1954 Map of Bethel D-5

About this map

The Tuluksak River and Fog River wind through this tundra landscape, characterized by a complex network of thousands of small lakes and ponds. This 1954 fieldwork, updated with late-1950s aerial photography, documents a region defined by its seasonal mobility and water-bound geography. In the northern reaches, a Winter Trail cuts across the basin, providing a vital overland connection through the marshy interior during the frozen months. To the south, the Kisaralik River and its tributary, the Kasigluk River, dominate the drainage pattern. The map reveals an unsurveyed wilderness where land lines remained predetermined by the Bureau of Land Management rather than established on the ground, reflecting the area's status as a remote frontier where transportation relied heavily on the river systems and temporary winter routes.