1955 Map of Candle B-4

About this map

The Continental Divide dictates the flow of this remote Alaskan interior, separating the drainage systems of the West Fork Buckland River from those of the Kateel River and East Fork Koyuk River. Mapped by the Army Map Service from aerial photography taken in 1955, the terrain is defined by vast unwooded reaches and winding river forks that serve as the primary landmarks in an area with no established roads. The Kateel River Base Line runs through the central portion of the sheet, providing a rare surveying anchor in a landscape that remained largely unsurveyed and unmarked at the time of the study. This document captures the wilderness of the Seward Peninsula region before modern infrastructure, where the primary geographical features are the intricate branching of sub-arctic river systems and the high ridges of the divide.