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1955 Map of Barrow

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Barrow
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1984
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1984

About this map

Barrow and the neighboring settlement of Browerville stand at the northernmost reaches of the American Arctic, situated where the Chukchi Sea meets the Beaufort Sea. This 1955 survey details a landscape defined by the logistics of early Cold War science and resource exploration, featuring the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory and the Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport. The map identifies the tragic 1935 crash site at the Will Rogers and Wiley Post Memorial near Walakpa Bay.

South of the coastal lagoons, the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska dominates the interior, dotted with specialized infrastructure like South Barrow Gas Well No 1 and Simpson Test Well No 1. The map traces a network of seasonal routes including the Winter Trail, providing insight into the movement of people and supplies across the thaw-sensitive terrain of the North Slope. Barrier islands such as the Tapkaluk Islands and Cooper Island shield the intricate waters of Elson Lagoon from the open ocean.