1954 Map of Iditarod D-5

About this map

The Iditarod River meanders through the northeast corner of this interior Alaskan landscape, a region defined by an intricate network of wetlands and river drainage. To the west, the Yetna River and Little Yetna River carve through low-lying terrain characterized by countless small ponds and oxbows. This 1954 topographic survey captures the area's natural state, prior to the formal establishment of conservation boundaries that would later define the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge and the Innoko Wilderness. The topography transitions from the wet, marshy lowlands of the river basins to more defined elevations in the southeast. With no roads or trails indicated on the sheet, the map documents a period when access was dictated entirely by the waterways and the Seward Meridian survey lines.