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1955 Map of Circle C-1

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Circle C-1
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

Twelvemile House (Aban'd) stands as a lonely marker of early Alaskan travel along the Steese Highway, a critical interior route in the mid-1950s. This survey illustrates the intricate transition from the high ridges of the Crazy Mountains in the west to the expansive wetlands and braided channels of the eastern lowlands. The landscape is dominated by the meandering course of Birch Creek and its many oxbows, which wind through a mosaic of marshland before reaching the massive corridor of the Yukon River at the northeastern corner of the map.

A few isolated structures, such as a remote Cabin and the abandoned roadhouse, emphasize the area's sparse settlement and reliance on the highway and waterways. To the south, Medicine Lake provides a landmark in the sprawling flats, while several smaller streams like Quartz Creek and Crooked Creek drain the mountain slopes. The map captures the raw hydrography of the Alaskan interior before modern development, detailing the complex network of sloughs and timbered banks that defined the region during this era.