Valdez is nestled at the foot of the Chugach Mountains on the shores of Prince William Sound. It has been called the Switzerland of Alaska and boasts harsh mountain peaks and glaciers. Valdez averages 300 inches of snow a year and is home to the World Extreme Skiing Championships. Valdez is a diligent seaport, shipping oil from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to the west coast of the United States, and now to the Orient. The Port of Valdez was named in 1790 by Senor Fidalgo for the celebrated Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdez y Basan. due to its exceptional ice-free port, a town developed in 1898 as a debarkation point for men seeking a route to the Klondike gold fields. Valdez soon became the supply center of its own gold mining region, and incorporated as a City in 1901. Tsunamis generated by the 1964 earthquake destroyed the original City, killing several residents. The society was rebuilt in a more sheltered location nearby. During the 1970's, construction of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline terminal and other cargo transportation facilities brought rapid development to Valdez. Seeing the famous TransAlaska Pipeline Terminal is high on many visitors' lists of things to do in Valdez. Guided tours of this facility are conducted daily through the summer. Day-long or extended tours of Prince William Sound will take you to be best vantage points of glaciers, sea life, and shorebirds. Excursion vessels, rental boats, charters, and sail boats depart from the Small Boat Harbor. Flight seeing trips over some of the most impressive mountains anywhere are regularly made throughout the summer in helicopters and fixed-wing craft. Outdoor enthusiasts can get pleasure from both inland and ocean options in Valdez. Guided raft trips will take you through Keystone Canyon and past towering waterfalls. Wilderness river journeys will bring you camping or to remote lodges in the Copper Basin. Kayak rentals for the skilled paddler are available along with guided nature tours in Port Valdez and Robe Lake. Ground sightseeing tours will take you up close for photo stops in Keystone Canyon and Thompson Pass. One can take a walking trail right to the edge of Worthington Glacier.