Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska Capital City, Gold Rush History, Tongass Rainforest, Whale Watching, and Practical Info
Juneau (population 32,000, the capital of Alaska and the only US state capital with no road connection to the outside world -- accessible only by sea or air) sits in a dramatic fjord on the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska, surrounded by the Tongass National Forest (the world's largest temperate rainforest at 68,375 square km, larger than Washington state), the Chilkat Mountains, and the Juneau Icefield (3,800 square km, feeding 38 glaciers including the Mendenhall Glacier 13 km from downtown). Founded in 1880 after a gold discovery guided by the Tlingit chief Kowee, Juneau became the territorial and then state capital of Alaska (1906/1959), and today receives 1.3+ million cruise passengers per year (43 times its permanent population) while maintaining a government-town character of 32,000 year-round residents who work in government, fishing, tourism, and the university. The city's defining natural feature is the Mendenhall Glacier (the most visited glacier in the US, retreating 3 km since the visitor center was built in 1958) and the spectacular marine wildlife of Stephens Passage (500-600 humpback whales summering within 85 km, orca, Steller sea lions, harbor seals).
Juneau: Douglas Island, Cruise Ship Economy, Neighborhoods, Skagway Gold Rush, Chilkat Bald Eagles, and Tongass Wildlife
Juneau: Douglas Island (residential island Douglas Bridge Gastineau Channel 35km saltwater channel mudflats shorebird habitat, Treadwell Mine ruins 1882-1917 largest hard rock gold mine world collapsed glory hole overgrown spruce alder accessible historic trail, Sandy Beach 12-14C July popular dry suits wetsuits), cruise ship economy (1.3M passengers 32,000 residents 41:1 ratio most cruise-dependent major US city, 3-5 ships peak day 8,000-15,000 passengers 4-hour window 4 city blocks S. Franklin, USD 270M direct spending, cruise companies no Alaska income tax no flag-of-convenience US tax, 2022 ballot 12,000/day limit Saturday restrictions, Diamonds International Tanzanite chain vs locally-owned whale watching USD 30M), neighborhoods (City Borough Juneau 8,494 sqkm largest US city larger Rhode Island and Delaware combined, historic downtown Juneau-Douglas City Museum gold nuggets Alaska State Museum 395 Whittier Tlingit Russian, Mendenhall Valley 13km north UA Southeast 3,000 students Costco Fred Meyer, Mendenhall Wetlands 2,800 acres 140+ species, Auke Bay 18km north seaplane ferry terminal whale-watching harbor), Skagway (1,100 winter 30+ ships summer 145km north, Klondike Gold Rush NHP 1976 most preserved gold rush town US, Portland docked Seattle July 17 1897 68 miners 2 tonnes gold 100,000 stampede, White Pass Yukon Route Railroad July 29 1900 873m summit 35km 35,000 tons black powder steam locomotives most scenic mountain railway North America, Soapy Smith born 1860 died July 8 1898 gunfight Frank Reid con man controlled Skagway 1897-1898), Chilkat eagles (Haines 2,600 130km north ferry Eagle Capital World, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve 1982 19,500 acres groundwater keeps river ice-free November-December, 3,000-4,000 eagles 5km stretch largest single concentration world, national bird designated June 20 1782, Alaska population 30,000 largest US, Bald Eagle Festival November 800+ visitors photography birding, Haines Highway 254km only road connection SE Alaska to North American network), wildlife (30,000 black bears SE Alaska highest density US, Sitka black-tailed deer mountain goats cliff faces downtown visible, 1 bald eagle nest per 5km coastline highest density world, Mendenhall River salmon July-October king sockeye coho pink bears fishing 50-100m from parking lot, 300-400 bears within Juneau city limits bear-proof trash cans required, Tongass 5-10 tonnes/hectare/year 3x temperate deciduous salmon carcass nutrients).
Juneau: Arts and Culture, Tongass Conservation, State Museum, Rain Culture, Tracy Arm Fjord, and the Future of the Capital
Juneau: arts (Perseverance Theatre 1979 Molly Smith born 1954 Juneau world premieres Alaska Native literature, dual Juneau and DC presence, Juneau Symphony 1962 Centennial Hall 1,000 seats, Juneau Jazz and Classics May 70+ performances Dizzy Gillespie 1990, Alaska Folk Festival April 1974 150+ performers oldest Alaska folk festival), conservation (Tongass clear-cut 1950s-1990s KPC APC below-cost 500,000 acres old-growth, Clinton Roadless Rule January 12 2001 9.4M acres Tongass, Bush exempted 2003 Obama restored Trump 2020 fully exempted Biden 2023 fully restored, Sealaska Corporation 295,000 acres logged 1980s-90s, Federal Subsistence Management 1990 ongoing Alaska Native rural priority conflict), State Museum (395 Whittier USD 21M 2015-2016 expansion, Dakl'awedi clan house screen finest Tlingit formline, formline tradition ovoid primary line positive negative space interlocking, Russian-American Company 1799-1867 artifacts, Rie Munoz born 1921 LA died 2015 Juneau most beloved Alaskan artist 20th century naive style Alaska Native fishing everyday life), rain culture (160cm downtown 350cm+ ridge, October 2003 52.3cm single month more than Phoenix annual, embrace not avoid outdoor activities regardless weather, July August driest 10-12cm 30-40% clear, December 5.5 hours daylight 80% overcast highest SAD rate any US state capital high-intensity light therapy, Juneauans distinguish themselves from cruise tourists by going outside in rain voluntarily), Tracy Arm (670,000 acres 1980 75km south Stephens Passage, Sawyer South Sawyer Glaciers twin tidewater 1km wide fjord bergy bits growlers, Fords Terror 100m entrance 1875 crew member trapped 6 hours violent tidal currents named for experience, Allen Marine Adventure Bound 8-10hr USD 160-200, Stikine River 300km south Wrangell last undammed wild river American Pacific Northwest), future (landslide August 18 2015 16 homes August 2015 Granite Creek, warming 1.5-2C above global average spruce bark beetle 70% white spruce killed 1990s, Juneau Access Road 63km USD 700M-1B planned since 1970s Echo Cove to Katzehin short ferry Haines Highway, 2022 Alaska Airlines service reduction community economic crisis).
Juneau: Glacier Bay National Park, Tlingit Culture, Alaska Marine Highway, Eaglecrest Skiing, Southeast Alaska Seafood, and the Juneau Icefield
Juneau: Glacier Bay NP (105km west by aircraft 13,300 sqkm UNESCO 1992, bay covered 1,500m deep ice 1750 retreated 100km most rapid documented glacier retreat world, John Muir four trips 1879 1880 1888 1890 Muir Glacier named for him now retreated 48km, William Skinner Cooper 1916 first measured plant succession, Johns Hopkins Glacier calves so dense NPS limits access 3km, 1,045 glaciers remain), Tlingit (17,000 enrolled Central Council Tlingit Haida, Raven Eagle moiety exogamous clan crest system, totem pole western red cedar Alaska yellow cedar stacked crests mythological beings, Sitka NHP 18 totem poles 106 Metlakatla 1905 Lewis Clark Centennial moved from Portland, Sealaska Heritage Institute Juneau 105 S Seward Tlingit Haida Tsimshian Celebration festival every 2 years 5,000+ participants), AMHS (1963 Juneau HQ 9 vessels 35 communities, Sitka 8,500 former Russian capital, Ketchikan 14,000 Creek Street Norwegian Festival, Petersburg 3,000 Little Norway, Wrangell 2,000 only Alaska community 4 flags Tlingit Russian British American, Haines 2,600 Haines Highway to Alaska system, Bellingham to Juneau 38-48 hours orca Dall porpoises bald eagles black bears), Eaglecrest (640 acres 540m vertical 900cm annual snowfall deepest SE Alaska, municipally owned Douglas Island 18km 25min, Auke Bay 18km north whale watching flightseeing kayaking, Herbert Glacier Trail 16km round-trip remote old-growth), seafood (all 5 Pacific salmon species king highest fat, pink 200-400M odd-year run largest single-species wild salmon run world, halibut world record 227kg Dutch Harbor 1996, Hangar on the Wharf Marine Way historic seaplane hangar, Tracy King Crab Shack outdoor crab claws forearm-sized, Taku Glacier Lodge floatplane only salmon bake wilderness), Juneau Icefield (3,800 sqkm 38 named glaciers 5th-largest non-polar icefield world, 600-900cm snowfall accumulation zone, Taku Glacier only advancing tidewater Alaska advanced 8km 1890-1989 closed fjord, JIRP 1946 Maynard Miller 1922-2014 78+ years 1,500+ student researchers 1% volume loss per decade, glacier flow internal shear stress ice crystals bedrock sliding 1-5m per day).