road leads to the oil terminal and thereby the shipping of the oil that flows here from Prudhoe Bay through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, but there are places to see along the way.
Dayville Road is a good place to look for seals, sea lions and bears during salmon season. Bears also come here when it is in season for the many berries that Alaska’s bears also eat. On the way you can also see the canyon Solomon Gulch, and next to it is the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery, which produces salmon fry on a large scale. During the salmon season, you can also go to Allison Point, which is a popular spot for anglers.
Keystone Canyon is a 3 mile (4.8 km) canyon located as part of the Richardson Highway access road to and from Valdez. The bottom of the canyon, where the Richardson Highway is located, varies in width from around 30 meters to a good 150 meters, and the entire stretch with the almost vertical rock walls is very attractive.
The highlights of Keystone Canyon are the two waterfalls where there are parking lots for easy access to the impressive sights; Bridal Vail Falls and Horsetail Falls. Both falls feed the Lowe River, which empties into Port Valdez. A little north of the falls, you can also see a partially blown up railway tunnel, which is the only thing preserved from Valdez’s plans to become a railway town at the beginning of the 20th century.
Along the Richardson Highway in the mountain area east of Valdez, you can see the Worthington Glacier, which is one of the most easily accessible in Alaska. The glacier can be seen from the road, but there is also a car park and footpaths to look out over the glacier.
The Worthington Glacier is born from the snowfall in the Chugach Mountains, and it melts into the Tsina River. Like many of Alaska’s glaciers, the Worthington Glacier has also retreated over the past 150 years, but you can still see large parts of it preserved between the rocks.
Valdez
Overview of Valdez
Valdez is a city with approximately 4,000 inhabitants, and it is one of the largest cities in Alaska. The city’s Spanish name comes from 1790, when the place was named after the Spanish naval officer and minister, Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán. It was the explorer Salvador Fidalgo who named the place during an expedition to northwestern America.
Since 1493, Spain had claimed all land in the Western Hemisphere with the exception of Brazil, but they did not take advantage of this right during the first centuries. In the 18th century, Russia and England expanded overseas, and this caused Spain to send Salvador Fidalgo on an expedition that, among other things, had to ensure knowledge of Russian and English interests and presence in the area. At the time, Nootka was Spain’s northernmost settlement, and Fidalgo sailed from here. On June 15, 1790, Fidalgo discovered a natural harbor and named it Puerto Valdez.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
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