1956 Map of Mount Michelson B-3

About this map

The Arctic National Wildlife Range dominates this mid-century landscape of the North Slope, revealing a wilderness of unnamed peaks and high valleys. The Third Range runs across the center of the sheet, separating the Ikiakpaurak Valley to the north from the Ikiakpuk Valley to the south. This terrain is defined by its drainage patterns, most notably the Saddlerochit River which carves through the eastern portion of the quadrangle. The map reflects a moment in 1956 when the area remained entirely without roads or permanent settlements, documented by the U.S. Geological Survey through aerial photography. Instead of infrastructure, the sheet records the natural intersections of waterways like Cache Creek, Eagle Creek, and the distant Whistler Creek, showing the unpeopled character of the Brooks Range foothills before the expansion of North Slope industrial activity.