Valdez ( ; Alutiiq : '' Suacit '' ) is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska . According to the 2010 US Census , the population of the city is 3,976 , down from 4,036 in 2000 . The city was named in 1790 after the Spanish Navy Minister Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán . A former Gold Rush town , it is located at the head of a fjord on the eastern side of Prince William Sound . The port did not flourish until after the road link to Fairbanks was constructed in 1899 . It suffered catastrophic damage during the 1964 Alaska earthquake , and is located near the site of the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill . Today it is one of the most important ports in Alaska , a commercial fishing port as well as a freight terminal
1964 Alaska earthquake
1964 Alaska earthquake
Valdez, Alaska