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1955 Map of Meade River A-4

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Meade River A-4
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1986
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1986

About this map

Nigisaktuvik River meanders across this vast Arctic landscape, reflecting a remote environment largely untouched by permanent settlement during the mid-1950s. Located within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, the terrain is defined by a dense network of thaw lakes and ponds typical of the North Slope coastal plain. This 1955 survey, edited and published by the U.S. Geological Survey, documents the area's hydrology before later industrial exploration altered the region's profile.

Transport through this territory relied on seasonal access, notably the Winter Trail that cuts across the southern portion of the sheet. In the east, Kowlak Creek provides another drainage point through the permafrost-laden soil. The absence of buildings or named camps underscores the logistical challenges of the era, where mapping relied on photogrammetric methods from aerial photography to chart this frozen wilderness.