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1950 Map of Bendeleben D-1

Name: 1950 Topographic Map of Bendeleben D-1
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

The Kuguruk River serves as the central artery for this interior Alaskan landscape, which in the early 1950s was characterized by active resource extraction and remote riverbank settlements. Prospecting and small-scale energy production are evident through the presence of several named industrial sites, most notably the Wallin Coal Mine and additional Coal Mine operations situated along the western riverbanks. These sites are linked to the surrounding wilderness by a designated Tractor Trail that winds through the northern drainage basins.

Watercourses like Chicago Creek and Reindeer Creek feed into the main river system from the east, while the southern terrain is defined by numerous smaller creeks including Ptarmigan Creek and the evocatively named Coarse Gold Cr. This 1950 survey, which received minor revisions in 1973, captures the specific infrastructure of the Seward Peninsula region before modern development, preserving the locations of specific mining claims and the early overland routes used for transport.