Cordova ( ) is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

city in Chugach Census Area,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It lies near the mouth of the Copper River, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. The population was 2,609 at the 2020 census, up from 2,239 in 2010. No roads connect Cordova to any other Alaskan communities (besides

Eyak The Eyak are an Alaska Native people historically located on the Copper River Delta and near the town of Cordova, Alaska. They are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. Today, Eyak people live in Cordova, Yakutat, across Alaska, and the U ...

), so a plane or ferry is required to travel there.

History

In 1790, the

inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

in front of the current Cordova townsite was named Puerto Cordova by Spanish explorer Salvador Fidalgo. The city of Cordova was named after it, although the inlet itself was later renamed the Orca Inlet. Cordova proper was founded as a result of the discovery of high-grade copper ore at Kennecott, north of Cordova. A group of surveyors from Valdez laid out a town site and Michael James Heney purchased half the land for the terminus of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway after determining that the neighboring town of Katalla was a poor harbor. Heney and his crew held a brief ceremony to organize the town on March 26, 1906. A week later, crews arrived to begin work on the railroad. The first lots in the new town site, making up the heart of present-day Cordova, were sold at auction in May 1908. As the railroad grew, so did the town. Eventually schools, businesses, a hospital, and utilities were established. After the railroad was completed, Cordova became the transportation hub for the ore coming out of Kennecott. From 1911 to 1938, more than 200 million tons of copper ore were transported through Cordova. Cordova Alaska Jan 26 1907

The area around Cordova was historically home to the

, with a population of Chugach to the west, and occasional visits from

Ahtna The Ahtna (also Ahtena, Atna, Ahtna-kohtaene, or Copper River) are an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. The people's homeland called Atna Nenn', is located in the Copper River area of southern ...

and

Tlingit people The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

for trade or battle. The last fluent Eyak speaker Marie Smith Jones died in 2008, but the native people, as well as their traditions and lifestyle, continue to thrive in the region. Cordova was also once the home of a booming razor clam industry. Between 1916 and the late 1950s, it was known as the "Razor Clam Capital of the World". Commercial harvest in the area reached as high as 3.5 million pounds. Returns began declining in the late 1950s, presumably due to

overharvesting Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

and a large die-off in 1958. The 1964 Good Friday earthquake effectively obliterated the industry; in some areas, the ground was thrust up by as much as six feet, exposing the already depleted clam beds. There has been no commercial harvest in the area since 1988 with the exception of a brief harvest in 1993. Alaska - Cordova - NARA - 23937621

In March 1989 the '' Exxon Valdez''

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

ran aground on Bligh Reef north of Cordova causing one of the most devastating environmental disasters in North America. The

Exxon Valdez oil spill The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill was a major environmental disaster that occurred in Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. The spill occurred when ''Exxon Valdez'', an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company, bound for Long Be ...

severely affected the area's

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

and

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

populations leading to a recession of the local fishing-reliant economy as well as a disruption to the area's ecology. After many years of litigation, 450 million dollars were awarded for compensatory and

punitive damages Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...

Demographics

Eagle on fish cleaning station Cordova Alaska

Cordova first appeared on the 1910 U.S. Census as an incorporated city. It incorporated the year before in 1909. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 2,239 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 68.3% White, 0.4% Black, 8.7% Native American, 10.7% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander and 7.6% from two or more races. 4.2% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,454 people, 958 households, and 597 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,099 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 71.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 23.6%

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

and other Native American, 10.1% Asian, 0.4% Black or African American, 1.3% from other races, and 6.7% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.1% of the population. There were 958 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.17. The age distribution was 28.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $50,114, and the median income for a family was $65,625. Males had a median income of $40,444 versus $26,985 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,256. About 4.3% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under the age of 18 and 6.2% of those 65 and older.

Geography

Cordova is located within the

Chugach National Forest The Chugach National Forest is a United States National Forest in south central Alaska. Covering portions of Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River (Alaska), Copper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger ...

at (60.542805, −145.760164). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. The total area is 18.87% water.

Climate

Cordova has a maritime-influenced

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc'') bordering on both a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'') and a

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

(''Cfc''), characterised by cool to mild, rainy summers and moderately cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is very heavy year round. The cool temperatures and heavy rainfall are caused by orographic lift. Westerly winds coming off the North Pacific Ocean are forced upwards by the

Chugach Mountains The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnag ...

which causes the air mass to cool and creates clouds and precipitation. Yearly average precipitation is , with 125 rainy days out of the year. Snow falls mostly from December to March, and an average of falls yearly. Winter temperatures reach lows of and the warmest summer temperatures are around . Most official climate data is recorded at the airport, which is 11 miles from the settlement. Temperatures and precipitation vary drastically between the city and the airport, and precipitation at the city is commonly twice that of the airport.

Economy

Cordova Alaska salmon seine commercial fishing boats

Commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

is the main industry in Cordova. Half of all households in Cordova have at least one person involved in commercial fishing or processing. The fishing fleet mainly fishes the Prince William Sound and Copper River Delta area. There are various fisheries in the area, the most economically important of which is the

fishery. All Pacific salmon species except for the

cherry salmon The masu salmon (''Oncorhynchus masou''), also known as masu () or in Japan, is a species of salmonid belonging to the genus ''Oncorhynchus'', found in the North Pacific along Northeast Asia, Northeast/East Asian coasts from the Russian Far East ...

are caught. Fishermen use either a purse seine, drift

gillnet Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...

, or set gillnet to catch the fish. All fisheries are regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The fisheries in Alaska have a limited entry permit system. The first fish processing plant near Cordova opened in 1887. In 2009 there were 159 purse seine, 511 drift gillnet, and 27 set gillnet permits fished in the Prince William Sound and Copper River Delta area.

Arts and culture

Various festivals and celebrations take place throughout the year. The Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival, hosted by the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, takes place each year in early May. Millions of migrating shorebirds stop in the area to rest and feed before finishing their journey north. The most numerous species are the western sandpiper, least sandpiper, and dunlin. This is a popular time for avid and casual bird watchers to visit. Activities, workshops, and bird watching tours are held throughout the week. The Cordova Iceworm Festival takes place each February. Activities include a parade, talent show, royal crowning ceremony, and various competitions such as an oyster shucking contest, ping pong tournament, and a survival suit race. Copper River Wild Salmon Festival takes place in July at the Mt. Eyak ski area and includes various events. Salmon Jam Music Festival serves as one of the main events and a fund raiser for Cordova Arts, where local musicians perform followed by professional acts and takes place over the course of Friday and Saturday nights. Taste of Cordova, a wild food and Copper River salmon cook off, usually starts the events. Entries are made with a variety of wild, locally harvested foods and are judged by a panel of guest chefs and food writers. The Alaska Salmon Runs start Saturday morning and include a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

, half marathon, 10k, 5k, and a 1-mile race on the Copper River Highway. Small Fry activities are educational events for children and families that take place during the races. The Cordova Historical Museum has exhibits on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, the local fishing industry, and

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...

. They also host a juried art show called "Fish Follies". The Ilanka Cultural Center museum features exhibits on Eyak, Alutiiq, Ahtna and Tlingit history and contemporary life – including artifacts, photographs, and oral histories. The 24-1/2-foot orca whale, Eyak, is one of only five fully rearticulated orca whale skeletons in the world. The Cordova Ikumat Alutiiq group was formed in 1995, composed of youth and adults, and is open to anyone who wants to join; the group performs songs from the past as well as original pieces. The Ilanka Cultural Center offers traditional arts and skills still practiced including skin sewing, beadwork; mask, totem, and ivory carving; "putting up" fish and deer; berry-picking and jam-making; and subsistence and commercial fishing. Southeasterly sculpture Joan Bugbee Jackson Cordova Alaska harbor

Southeasterly sculpture Joan Bugbee Jackson Cordova Alaska harbor

Cordova Center

In late 2010, clearing the site and construction of a community center, to be named the Cordova Center, began. The Cordova Center hosts a new library, museum, auditorium, conference and meeting space, plus city hall offices. It finally opened in the winter of 2015 for the residents of Cordova. Various events take place in the walls of this building such as community movie nights in the theater, winter bazaars, art shows, and many more.

Sports and recreation

Skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

is a popular activity in the winter. The surrounding

provide excellent back country ski slopes. The Mt. Eyak ski area operates a single chair ski lift and rope tow. It is the oldest working ski lift in North America. Snowshoeing and ice skating are very popular sports around the Cordova area when conditions are right.

Hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

is available year-round on many trails. Some are within walking distance of the city while many others are a leisurely drive away."Easy Trails" include: * Eyak River at Copper River Highway mile 5.7 * Alaganik Slough Trail via Copper River Highway to mile 16.9; turn south on Alaganik Slough Road then follow the main road for 2.9 miles. The trail begins on the east side of the road. * Pipeline Lakes Trail at Copper River Highway mile 21.4 * McKinley Lake Trail at Copper River Highway mile 21.6 * Saddlebag Glacier Trail via Copper River Highway to mile 24.6; turn north on firewood cutting road; trail begins one mile away at the end of the road. Cordova Alaska coho salmon fishing

In the summer

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

in Prince William Sound is popular. The Sound has more tidewater

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s than any other region in North America. of the western Sound are designated as the Nellie Juan College Fjord Wilderness Study Area. Indoor recreation includes the Bob Korn Memorial Pool, and the Bidarki Fitness Center, which has a gym with basketball court upstairs, a weight room, and multiple spaces with cardio training equipment The Meals Reservoir Disc Golf Course is a public disc golf course erected in the summer of 2018, located near Meals Reservoir off Whitshed Rd.

Government

The City of Cordova has a Council-Manager type government. The

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

is the

legislative body A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

and has 7 seats. The council is presided over by the Mayor. The Mayor is the ceremonial head of city government and has the power to veto any ordinance. The city council appoints the

City Manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

for an indefinite term (he may be removed at any time by the council). The City Manager is head of the administrative branch of the city government. He executes all ordinances and laws and administers the government of the city. The city levies a property tax as well as a 6 percent sales tax.

Education

The Cordova School District operates the schools in the community. Mt. Eccles elementary school is the only public primary education facility in Cordova and had an enrollment of 206 students in 2008. Public secondary education is served by a single combined junior and senior high school. The high school had an enrollment of 205 students in 2008. The Cordova School District has 26 employed teachers. Post secondary education is provided by the Prince William Sound College, a community campus of University of Alaska Anchorage.

Media

The independently owned city newspaper, the '' Cordova Times'', established in 1914 is published weekly and distributed every Friday. There are three radio stations in the area. KLAM (1450 AM) began broadcasting in 1954 and generally plays classic rock, country, and news and talk shows. KCDV (100.9 FM) started in 1997 and plays top hits, '80s, and '90s music. Both stations are owned by Bayview Communications Inc. KCHU, based in Valdez operates a translator at 88.1 FM that serves Cordova public radio programming. The Cordova area is often featured in ski films by director Warren Miller.

Transportation

Despite being on the mainland, Cordova is only accessible via boat or aircraft, as there is no road connecting the city to any other. It was previously accessible by railroad however the railway is no longer in use largely due to the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and the resulting destruction it caused to the Million Dollar Bridge. The longest road is the Copper River Highway which follows the old railbed of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway for . The first east of Cordova is paved and the rest is gravel. As of the summer of 2011, vehicle traffic can only reach the 36 mile mark as changes in the river course washed out the 339 bridge. The following 13.5 miles may still be accessed via a river crossing by boat. Cars and trucks can be transported to Cordova by ferry. Regular ferry service is provided by the state owned Alaska Marine Highway System to Valdez and Whittier with whistle stops (the ferry only stops if there are prior reservations) in Tatitlek and Chenega Bay. The M/V ''Aurora'' operates in Prince William Sound year round. Alaska Air Copper river delta Cordova 2

Cordova has two airports. Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport is a state-owned airport located east of the city. It has regular jet service provided by

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

. Its main runway is long with an

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

surface., effective October 10, 2008. The Cordova Municipal Airport is from the city and is also state owned. It is located on Lake Eyak which also has a seaplane landing area. The sole runway has a length of with a gravel surface. The municipal airport is mostly used by air taxis and personal aircraft., effective September 25, 2008.

Notable people

* Marie Smith Jones (1918–2008), last native speaker of the

Eyak language Eyak is an extinct Na-Dené language, historically spoken by the Eyak people, indigenous to south-central Alaska, near the mouth of the Copper River. The name Eyak comes from a Chugach Sugpiaq name () for an Eyak village at the mouth of the ...

and last full blood

* Cody McKenzie (born 1987), UFC fighter

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1884 establishments in Alaska Cities in Chugach Census Area, Alaska Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean Populated places established in 1884