Information About

Port Valdez

Quick Facts

Open in The Map

Location

61 ° 6' 20.002" N,
146 ° 30' 6.998" W

Region

Valdez

Nearest City

Parent

Length

13 mi (20.92 km)

Uses

Boating, Fishing, Kayaking, Motor Boating, Open Water Kayaking, Sailing

Wildlife

Pink Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Chum Salmon, Harbor Seal, Steller Sea Lion, Dall's Porpoise, Humpback Whale, Sea Otter, Lion's Mane Jellyfish

Tributaries

Anderson Bay, Jackson Point, Annin Glacier, Entrance Island, Lowe River, Allison Creek, Crooked Creek, Gold Creek, Mineral Creek, Salmon Creek, Sawmill Creek, Valdez Glacier Stream, Solomon Gulch,

Port Valdez in Detail.

Getting There

Get to Valdez.

About

Port Valdez is a 13 mile long, glacier carved fjord that runs almost exactly east-west, in to the Chugach Mountains. The town of Valdez sits on its north shore while the Alyeska Marine Terminal resides on the south shore.

In May as many ten humpback whales have been counted entering Port Valdez, other years none. Dall's porpoise may occasionally enter Port Valdez. While seals, sea lions, and sea otters are year round residents of Port Valdez.

In June-July Port Valdez can be pack with seiners catching pink salmon.

History

Named on June 16, 1790 by Don Salvador Fidalgo for the celebrated Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdes y Basan. Having been adopted by Captain Vancouver, the name came into local use (Wagner, 1937, p. 420).

Port Valdez Gallery

Pictures of, from, or near Port Valdez.

Topo Maps

Valdez (1952), Valdez (1952), Valdez (1952), Valdez (1952), Valdez A-7 (1960), Valdez A-7 (1960), Valdez A-7 (1960), Valdez (1960), Valdez (1960), Valdez (1960), Valdez (1960), Valdez (1960), Valdez (1960), Valdez A-7 (1996), Valdez A-7 SW (2016),

Birds Sighted Here

Sorted by Most Common to Least Common Viewings

Black-legged Kittiwake, Arctic Tern, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, White-winged Scoter, Gadwall, Mallard, Common Gull, Surf Scoter, American Crow, Marbled Murrelet, Pelagic Cormorant, Least Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, Pigeon Guillemot, Horned Puffin, Tufted Puffin, Harlequin Duck, Semipalmated Plover, Rhinoceros Auklet, Common Merganser, Barrow's Goldeneye, Black Oystercatcher, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Bald Eagle, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Dunlin, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Wigeon, Bonaparte's Gull, Caspian tern, Black-billed Magpie, Bufflehead, Spotted Sandpiper, Wandering Tattler, Herring Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, Common Redpoll, Fox Sparrow, Wilson's Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Aleutian Tern, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Pacific Loon, Greater Scaup, Steller's Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Black Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Short-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Red-throated Loon, Barn Swallow, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Red-necked Grebe, Parasitic Jaeger, Dark-eyed Junco, Savannah Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Trumpeter Swan, Hudsonian Godwit, Wilson's Snipe, Pomarine Jaeger, Kittlitz's Murrelet, Parakeet Auklet, White-winged Tern, Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Bank Swallow, Varied Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eurasian Wigeon, Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, Black-bellied Plover, Baird's Sandpiper, Glaucous Gull, Fork-tailed Storm-petrel, Red-faced Cormorant, Golden Eagle, Downy Woodpecker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Boreal Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Buff-bellied Pipit, Song Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird, Rock Pigeon

Related Places

Solomon Gulch,

Places Near Port Valdez

Bars:

Basins:

Gumboot Basin, Uno Basin,

Bays:

Anderson Bay, Galena Bay, Jack Bay, The Lagoon, Port Valdez, Shoup Bay, Virgin Bay,

Capes:

Allison Point, Dock Point, Entrance Point, Jackson Point, Potato Point, Tongue Point,

Channels:

The Narrows, Valdez Narrows,

Cities:

Dams:

Ellamar Dam Number 1, Ellamar Dam Number 2, Solomon Gulch Dam A, Solomon Gulch Dam B, Solomon Lake Dam,

Flats:

Glaciers:

Glacier G213478E61182N, Allison Glacier, Annin Glacier, Area 51 Glacier, Glacier G213498E61160N, Glacier G213500E61175N, Glacier G213550E61021N, Glacier G213583E61167N, Glacier G213585E61165N, Glacier G213585E61165N, Glacier G213602E61200N, Glacier G213603E61218N, Glacier G213614E61180N, Glacier G213653E61264N, Glacier G213685E61168N, Glacier G213708E60993N, Johnson Glacier, Kate Glacier, Mineral Creek Glacier, Salmon Creek Glacier, Shoup Glacier, Westbrook Glacier,

Routes:

Blue Horizons, Excalibur, Gravy Tran, Kayaker's Delight, Necromancer, Peggy's Mane, Wowie Zowie,

Islands:

Ammunition Island, Entrance Island, Middle Rock, Mineral Creek Islands,

Lakes:

Allison Lake, Millard Lake, Silver Lake, Solomon Gulch Lake, Solomon Lake, Solomon Lake, Turner Lake,

Locales:

Area 51, Cabell Chute, Chuck Chute, Chuck Junior, Jago Chute, Lucky 13, Runner's Delight, Sentinel, Sheepshead Chute,

Mine:

Big Four Mine, Giant Mine, Hercules Mine, Johnson Mine, Wagner Mine,

Mountains:

Mount Cameron, Mount Denson, Ellamar Mountain, Mount Kate, Mount Hogan, Mummy Mountain, Mount Shasta, Mount Thomas,

Parks:

Jack Bay State Marine Park, Shoup Bay State Marine Park,

Peaks:

Benzene, Mile High Peak, Snow Dome,

Rivers:

Streams:

Allison Creek, Big Creek, Brevier Creek, Copper Creek, Crooked Creek, Dayville Creek, Donaldson Creek, East Fork Mineral Creek, Glacier Creek, Gladhaugh Creek, Gold Creek, Gregorioff Creek, Horsetail Creek, Indian Creek, Johnson Cove Creek, Johnson Creek, Levshakoff Creek, McAllister Creek, Millard Creek, Mineral Creek, Palmer Creek, Salmon Creek, Sawmill Creek, Uno Creek, Wood Creek,

Routes:

Area 51 Access Trail, Dock Point Trail, High School Hill, High School Hill to Summit Trail, High School Hill Water Tower Trail, Homestead Trail, Jack Bay Island Trail, John Hunter Memorial Trail, Mineral Creek East Trail, Mineral Creek Stamp Mill Trail, Mineral Creek West Trail, Shoup Bay Trail, Solomon Gulch Valdez Overlook Spur, Valdez Bike Path, Valdez Overlook Trail,

Valleys:

Solomon Gulch, Vesuvius Valley,

Cities: