SEWARD

city, southern Alaska, U.S., on Kenai Peninsula, at the head of Resurrection Bay. Founded in 1903 as a supply base and ocean terminus for a railway to the Yukon Valley (since 1913, the Alaska Railroad), it was named for William H. Seward, the secretary of state who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Its ice-free port provides an important freight dock for interior Alaska. Tourism (hunting and fishing) is an economic asset, and the Silver Salmon Derby is held each August. Seward has a large vocational training facility and is the site of the University of Alaska's Institute of Marine Sciences. The city was severely damaged by the 1964 earthquake. Inc. 1912. Pop. (1990) 2,699.