Valdez, Alaska

Valdez, Alaska Suacit
City
Aerial view showing the townsite, the harbor, Port Valdez, the lower Mineral Creek valley, and Blueberry Hill
Location of Valdez, Alaska
Coordinates: 61°7′51″N 146°20′54″W / 61.13083°N 146.34833°W / 61.13083; -146.34833
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Chugach
Incorporated	June 11, 1901[1]
Government
• Mayor	Sharon Scheidt
• State senator	Mike Shower (R)
• State rep.	George Rauscher (R)
Area [2]
• Total	271.91 sq mi (704.24 km2)
• Land	212.69 sq mi (550.86 km2)
• Water	59.22 sq mi (153.37 km2)
Elevation	98 ft (30 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,985
• Density	18.74/sq mi (7.23/km2)
Time zone	UTC−9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−8 (AKDT)
ZIP code	99686
Area code	907
FIPS code	02-82200
GNIS feature ID	1412465
Website	www.ci.valdez.ak.us

Valdez (/vælˈdiːz/ val-DEEZ; Alutiiq: Suacit) is a city in the Chugach Census Area^[a] in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to the 2020 US Census, the population of the city is 3,985, up from 3,976 in 2010.^[4] It is the third most populated city in Alaska's Unorganized Borough.

The city was named in 1790 after the Spanish Navy Minister Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán. A former Gold Rush town, it is located at the head of Port Valdez on the eastern side of Prince William Sound. The city was incorporated in 1901, but did not flourish until after the road link to Fairbanks was constructed in 1910. 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. Valdez is also the terminus for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

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