1950 Map of Kenai

About this map

The Kenai Peninsula shoreline is a study in mid-century Alaskan settlement and wild lands, where the new Sterling Highway begins to carve a path through the Kenai National Moose Range. This reconnaissance-era sheet documents a transitional period for the eastern coast of Cook Inlet, showing established coastal outposts like Ninilchik and Kasilof alongside the emerging town of Soldotna. Across the inlet, the landscape shifts dramatically toward the icy summits of the Alaska Range, dominated by the towering Redoubt Volcano and the remote Tuxedni National Wildlife Refuge. Commercial activity is grounded in the coastal environment, evidenced by the Snug Harbor Cannery near Chisik Island. From the Salamatof village site to the vast Harding Ice Field, the map captures the interplay between the territory's deep indigenous and Russian-colonial history and the post-war infrastructure development that would eventually transform the region.