Valdez is home to two Coast Guard units. Their primary duties are to monitor and enforce shipping traffic in Prince William. As the terminus of the Alaska oil pipeline, Valdez is among the most important harbors in the country.
The Marine Safety Office has a roster of about 75; the 110-foot cutter Long Island has a crew of about 20. There is a Coast Guard community center and some housing available.The most important thing to know about Valdez is its location.
Valdez is located on the north shore of Port Valdez, a deep-water fjord in Prince William Sound. It lies 305 road miles east of Anchorage, and 364 road miles south of Fairbanks. It is the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
To get to Valdez, you may drive the Richardson Highway, connecting Valdez to Anchorage, Fairbanks and Canada. Port Valdez is ice-free year round and is navigated by hundreds of ocean-going oil cargo vessels each year. The State Ferry provides transport to Valdez, Whittier, Cordova, Kodiak, Seward and Homer in the summer; Cordova only in the winter.
The weather in Valdez is second in importance. January temperatures range from 21 to 30; July temperatures are 46 to 61. Annual precipitation is 62 inches. The average snowfall is, incredibly, 325 inches (27 feet) annually.