Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau (/ˈdʒuːnoʊ/ JOO-noh; Tlingit: Dzánti K'ihéeni Athapascan pronunciation: [ˈtsʌ́ntʰɪ̀ kʼɪ̀ˈhíːnɪ̀]), is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alaska, located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of what was then the District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900.[6][7] On July 1, 1970, the City of Juneau merged with the City of Douglas and the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough to form the current consolidated city-borough,[8] which ranks as the second-largest municipality in the United States by area and is larger than both Rhode Island and Delaware.
"Juneau" redirects here. For other uses, see Juneau (disambiguation).
Juneau
Dzánti K'ihéeni (Tlingit)
1881 (Juneau City)
1882 (Juneau)
1900
October 1960
September 30, 1963 (Greater Juneau Borough)
July 1, 1970 (City and Borough of Juneau)
Beth Weldon
Jesse Kiehl (D)
Sara Hannan (D)
Andi Story (D)
3,254.70 sq mi (8,429.64 km2)
2,704.03 sq mi (7,003.41 km2)
550.67 sq mi (1,426.23 km2)
14.0 sq mi (36 km2)
33 ft (10 m)
32,255
31,685
11.93/sq mi (4.61/km2)
1,749.5/sq mi (675.5/km2)
US$2.38 billion (2022)
02-36400
Downtown Juneau is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and it is across the channel from Douglas Island. As of the 2020 census, the City and Borough had a population of 32,255,[3][9] making it the third-most populous city in Alaska after Anchorage and Fairbanks. Juneau experiences a daily influx of 6,000 people or more from visiting cruise ships between the months of May and September.
The city is named after a gold prospector from Quebec, Joe Juneau, although it was once called Rockwell and then Harrisburg (after Juneau's co-prospector, Richard Harris). The Tlingit name of the town is Dzántik'i Héeni ("Base of the Flounder's River", dzánti 'flounder,' –kʼi 'base,' héen 'river'), and Auke Bay just north of Juneau proper is called Áak'w ("Little lake", áa 'lake,' -kʼ 'diminutive') in Tlingit. The Taku River, just south of Juneau, was named after the cold t'aakh wind, which occasionally blows down from the mountains.
Juneau is unique among the 49 U.S. capitals on mainland North America in that there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the state or North America. Honolulu, Hawaii, is the only other state capital which is not connected by road to the rest of North America. The absence of a road network is due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city. In turn Juneau is a de facto island city in terms of transportation; all goods coming in and out must be transported by plane or boat, in spite of the city's location on the Alaskan mainland.
Downtown Juneau sits at sea level with tides averaging 16 feet (5 m), below steep mountains about 3,500 to 4,000 feet (1,100 to 1,200 m) high. Atop the mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow; two of them, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Lemon Creek Glacier, are visible from the local road system. The Mendenhall Glacier has been gradually retreating; its front face is declining in width and height.
The Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau was built as the Federal and Territorial Building in 1931. Prior to statehood, it housed federal government offices, the federal courthouse, and a post office. It also housed the territorial legislature and other territorial offices, including that of the governor. Today, Juneau is the home of the state legislature and the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor. Some executive branch offices have moved certain functions to Anchorage and elsewhere in the state .
Efforts to move state capital[edit]
There have been efforts and discussions about moving Alaska's capital away from Juneau.[52] A primary motivating factor has been concerns about Juneau's remote location.[53] In 1960, 56% of voters voted against a measure to move the capital to a location in the "Cook Inlet-Railbelt Area" (the specific location would subsequently be selected by a committee appointed by the governor).[52] In 1962, 55% of voters voted against a measure to move the capital to "Western Alaska... within 30 miles of Anchorage". "Senior" state senators would have been chosen to select three potential sites to be put to a vote by later vote by the state's electorate.[52]
In 1974, at a time when Alaska was expected to be flushed with new funds from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, 56% Alaskan voters approved an initiative to move the capital.[52][53][54] The initiative specified that the new location must be within 300 miles of both Anchorage and Fairbanks and have at least 100 square miles of donated public land. The initiative would have the final location selected by a committee appointed by the governor. The committee proposed Larson Lake, Mount Yenlo, and Willow as sites and Willow received 53% of votes in a 1976 statewide vote. However, in 1978, voters rejected a measure to fund a move to Willow, with 55% of voters voting against spending $996 million to move the capital there.[52][53] In 1978, voters also approved the Fiscally Responsible Alaskans Needing Knowledge (FRANK) Initiative, which required that all costs of moving the capital be disclosed and approved by Alaskans before the move commenced.[52] In 1982, 53% of voters voted against spending roughly $2.9 billion to move the capital to Willow. This vote also had the effect of repealing the previous approval of moving the capital.[52]
In 1994, a statewide initiative to move Alaska's capital to Wasilla was defeated by a vote of 116,277 (54.7%) to 96,398 (45.3%). At the same time, 77% of voters approved a renewed FRANK Initiative.[52][55][56] In 2002, Alaskan voters again voted against moving the state's capital.[53] Advocacy for a capital move has continued.[52][57]
Education[edit]
Primary and secondary schools[edit]
Juneau is served by the Juneau School District,[60] and includes the following schools:[61]
Infrastructure[edit]
Healthcare[edit]
The city and borough is primarily served by Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau's Twin Lakes area. The hospital also serves the nearby remote communities of Hoonah, Haines, and Skagway. Individuals from those communities are airlifted in emergencies to the hospital via helicopter or air ambulance (a 20-minute to a 45-minute flight).
Juneau is served by the following utilities:
, Canada
Whitehorse, Yukon
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Juneau has five official sister cities.[79]