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 Forklift Attachments Juneau - The city of Juneau, Alaska is the states capital city. It is considered a unified city and is located in the Alaska Panhandle on the Gastineau Channel. In the year 1970, the City and Borough of Juneau was created when the city of Juneau, the city of Douglas and the Greater Juneau Borough amalgamated to form a home rule municipality. The existing City and Borough population is about 31,000.
The land area of Juneau is practically as large as the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Juneau's downtown sits at sea level at Mount Juneau's base. Douglas Island is across the channel.
Juneau went through three name changes. It was known as Rockwell and afterward Harrisburg, after two gold prospectors, and afterward was renamed Juneau after another prospector, Joe Juneau. The region's native people, the Tlingit, referred to the region Dzántik'i Héeni, that translates to "river where the flounders gather." Many local geographic features take their name from the Tlingit, such as the Taku River, that was named after the t'aakh, a cold wind that comes down from the mountains. Auke Bay north of Juneau is referred to as Aak'w, which translates to "little lake".
The mountains all-around the city of Juneau range from 1,100 m to 1,200 m in height. The Juneau Icefield sits on top of these high mountains, dispersing water from approximately 30 glaciers. Visitors could see two glaciers from the road, the Lemon Creek Glacier and the Mendenhall Glacier.
The city of Juneau has been the state capital of Alaska ever since the year 1906, when the capital was moved from Sitka. Government is by far the largest employer within the city of Juneau. Many inhabitants are employed by the municipal government, federal government or state government. The hospital, airport, harbors, University of Alaska Southeast and school district are all operated by the government. Roughly 25 percent of Juneau's economy is directly and indirectly dependent on state government offices.
On a seasonal basis, tourism contributes considerably to the local economy. Between May and September, approximately one million people are brought to Juneau via cruise ships. These visitors usually stay within the city of Juneau only for a short time, up to about 11 hours.
Originally, the fishing industry was the main industry of the area. Those days saw a lot of halibut schooners operating in the region. The fishing industry continues to be vital to the local economy. Juneau is considered the 45th most lucrative US fisheries port by value and 49th by volume. The fish and shellfish caught here is valued at about 20 million dollars each and every year.
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