[val-deez] 
| an ice-free port in S Alaska, at N end of the Gulf of Alaska: S terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. 3079. |
| Val·dez (vāl-dēz') A city of southern Alaska on an inlet of Prince William Sound. A military base during World War II, it is the southern terminus of the oil pipeline from Prudhoe Bay. An oil spill in the waters of the sound caused extensive environmental damage in 1989. Population: 4,000. |
Valdez
city, southeastern Alaska, U.S. Situated on Prince William Sound, 305 miles (490 km) east of Anchorage, it is the northernmost all-year port in North America. Formerly known as Copper City, it was renamed in 1898 for its harbour (explored and named by Spaniards in 1790 in honour of naval officer Antonio Valdes y Basan) when it became a gateway for the Yukon goldfields. After it was severely damaged by the great Alaska earthquake of 1964, the city was rebuilt 5 miles (8 km) west on safer ground. Valdez was the principal settlement affected when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, in what was then the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
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