Juneau

Surrounded by beautiful large mountains and lush vegetation, Juneau, Alaska's capital city, is located on the middle of the panhandle in the southeast region of Alaska. Juneau is Alaska's third largest city in population with approximately 30,000 residents and encompasses 3,248 square miles. Juneau is Alaska's capital and one out of every two workers are employed by the State of Alaska.

In 1906, the capital of Alaska was changed from Sitka to Juneau. Fur trade was declining in Sitka and Juneau was booming because of the discovery of gold there. Currently, Juneau is the hub city for the rest of Southeast Alaska. Because it is the largest city on the pan handle, it has much of the main shopping and meeting places.

Before the arrival of the white man Juneau was also used as a mid-station for the natives that occupied the southeastern region of Alaska. Many potlaches and events were held in Juneau to bring all the surrounding native people together. At this time, they would have an opportunity to trade, share traditions, and dance together.

Juneau was also the site that helped usher in the Gold Rush by both Joe Juneau and Richard Harris.

A very interesting fact about Juneau was that before the United States entered WWII, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought out a location to talk peace with the Emperor of Japan. He proposed two sites - Honolulu, Hawaii and Juneau, Alaska. Neither site was selected because Pearl Harbor was attacked before the meeting could be set.

Juneau is the only capital in the United States with no connecting roads. The city is often referred to as "a little San Francisco". To arrive or leave Juneau the ferry system or air transportation must be used.

The climate is wet and mild, while the summer temperature averages at 63 degrees F and winter averages at 20 degrees F. A 100 inches of rain fall in the city annually while snowfall is around 92 inches. Juneau is home to the Mendahall Glacier which is one of the few glaciers that are accesible by road. Naturalist John Muir considered it "one of the most beautiful of the coastal glaciers." He named it "Auk Glacier" after a local Tlingit Indian village in 1879. In 1892 the name was changed to honor Thomas C. Mendenhall, superintendent of the U.S Coast and Geodetic Survey. This enormous glacier is part of the Juneau icefield which is comprised of 1,500 square miles and creating 38 other glaciers. This size is larger than the whole state of Rhode Island. The melting glacier has created Mendenhall Lake which is 50 feet above sea level and in some places 200 feet deep. Juneau is only 28 miles south-west away from the

famous island of Admiralty. This island is home to more than 1,600 brown bears. The island has at least one bear per square mile, while often referring to it as the world's highest population of brown bears. Admiralty also has a high volume of other wildlife. A very high population of eagles reside here as well as result of the high source of food that the island provides. Admiralty is also amazing place for sport fishers because of the large runs of both salmon and halibut throughout the summer.

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Photo by: AK Division of Tourism

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