1956 Map of Fort Yukon A-2

About this map

The Yukon River dominates this northern Alaskan interior, carving a massive, braided channel through an intricate network of sloughs and sandbars in the mid-1950s. The presence of Saloon Island and the specifically noted Halfway Whirlpool suggests the navigational hazards and landmarks known to river travelers before modern aviation became the primary means of transit. To the south, the terrain transitions into a dense labyrinth of oxbow lakes and meandering tributaries, most notably Birch Creek and Little Preacher Creek. This landscape is defined by its water-rich geography, where named features like Crosstrail Lake and the Geese Lakes provided critical orientation points for those moving through the bush. The mapping effort, based on aerial photography from 1952 and 1953, recorded precisely surveyed elevations at locations such as VABM Preacher 527 and VABM Trail 495, marking the progress of formal surveying in this vast wilderness.