1955 Map of Beechey Point A-5

About this map

Ugnuravik River and the Sakonowyak River meander through this North Slope landscape, which was mapped by the Army Map Service during the mid-1950s. The region is characterized by a dense network of thaw lakes and ponds, typical of the Arctic coastal plain. While the area appears largely uninhabited on this survey, the presence of scattered Drill Holes and a solitary Drill Hole in the western and central sections indicates early energy exploration in the years before the major Prudhoe Bay discoveries. Along the eastern edge, the Kuparuk River flows toward the Arctic Ocean. These features are positioned within a grid of unsurveyed land lines predetermined by the Bureau of Land Management, reflecting a period when modern administrative boundaries were being imposed on a wilderness without established roads or trails.