Douglas Island

This article is about the island in Alaska. For other islands, see Douglas Island (disambiguation).

Douglas Island is an island in the U.S. state of Alaska, just west of Juneau and slightly north of Admiralty Cove. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel, over which there is a single bridge. Recently, there have been plans to build a new bridge from North Douglas to the Mendenhall Valley. Douglas Island was named for John Douglas, Bishop of Salisbury by Captain George Vancouver when he explored the area in 1794.[1]

Interesting features of the island include remnants of late 19th century to early 20th century gold mines, Sandy Beach, the only sand beach in the Juneau area, Eaglecrest Ski Area, and the Douglas Public Library.

Douglas is usually thought of as two areas: downtown Douglas Island, containing Sandy Beach, the mines, the library, and the bridge to Juneau; and North Douglas Island, containing Eaglecrest Ski Area and a heliport.

The island has a land area of 199.243 km² (76.928 sq mi) and a population of 5,297 at the 2000 census. It is part of the City and Borough of Juneau.

References

• Douglas Island: Blocks 1004 thru 1039, Block Group 1; Block Group 2; Block Group 3; Census Tract 6, Juneau City and Borough, Alaska United States Census Bureau

External link

• Map of Douglas Island