1952 Map of Gulkana C-5

About this map

The West Fork Gulkana River winds through an intricate system of kettle lakes and marshy lowlands in this mid-century topographic study. The landscape is defined by its glacial heritage, where countless unnamed ponds fill the depressions of a complex moraine. Standing above the water-heavy terrain in the southwest corner is Vabm 3129 Brigg, providing a rare high-ground survey point. To the northwest, the drainages of Moose Creek and Key Creek begin their descent toward the river system. This 1952 survey, produced using aerial photographs taken in 1950, records a portion of the Alaska interior entirely devoid of roads or settlements at the time of mapping, highlighting the remote hydrological patterns that dictated early travel and land use in the region.