Valdez Harbor

Valdez is a small port city on the north shore of Prince William Sound in Southcentral Alaska, surrounded by some of the most dramatic glaciated mountains in North America. This live camera looks across Valdez Harbor toward the Chugach Mountains, capturing fishing boats, ferries, and the constantly changing maritime weather that defines life in coastal Alaska. Valdez is the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline — the 800-mile pipeline that carries crude oil from the North Slope to tidewater. The Valdez Marine Terminal sits across the bay from the harbor and is one of the largest oil-handling facilities in the world. Tanker traffic in and out of Prince William Sound is a regular sight from the harbor. Valdez was also the namesake of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill — though the actual grounding occurred 25 miles southwest at Bligh Reef. Snowfall in Valdez is legendary. The town averages over 300 inches of snow per winter, and the surrounding mountains receive even more. Thompson Pass, just outside town on the Richardson Highway, holds the Alaska state record for annual snowfall with 974.5 inches. Heli-skiing operations attract experienced skiers and snowboarders from around the world to the powder-rich Chugach. Salmon runs in the summer draw commercial and sport fishermen, and the harbor processes one of the largest sockeye catches in Alaska. Nearby attractions include the Solomon Gulch Hatchery, the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive, the Old Town Valdez Site (the original town was destroyed in the 1964 earthquake and rebuilt four miles away), Worthington Glacier on the way to Thompson Pass, and access to Prince William Sound by ferry or charter boat for glacier viewing and wildlife tours.