1950 Map of Kotzebue C-4

About this map

Cape Espenberg defines this coastal landscape where the waters of the Chukchi Sea meet Kotzebue Sound. Mapped by the Army Map Service using aerial photography from the late 1940s, the terrain is a complex network of coastal lagoons and tundra wetlands. The Espenberg River winds through the western portion of the sheet, while the northern extent is dominated by the open reach of the Arctic Ocean. A small navigational Light and several triangulation stations, such as VABM Espenberg, represent the only fixed human indicators in this shifting maritime environment. The intricate shoreline captured here illustrates a remote part of the Alaska-Second Judicial Division before modern satellite mapping, documenting the specific configuration of coastal bars and tidal inlets as they existed mid-century.