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 Seats for Forklifts Juneau - Juneau, Alaska is the states capital city. It is considered a unified city and is located within the Alaska Panhandle on the Gastineau Channel. During the year 1970, the City and Borough of Juneau was created when the city of Juneau, the city of Douglas together with the Greater Juneau Borough amalgamated to form a home rule municipality. The existing City and Borough population is about 31,000.
Juneau covers a land area which is bigger than the states of Delaware and Rhode island combined. The downtown of Juneau sits at sea level and is likewise Mount Juneau's base. Across the channel is Douglas Island.
Juneau has gone through three name changes over the years. From Rockwell to Harrisburg and ultimately to Juneau after Joe Juneau. All three names including the current name were named after prospectors. The native people of the area, the Tlingit, called the area Dzántik'i Héeni, which translates to "river where the flounders gather." Many local geographic features take their name from the Tlingit, like the Taku River, which was named after the t'aakh, a cold wind that comes down from the mountains. Auke Bay north of Juneau is known as Aak'w, that means "little lake".
The Juneau mountains vary from 1,100 m to 1,200 m in height. The icefield within Juneau sits on top of these mountains, and is home to over 30 glaciers. Tourists can see a coupe of glaciers, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Lemon Creek Glacier, from the road.
The city of Juneau has been the Alaska state capital since the year 1906, when the capital was moved from Sitka. Government is by far the biggest employer in the city of Juneau. Numerous people are employed by the federal government, state government or municipal government. The airport, harbors, hospital, University of Alaska Southeast and school district are all government run. About 25 percent of the city's economy is indirectly and directly dependent on state government offices.
On a seasonal basis, tourism contributes significantly to the local economy. Between the months of May and September, practically one million people are brought to the city of Juneau via cruise ships. These tourists usually stay within Juneau just for a short time, up to about 11 hours.
Originally, the fishing industry was the main industry of the region. Those days saw lots of halibut schooners operating in the region. The fishing industry continues to be vital to the local economy. The city of Juneau is considered the 49th most lucrative U.S. fisheries port by volume and 45th by value. The fish and shellfish caught here is valued at approximately 20 million dollars on an annual basis.
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