1951 Map of Gulkana C-5

About this map

The West Fork Gulkana River winds through a dense landscape of thermokarst lakes and wetlands in this 1951 study of the Alaska interior. The terrain is defined by an intricate network of hundreds of unnamed small lakes and ponds, characteristic of the permafrost-heavy regions of the Copper River Basin. While the map shows no roads or trails, it documents vital drainage systems like Moose Creek and Keg Creek as they feed into the larger river system. A singular geodetic marker, VABM 3129 Bragg, provides a fixed elevation point in an otherwise undulating expanse of marsh and muskeg. Published by the Geological Survey with land lines predetermined by the Bureau of Land Management, the map captures the area in its raw, unsurveyed state before significant modern infrastructure reached this portion of the Matanuska-Susitna region.