Juneau (Unified City and Borough of Juneau) - a consolidated city-borough, the capital of the US state of Alaska since 1906. The area that Juneau occupies is almost equal to the total area of the states of Rhode Island and Delaware. The city center lies at the foot of the Mount Juneau mountain range, separated from the island of Douglas by the Gastineau canal. According to data from the 2010 census, the Juneau population was 31,275 inhabitants.
The current name of the city comes from a gold prospector, Joe Juneau; in the past, the city was referred to as Rockwell, then Harrisburg (in honor of Richard Harris, who along with Juneau was looking for gold in these areas). Local Indians call Juneau in the language of tlingit Dzántik'i Héeni ("the river in which the flounders gather"). The Taku river, south of the city, owes its name to the cool t'aakh winds that originate from the mountains.
The Juneau Center is located at sea level, at the foot of steep mountains with heights from 1 150 to 1 200 meters. On top of them is Juneau Icefield, a large ice field with about thirty glaciers; two of them, Mendenhall and Lemon Creek, are visible from local roads.
The Alaska State Capitol was built in downtown in 1931. Before Alaska became one of the American states, the Capitol housed the seats of federal offices, court and legislative bodies. Currently, the local parliament and the offices of the governor and vice-governor of Alaska are still in operation. Other offices have been transferred either to other buildings or to other state cities. Consequently, one of the topics discussed is the relocation of the state offices outside Juneau or the construction of a new capitol, however, no agreement has been reached so far.
