Juneau is the largest U.S. state capital by land area, covering about 3,255 square miles.
Juneau’s huge municipal boundary includes extensive wilderness, mountains, glaciers, waterways, and the remote community of Douglas. Unlike most state capitals, it has no road connection to the rest of North America; access is primarily by air or boat.
The city was named for prospector Joe Juneau, who and Richard Harris found gold near Gold Creek in 1880. Juneau became Alaska’s territorial capital in 1906 and remained the state capital when Alaska entered the Union in 1959. Its enormous area can be surprising because much of it is undeveloped land rather than a continuous urban settlement.