Orca Inlet

Orca Inlet is an arm of Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. The town of Cordova was founded on its coast in 1906. All marine traffic reaches the town through Orca Inlet.

Geography

Orca Inlet lies south and east of Hawkins Island at 60°31′25″N 145°52′46″W / 60.52361°N 145.87944°W / 60.52361; -145.87944. The Inlet is about 16 miles (26 km) long running southwest and about 3 miles (4.8 km) wide at its widest point. The south end opens into the Gulf of Alaska while the north end joins with Orca Bay.

The city of Cordova, Alaska is situated on the southeast shore of Orca Inlet.

History

Orca Inlet was listed in the Geographic Dictionary of Alaska in 1906, citing J.F. Moser's report from 1897. The Orca Cannery operated on the south shore of the inlet; there was a post office at that location from 1894. The Odiak Cannery was located 3 miles southwest of Orca, at the present location of Cordova.

There were once large Razor Clam beds in the intertidal zones of Orca Inlet which were harvested and shipped out of Cordova. Harvests reached 3.5 million pounds at its peak. Populations began to decline in the late 1950s. When the 1964 Good Friday earthquake struck the clam beds were uplifted around 6 feet (1.8 m) exposing them out of the intertidal zone. This led to moderate mortality and eventually the industry crashed.