1952 Map of Nabesna D-5

About this map

The Little Tok River carves a central path through this wilderness landscape in the early 1950s, serving as a primary drainage for the surrounding Mentasta Mountains. This survey, compiled from aerial photography taken in 1948, illustrates the remote nature of the region where the Glenn Highway provides the only major overland corridor, skirting Mineral Lake and tracing the valley of Mentasta Creek. To the east, the Tetlin Indian Reservation encompasses high ridges and alpine basins, with the Tetlin Indian Reservation Boundary following the crest of the range. The map reveals the critical topographic importance of mountain gaps like Meiklejohn Pass and Suslota Pass, which historically dictated movement through these high-altitude terrains. Notable landmarks such as VABM 6465 Mineral and Mineral Cairn serve as fixed points for navigators and surveyors in a landscape defined by seasonal waterways like Buck Creek and Tuck Creek.