1953 Map of Medfra B-5

About this map

Nixon Fork and the Nixon River dominate this interior Alaska landscape, defining a complex drainage system across unsurveyed lands. The terrain transitions from the low-lying wet areas and swamps along Washington Creek to the rising elevations of the Sunshine Mountains in the northeast corner. This 1953 field annotation captures a wilderness prior to any established road network or permanent settlements, where the river system served as the primary geographic framework. The mapping reveals the intricate meandering of the West Fork Nixon River, illustrating the slow movement of water through the low-relief valleys of the Yukon-Koyukuk region. These land lines represent predetermined but unmarked locations according to the Bureau of Land Management, reflecting a period of bureaucratic organization in an physically unmapped territory.