Juneau is the state capital, situated at the mouth of Gold Creek on Gastineau Channel, about 93 miles (150 km) northeast of Sitka and 87 miles (140 km) south-southeast of Skagway, Alaska. The community began in 1880 as a mining camp called ‘Harrisburg,’ after Richard H. Harris, who discovered gold on Gold Creek with Joseph Juneau. The US Navy called the mining camp ‘Rockwell’ in 1881 to honor Commander Charles H. Rockwell of the sloop-of-war Jamestown, who was sent with a detachment to maintain order. Because of confusion over the various names, the miners met in 1881 and officially named the town for Joseph Juneau. Southeast Alaska consists of a series of tectonically stratified terranes that were accreted to and subducted below the continental margins from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. Most of these terranes are composed of oceanic sediments with some volcanic rock. As they were underthrust below the continental margins, they underwent progressive metamorphism that released large volumes of fluid, crucial in forming the gold-bearing quartz veins of the Juneau gold belt. During the Last Glacial Maximum, Gastineau Channel and Gold Creek were filled with ice, and extensive marine deposits formed as the ice sheets retreated around 13,000 years ago. Most coastal areas were ice-free by 11,000–10,000 years ago. In the Holocene, the Juneau Icefield expanded again, with a glacial advance peaking about 9,000 years ago. Colder conditions resumed around 6,500 years ago, a period known as the Neoglacial, which saw two minor glacial advances: one beginning about 5,000 years ago, culminating roughly 3,500 years ago, and ending 1,000–900 years ago. The last advance, called the Little Ice Age, started about 350–300 years ago and ended in the mid to late 19th century. Land began uplifting as a result of post-glacial rebound that continues today alongside regional glacier retreat. Gastineau Channel and Juneau have risen by about 10 feet (3.2 m) since the late 18th century. This is particularly evident at the head of Gastineau Channel, which was once navigable but is now mostly salt marsh.

The Auke (A’akw Kwáan) and Taku tribes of the Tlingit people have inhabited the Juneau area for thousands of years, with the land and sea providing abundant food and natural resources. In 1784, the Russian-American Company began colonizing Alaska, starting at Kodiak. Despite a gradual eastward expansion across the Gulf of Alaska that ended at Sitka, they established no settlements near Juneau. The first European to explore Gastineau Channel was Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey, master of the HMS Discovery, during Captain George Vancouver’s expedition. In 1794, Whidbey and his party explored the channel’s southern end, but thick ice prevented further progress north. Some Russian records mention small amounts of metal found in various parts of Southeast Alaska, though none was considered commercially significant. In these early years, much of Southeast Alaska’s mountainous belt remained known only to the Tlingit people and a few fur traders. In 1867, the Alaska Purchase transferred Russian territory to the United States, and within a few years gold miners began migrating up the Pacific Coast. In 1880, Sitka mining engineer George Pilz offered a reward for leads on gold-bearing ore. Tlingit Chief Kowee (Kaawa.ée) arrived with gold ore, prompting Pilz to send Joseph Juneau and Richard Harris to a creek on the eastern shore of Gastineau Channel, directing them specifically to Snow Slide Gulch at the head of Gold Creek. There they discovered gold nuggets. Major mining operations soon developed in the Juneau mining district, including the Treadwell Mine, the Alaska-Juneau Mine and the Alaska-Gastineau Mine. Together, they produced $158 million worth of gold at prices ranging from $20 to $35 an ounce. The Alaska-Juneau Mine closed during the second world war, as production costs became prohibitive. The Treadwell Mine was flooded in 1917 and finally closed in 1922.

In 1911, the US Congress authorized funds for a capitol building for the Alaska Territory. Construction was delayed by the first world war and complications in purchasing the necessary land. In 1931, the building was dedicated as the Federal and Territorial Building; it originally housed the US courthouse and post office for the territory. Since 1959, when Alaska became a state, it has served as the seat of state government. There have been several attempts to move the capital to larger population centers such as Anchorage or Fairbanks. In the 1970s, voters approved relocating it to Willow, a town about 70 miles (110 km) north of Anchorage, in order to prevent either Anchorage or Fairbanks from wielding undue influence. Alaskans later voted against the required funding, and Juneau remains the capital. Because of limited land for development along the steep slopes of Gastineau Channel, Juneau eventually expanded into the Mendenhall Valley. Avalanches there have received considerable attention in recent years. Steep slopes, heavy wet snow and relatively warm temperatures combine to create conditions conducive to avalanches, especially from January to March. Over the past 100 years, more than 70 buildings near downtown Juneau have been struck by avalanches. A snow avalanche is a swift, downhill-moving mass of snow. The damage it causes depends on its size, type, composition, flow force and velocity, and the topography of its path. Avalanches typically occur on slopes of 35–60 degrees. In 1962, a major avalanche caused significant damage, spurring a series of mitigation measures. In 1972, a comprehensive geophysical hazard study mapped avalanche hazard zones; however, the only current safety measures are an avalanche response plan, public information and training, and a forecasting program. Read more here and here. Explore more of Juneau and Gastineau Channel here: