Juneau

Juneau

Juneau is the capital of the US state of Alaska. Downtown Juneau lies at the foot of Mount Juneau and across from Douglas Island. The Gastineau Channel used to be the fishing grounds of the Auke or A'akw Kwáan and Taku tribes, who had populated the surrounding area for thousands of years. The Auke had a village and burial ground here, now known as Indian Point. Since the end of the 20th century, the A'akw Kwáan, along with the Sealaska Heritage Institute, have resisted European-American development of Indian Point. It is considered a sacred site, both because of its importance as a burial ground and because of the Point's importance to the tradition of gathering food from the sea. It continues to be used for the collecting of clams, gumboot chitons, grass and sea urchins, and tree bark for medicinal purposes. The city was settled in 1880 when Joe Juneau and Richard Harris discovered gold. Joe Juneau was a prospector from Quebec, the city is named after him, although it was once called Rockwell and then Harrisburg. Juneau is unusual among the 49 US capitals on the North American continent in that it is not connected by roads to the rest of the state or the rest of North America. Downtown Juneau is situated at sea level, beneath steep mountains some 1100-1200 meters high. At the top of these mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a huge mass of ice from which about 30 glaciers originate, two of which, Mendenhall Glacier and Lemon Creek Glacier, are visible from the local road network. The Mendenhall Glacier is gradually retreating, with its frontal area decreasing in width and height.