No Roads Lead Here

Cordova, Alaska: A Town Built on Copper

Alaskans have a reputation for being hardy, resourceful people in the face of bitterly cold winters and other dangers in the environment around them.

In Cordova, a port on Prince William Sound, people live with no roads into or out of town and more than a handful of locals are content if it stays that way. People come and go from Cordova by ferry or fishing boat, a lucky few fly in and out.

Others live out their days in the town that is ringed with snow-topped mountains and…