Juneau: Alaska's Capital, Touching Two Oceans

The Only U.S. Capital on Two Oceans

Juneau is the capital of Alaska. Alaska is the only U.S. state bordering two oceans:

• Pacific Ocean — Gulf of Alaska, Southeast archipelago (Juneau sits here).
• Arctic Ocean — Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea (North Slope, Utqiaġvik).

Juneau Fast Facts

• Population: ~32,000 (2023) — 2nd largest US capital by area (3,255 sq mi / 8,430 km²).
• Access: No roads in/out. Only by air or sea (ferry/cruise).
• Setting: Gastineau Channel, flanked by Mount Juneau (3,576 ft) and Mount Roberts (3,819 ft). Mendenhall Glacier 12 mi north.
• Economy: Government, tourism (1M+ cruise pax/yr), fishing, mining (Kensington, Greens Creek).
• History: Tlingit homeland (Aak'w). Gold rush (1880). Capital since 1906 (territory), 1959 (state).

Why Not Anchorage?

Anchorage is larger (~290K) but Juneau was the political center of the Panhandle (early settlement, government access by sea). Moving the capital has been voted on repeatedly—never passed.

Juneau: where the temperate rainforest meets the legislature, and the state looks both west to the Pacific and north to the Arctic.