Prince William Sound

Prince William Sound is a large, irregular, islanded inlet of the Gulf of Alaska. It features numerous bays and good harbors. The large Columbia Glacier flows into Columbia Bay, which is in the northern part of Prince William Sound. Shipping is focused at the port of Valdez, which is the southern terminus of the trans-Alaskan pipeline. The pipeline links it with the oil field of Prudhoe Bay. Valdez and Cordova are the largest towns on the sound.

Access to the interior of Prince William Sound is by highway and railroad. Fishing, forestry and some mining are prevalent activities in the area. The region came in the news on 24 March 1989, when the Exxon Valdez hit a reef and spilled approximately 10 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. Clean-up efforts were undertaken, but much of the region's wildlife was killed or endangered as a result of the environmental disaster.

Accommodation and restaurants are available in various places around Prince William Sound. The sound is east of the Kenai peninsula in southern Alaska. It is 770 km west from Juneau and 5180 km northwest from Washington D.C.

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Prince William Sound

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