Seward

Seward

Seward is located in southern Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula at the head of Resurrection Bay, 200 km south of Anchorage. Settlers first arrived in the area in the 1890s, and the city was founded as a supply base and ocean terminus for the Yukon Valley Railway in 1903. The city was named after William H. Seward, the US Secretary of State who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Seward was an important port for military construction in Alaska during World War II. To protect the community, Fort Raymond was established along the Resurrection River in Seward. The military airfield built in the city during the war later became Walseth Air Base, but both military installations were closed shortly after the end of the war. The Great Earthquake of 1964 caused fires and tsunamis in the city that destroyed 90 percent of Seward, including its railroad terminus. In Seward, on the shores of Resurrection Bay, you'll find the Alaska SeaLife Center, Alaska's premier public aquarium, and Alaska's only permanent marine mammal rehabilitation facility. Operating since May 1998, its mission is to learn about and preserve the integrity of Alaska's marine ecosystem through research, rehabilitation, conservation and public education. It is the only facility in the world specifically dedicated to the study of the northern marine environment. Thanks to its location at the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad and well-established road connections to Anchorage and the rest of the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is the northern terminus for several major cruise lines operating Alaska cruises, and a frequent destination for general Alaskan tourism.