Juno Islands

The Juno Islands is a state of the Federal Republic of Polaris comprising of an archipelago of nineteen islands stretching 235 from Cape Willard in Hampton, branching out in somewhat of a straight line and curved arc to the Minerva Islands. The state is the sixth largest in population with 3.46 million residents, but is ninth largest in terms of area. The state capital is situated in Solace, the largest city in the state. The state is connected to the Polarian mainland through PH-102, a bridge-tunnel network completed in 2005, that transports road and rail passengers form the Polarian mainland.

The Juno Islands is one of three states, the others being Santa Cruz and Puerto Elanor. The islands are considered a popular destination for tourists, and enjoys a strong, vibrant economy. The Juno Islands is also one of three Hispanophone-majority states in Polaris, with English and Spanish accorded equal status in the legsilature and government services.

The Juno Islands are represented in the Legislative Congress of Polaris by 8 senators and 16 representatives.

History
Since about 400 BC, penguins have been known to settle on Cordoniz Island,Hierba Island, Trigo Island,Coco Island, Azúcar Island and Dólar Island. These islands were home to many natives, who used the land for farming, agriculture and countless other uses. Sea-faring craft have also been unearthed in some islands, which cites that the natives of the islands were very nautically adept, and constantly traded with other islands and the mainland. The culture was very discrete from the rest of Antarctica, as pointed out by many historians. Some also believe that this was the same faction as the ones settled in Puerto Elanor.

In 1567, the colonization of the islands began, by Puerto-Elanorian Castillan explorers began, with the settlement of Playa Oro on Trigo Island southeast of Santa Cruz Island. The islands were also large trading ports, with many shipped bound for Castilla and Puerto Elanor as well. Sugar,vegatables, wheat and fish were shipped from the area as well. Gold, silver and bronze ore was also found on the islands as well. The islands were supported by Castilla financially, and opened up many businesses and trading companies, and were known at the time as the Viceroyalty of Las Islas de Juno.

In 1967, the islands were ceded to the City of Polaris from Castilla, after Castilla went under an economic recession, which dissuaded the Castillans to carry forward into supporting the islands financially. At that time, many islanders also supported seperation from administration from Castilla moreover. The purchase of the islands was approved under the Metido Agreement, in which Polaris would dole out 1.2 billion Fish to Castilla in exchange for full control of Santa Cruz Island, as well as the Juno Islands.

Government and politics
As a state of Polaris, the Juno Islands are designated as sovereign from the federal government, and has a number of responsibilities under its purview designated under the Polaris Federation Act. The Juno Islands, keeping with other state governments, have a parliamentary system that operates on the principle of responsible government. The Juno Islands has a unicameral State Assembly that convenes at Palacio Villafuerte in Solace, and is elected every four years. The State Assembly has 55 seats, each allocated to a single-member electoral district, where the largest party forms government.

The current Governor of the Juno Islands is Denise Ajaye, a Progressive Democrat first elected in 2016. The Progressive Democrats currently form a majority government with 36 seats, while the Green Alliance form the Official Opposition with 15 seats, and the Socialist Party, 4 seats.

Geography


The Juno Islands were formed 27,000 years ago when the last of the Ice Age ice sheets retreated from Juneland, the predecessor to the current Juno archipelago. The weight and density of the ice sheets sunk the low-lying peninsula below the waves. This also left very shallow water around the islands as well.However, some of the higher plateaus and more elevated areas were not. This left the Juneland peninsula into what it is today, which are 19 islands.

Over time, many white sand beaches and palm forests formed, allowing many other plants and animals to arrive in the area In addition, a large barroer reef, known as the Newman's Barrier Reef was also created along the Eastern coastline of the islands, forming multiple sand islands as a result. The barrier reef is said to be one of the largest in all of Antarctica. The islands are also comprised of boh igneous and sedimentary rocks, mainly from vigorous volcanic activity in the area before 14000 BC. The islands also had many mountainous terrains, but were since crushed by the weight of the ice sheet. The highest point in the islands is Mount Adando (112 m), situated on Cometa Key.

Galdera County

 * Cordoniz Island-
 * Hierba Island-
 * Trigo Island-
 * Coco Island-
 * Azúcar Island-

Marangal County

 * Dólar Island-
 * Gobernador Island-
 * Líder Island-
 * Isla del Sol-
 * Cometa Key-
 * Arena Blanca Island-

Tortuga de Mar County

 * Melocotón Key-
 * Tortuga de Mar Island-
 * Lewis Island-
 * Robinson Island-

Ronago County

 * Wilfred Island-
 * Buxton Island-
 * Snowflake Island-
 * Alpha Island-

Climate
The Juno Islands are considerably warmer than the Polarian mainland, and is a vacation spot frequented by the upper echelons of Polarian society. The Juno Islands, having a maritime climate, also experiences a higher volume of percipitation, typically in the form of rain, from a monsoon season that extends from November to as late as March.

Economy
The Juneño economy is well-developed and diversed, centering on three industries, namely tourism, oil and gas extraction, and transportation. The Juno Islands has a GDP of $505 billion Polarian Dollars, the seventh highest in Polaris. Various high-end resorts and hotels have established branches throughout the Juno Islands, leveraging its hospitable climate, beaches, and opportunities for snorkeling. It is estimated that approximately 9 million tourists visit the Juno Islands annually, contributing about $3.3 billion to the local economy. The tourism and hospitality industry is among the largest employers in the islands, presently employng 31% of the workforce.

The presence of large oil and natural gas reserves in the region has been a further boon to the economy. Most extraction activities take place offshore, though these actions have come under scrutiny as of recent due to the risk of oil spills. Refineries and oil processing facilities are situated on Alpha Island, which serves as a key distribution point for oil across the Antractic. It is estimated that 25% of Islanders are employed in this industry.

Road
The Polaris Highway System connects much of the archipelago through a series of bridges and highways. The sub-system, known as the Juno Islands Highway System comprises of 13 highways, numbered from 1-12B. The system officially commenced operation in 1996. The largest of these highways is JIHS Route 1, whose path stretches from Wallis Bridge at the City of Polaris to the Almania Bridge-Tunnel connecting the islands to Santa Cruz Island. While traversing the Juno Islands, a series of tunnels, bridges and bridge-tunnels are used to allow military and commercial vessels to navigate the waters around the islands safely. The Juno Islands Highway System is maintained by the state Department of Transportation.

Rail
The Islander, a mainline train service operated by PARTA, Antwan, Oak Ridges, Alpha Island, Alvarez, Pilston, Puerto Plata, Playa Oro and Solace. The trains operate twelve times daily from Polaris City, and connects to all major cities and towns in Polaris. The rail line in the Juno Islands is known as the Grey Line, which is also a major commuter route as well. The railways began operating in 1987, after almost twenty years of railway construction. The Polaris Express also connects passengers to the ElanorLine, which begins in Solace. Over 23,890,000 passengers were served in 2010 alone between Solace and Alpha Island.

Air
There are 6 airports in the Juno Islands, three of them having commercial airline service. The airports in the Juno Islands are Mistral Regional Airport, Solace Airport, Augustine/Alexander County Regional Airport, Star Harbor Airport, and lastly Gobernador Isla Regional Airport. Mistral, Solace and Augustine are all served five times daily from Polaris-City International Airport. SkyJet Airways, the de facto flag carrier of the Polaris SAD and the USA dominates 85% of the market. Beaker Airways and Eagle Airlines make up the rest. Service to Puerto Elanor began in June 17, 2011, from Mistral, Solace and Augustine from SkyJet Airways. Airports in the Juno Islands do not provide international operations, and have limited inter-island operations as well.

Water
The Juno Islands enjoys a vibrant boating culture, used for both transport and recreation. It is estimated that at least a fifth of the population owns a private vessel. Many residents, regardless, depend on the state-owned Juno Ferries for inter-island and mainland transportation, which presently has forty vessels and a ridership exceeding 6.6 million annually.

Trivia

 * The national symbol is the Yellow Puffle in honor of Leonardo di Tremezzo, who helped a lot in the Polarian Revolution.
 * The Juno Islands were one of the battlegrounds during the Polarian Revolution.