Information About

Cordova

Quick Facts

Open in The Map Cordova on The Map

Location

60 ° 32' 34.001" N,
145 ° 45' 27" W

Region

Valdez-Cordova (CA)

Elevation

89 ft (27.13 m)

Cordova in Detail.

About

population 1,128 on SE shore of Orca Inlet, opposite Hawkins I., Chugach Mts.

History

Named by Michael J. Heney, builder of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad, about 1906. A post office was established here in October 1906 (Ricks, 1965, p. 14). The town had its origin as the railroad terminus and ocean shipping port for the copper ore shipped from the Kennicott mine up the Copper River. "On April 8, 1911, Cordova celebrated 'Copper Day,' when the first trainload of copper ore, approximately 1,200 tons of it, arrived from the mines and was poured into the holds of the steamship Northwestern, bound for the smelter at Tacoma (Washington)" (Roguszka, 1964, p. 9). The name of the town was derived from the original name "Puerto Cordova," given to what is now known as Orca Bay, by Senor Don Calvador Fidalgo who visted the region in 1790.

Birds Sighted Here

Sorted by Most Common to Least Common Viewings

Glaucous-winged Gull, Pine Siskin, Rock Sandpiper, Common Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Herring Gull, American Crow, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Sandhill Crane, Bufflehead, Tufted Puffin, Common Raven, Northern Pintail, Marbled Murrelet, Canada Goose, White-winged Scoter, American Robin, Bald Eagle, Dark-eyed Junco, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-necked Phalarope, Common Redpoll, Steller's Jay, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Varied Thrush, Trumpeter Swan, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Surf Scoter, Violet-green Swallow, Dunlin, Black-billed Magpie, Common Merganser, Song Sparrow, Bonaparte's Gull, Common Goldeneye, Tree Swallow, Great Blue Heron, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebe, Fox Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Barrow's Goldeneye, Western Grebe, Whimbrel, Caspian tern, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Pacific Wren, Hermit Thrush, Greater White-fronted Goose, Cackling Goose, Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Hooded Merganser, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird, Black Oystercatcher, Common Loon, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Black-capped Chickadee, Bank Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Dipper, Buff-bellied Pipit, Pine Grosbeak, Lincoln's Sparrow, Eurasian Wigeon, American Black Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Black Scoter, Anna's Hummingbird, Costa's Hummingbird, Semipalmated Plover, Eurasian Dotterel, Hudsonian Godwit, Wilson's Snipe, Pigeon Guillemot, Iceland Gull, Red-throated Loon, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Starling, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Evening Grosbeak, Nashville Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Western Tanager

Places Near Cordova
Cities:

Eyak,

Bars:

Fleming Spit, Gatherer Rock, Government Rock, North Rock, Shag Rock, South Rock, Twin Rocks,

Bays:

Alice Cove, Deep Bay, Eccles Lagoon, Hartney Bay, Middle Arm, Mud Bay, Nelson Bay, Odiak Slough, Shipyard Bay, Simpson Bay, Three Mile Bay, Windy Bay,

Capes:

Point Whitshed, Big Point, Bluff Point, Bomb Point, Fox Point, Gravel Point, Knot Point, Saddle Point, Salmo Point, Shepard Point,

Channels:

Egg Island Channel, The Narrows, Odiak Channel, Orca Channel, Orca Inlet, Western Channel,

Cities:

Cordova,

Dams:

Apw Dam Number 1, APW Dam Number 2, Eyak Lake Dam, Humpback Creek Number 1 Dam, Humpback Creek Number 2 Dam, Humpback Creek Number 3 Dam, Meals Lake Dam,

Islands:

Boy Scout Island, Channel Islands, Egg Islands, Grass Island, Mavis Island, North Island, Observation Island, Spike Island,

Lakes:

Crater Lake, Eyak Lake, Hole-in-the-wall, Ibeck Pond, Meals Lake, Milton Lake, Odiak Lagoon, Sahlin Lagoon, Scout Lake,

Mountains:

Mount Eccles, Mount Eyak, Heney Peak, Mount Robert Korn, Mount Shiels, Snyder Mountain, Tripod Hill,

Mountain Passes:

Big Glacier, Center Slough, Joe Reeves Slough, Johnson Slough,

Mountain Ranges:

Heney Range,

Rivers:

Eyak River, Rude River, Scott River, Sheep River, Sheridan River,

Streams:

Big Glacier Slough,

Streams:

Boulder Creek, Currin Slough, Deep Creek, Eccles Creek, Fleming Creek, Government Slough, Hartney Creek, Heney Creek, Humpback Creek, Ibeck Creek, Koppen Creek, Lydick Slough, Mountain Slough, Nicolet Creek, Orca Creek, Parson Falls Creek, Power Creek, Raging Creek, Robinson Falls Creek, Rogue Creek, Sahlin Creek, Simpson Creek, Snyder Falls Creek, Wesley Falls Creek, Windy Creek,

Routes:

Eyak Trail,

Cities:

Crystal Falls, Orca, Whitshed,

Waterfalls:

Ohman Falls, Sahlin Falls,