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1956 Map of Ikpikpuk River

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Ikpikpuk River
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

Naval Petroleum Reserve No 4 spans this remote Arctic landscape during a period of intensive mid-century geological exploration. The drainage systems of the Ikpikpuk River and the Colville River dominate the terrain, which is defined by thousands of small thermokarst basins like the Oumalik Lakes and Koluktak Lakes in the north. Evidence of the era's energy search is visible through numerous remote outposts, including the Oumalik Test Well, Titaluk Test Well, and Wolf Creek Test Wells.

Further south, the flat coastal plain gives way to more defined topographical features such as Knifeblade Ridge and Kimikpak Ridge. A network of winter-only transportation is indicated by a Tractor Trail cutting across the tundra, connecting isolated sites like the Landing Area (Winter) at Puivlik Bluff. These labels provide a precise record of how surveyors and geologists navigated the North Slope before more permanent infrastructure arrived.