(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Cordova Alaska is a small city located near the mouth of the Copper River, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 2,327.

History
The area around Cordova was historically home to the Alutiiq, with a population of Eyak to the east, and occasional visits from Ahtna and Tlingit people for trade or battle. Orca Inlet was named "Puerto Córdova", after the city of Cordoba, Spain, by Don Salvador Fidalgo in 1790.

The town now called Cordova was first settled by prospectors in 1884.

One of the first oil fields in Alaska was discovered in 1902 at Katalla, 76 km (47 miles) southeast of Cordova. Cordova was named in 1906 by Michael James Heney, builder of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, after the inlet. Cordova became the railroad terminus and port for copper ore from the mines at Kennicott up the Copper River, after it was determined that Katalla was a poor harbor. The first trainload of ore was loaded onto the steamship Northwestern, and taken to a smelter in Tacoma, Washington, in April 1911. The copper mines operated until 1938 and yielded over $200 million in copper, silver and gold. The Katalla oil field produced until 1933, when it was destroyed by fire.

Cordova was also once the home of a booming razor clam industry -- indeed, between 1915 and 1964 it was known as the "Razor Clam Capital of the World." Historic commercial harvest in this area was as much as 3 million pounds. Returns began declining in the late 1950s, presumably due to over harvesting. The 1964 earthquake effectively destroyed the industry -- in some areas, the ground was thrust up by as much as six feet, exposing the already depleted clam beds. Today the once-thriving industry is all but forgotten even by area residents, though some work is being done on restoring the clam beds. Salmon stream near Eyak Lake.

The economy of Cordova now relies on fishing and canning (particularly of Chinook and sockeye salmon), as well as small amounts of tourism. Cordova has a large fishing fleet that operates in Prince William Sound as well as several fish processing plants.

Cordova is accessible by plane or boat. It is linked directly to the Pacific Ocean shipping lanes through the Gulf of Alaska. It receives barge service, and Alaska Marine Highway service all year long.