1955 Map of Beechey Point B-4

About this map

Beechey Point and the coastal marshes of the Kuparuk River Delta characterize this remote landscape along the Beaufort Sea. In the mid-1950s, the terrain was defined by a complex web of thaw lakes and braided waterways like the Sakonowyak River and the Kuparuk River. The presence of early industrial labels such as NW Eileen State No 1, West Kuparuk State No 1, and the Warehouse at Beechey Point indicates the nascent stages of exploration on the North Slope. These early state well sites predated the massive development of the Prudhoe Bay era, marking a period when the region was primarily accessible by air and sea via the Hull Landing Strip or through sheltered waters like Simpson Lagoon. Notable landforms such as Beechey Mound and Back Point provided rare vertical relief in an otherwise flat, water-dominated expanse.