1955 Map of Beechey Point

About this map

The Arctic Ocean shoreline of Alaska's North Slope is captured here during the mid-1950s, a period before the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field transformed the region's infrastructure. The landscape is defined by an intricate network of waterways, including the braided channels of the Sagavanirktok River and the Kuparuk River, which empty into a series of shallow coastal features like Simpson Lagoon and Gwydyr Bay. At this time, human presence was sparse, marked only by isolated Cabins and a Cabin on Tigvariak Island.