1954 Map of Kateel River D-6

About this map

Tagagawik River meanders through this portion of the interior, creating a complex network of wetlands and oxbows typical of the northern Alaskan drainage basins. The map illustrates a landscape defined by water and topography rather than human settlement, where Derby Creek flows into the river system amidst a series of rising hills and ridge lines. Surveying of this region was complex, as evidenced by the Principal Meridian cutting vertically through the center of the sheet, providing a primary reference point for the Bureau of Land Management in a territory where land lines represented unsurveyed and unmarked locations. This mid-century survey captures the region in its natural state, devoid of roads or trails, where the land was defined strictly by its geological and hydrological contours.