1955 Map of Circle B-3

About this map

Steese Highway cuts through the high country of the Yukon-Koyukuk region, providing a lifeline to the mining operations that defined this Alaskan interior landscape in the mid-1950s. The topographic detail highlights a network of gold-bearing drainages, where multiple instances of a Placer Mine appear alongside remote outposts like Berry Camp. Significant elevations at Mastodon Dome and Eagle Summit overlook the complex watershed feeding into Birch Creek at the map's southern edge. The presence of a Tractor Trail winding through the uplands suggests the difficult logistics of transporting heavy equipment to remote claims on Mastodon Fork and Deadwood Creek. Localized place names like Maiden Pup and Bender Pup reflect the specific nomenclature of mining claims and small tributaries used by prospectors and geologists during this era of resource extraction.