What’s with the Million Dollar Bridge? About fifty miles up the Copper River from Cordova, a steel railroad bridge stands between two glaciers — Childs on one bank, Miles on the other — both of them calving icebergs into the river as it works. Built in 1909–10 at a cost of $1.4 million, which gave it its name, the Miles Glacier Bridge carried copper trains across one of the most hostile spots in Alaska. Engineers were told it couldn’t be done; they raised four great Pennsylvania-truss spans across the gap anyway, racing a federal deadline through sub-zero winters. The Good Friday earthquake of 1964 knocked one span off its pier, where it hung at an angle for forty years before being repaired. It still stands — the iconic landmark of Cordova’s copper age.
Every spring the first wild salmon of the season come up the Copper River, and chefs from Seattle to New York wait for them. Copper River reds and kings are prized above almost any fish in America — rich, deep-colored, and fatty, because they fuel up for one of the longest, hardest river migrations anywhere, fighting glacial current for nearly three hundred miles to spawn. The first catch of the year is news; the first box flown south is a small celebration. When the copper mines closed, Cordova turned to the water, and the salmon fleet has been the heart of the town ever since.
Why People Visit Cordova
Cordova rewards travelers who want the real, working edge of Alaska: a fishing fleet at the dock, glaciers and a great river delta within reach, world-class birding and salmon, and a town you have to make an effort to reach. Bring rain gear and time.
