1952 Map of Gulkana B-6

About this map

Lake Louise and Susitna Lake dominate this 1952 topographic study, revealing a complex network of glacial lakes and marshy lowlands in the Gulkana region. The map captures the shoreline of these massive water bodies shortly after the territory's interior began seeing more frequent aerial mapping for resource and transport planning. Sparse signs of human activity are present only in the form of isolated Cabin locations positioned near the southern and eastern shores of Susitna Lake and Little Lake Louise. The terrain is defined by hundreds of unnamed ponds and smaller basins like Grayling Lake, Curtis Lake, and Tyone Lake, illustrating the post-glacial hydrology of the Copper River basin before more modern infrastructure reached this part of the Alaska interior. For historians, these early 1950s surveys provide the baseline for understanding the landscape prior to the expansion of recreational and seasonal settlements.