Prince William Sound: southern pipeline terminus.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: Regional Review

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Alaska's Prince William Sound is an intriguing blend of tidewater glaciers, rainforests, mountains and wildlife. Geographically located off the Gulf of Alaska, it sits on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula.

Prince William Sound's largest city is Valdez, which is located at the southern terminus of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Other significant communities on the Sound include Cordova and Whittier, as well as the Alaska Native villages of Chenega and Tatitlek.

The bulk of the land surrounding Prince William Sound is part of the Chugach National Forest--the second-largest national forest in the country. Prince William Sound is heavily accented by the massive Chugach Mountains and several barrier islands along the coastline, including Montague Island, Hinchinbrook Island and Hawkins Island.

Early in its history, in 1778, Prince William Sound was explored by British navigator and Captain James Cook. Cook initially named it Sandwich Sound, after his patron the Earl of Sandwich; however, the editors of Cook's maps changed the name to Prince William Sound in honor of the man who would later become King William IV.

A variety of significant events have shaped Prince William Sound's history and changed its landscape throughout the years. For example, a 1964 tsunami resulting from the Good Friday Earthquake killed villagers in Chenega and virtually destroyed the original town of Valdez. And in 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker bound for Long Beach, Calif., struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled from 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil. The spill caused massive environmental damage, killing numerous seabirds, otters, seals, bald eagles and whales. The residual effects of the spill still linger today, altering some marine species and human lives forever. The Valdez spill was the largest ever in U.S. waters until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released.

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ECONOMY OF THE REGION

As a region, Prince William Sound's economy varies from other parts of Alaska. Many areas of the State are driven by only a few industries; Prince William Sound has more economic diversity.

"Prince William Sound is kind of a microcosm for Alaska," says Alyssa Shanks, an Alaska Department of Labor economist who specializes in the employment and wages of the Interior, Gulf Coast and Northern economic regions. "It has oil and gas, seafood and tourism. The only thing it's missing is the big...