1955 Map of Barrow

About this map

The northernmost reaches of the American continent are defined here by Pt Barrow and the village of Barrow, positioned where the Chukchi Sea meets the Beaufort Sea. This mid-century survey documents the critical infrastructure of the era, including the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory and the Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport, alongside the smaller settlement of Browerville. The landscape is a complex network of coastal features such as Elson Lagoon and the Plover Islands, while the inland tundra is saturated with named water bodies like Tusikvoak Lake and Ikroavik Lake. Reminders of aviation history are prominent, specifically the Will Rogers and Wiley Post Memorial and the remote Cape Simpson Landing Strip. A seasonal Winter Trail connects these isolated outposts across the permafrost, illustrating the unique transportation patterns required for Arctic survival and research before modern expansion.