1960 Map of Nabesna

About this map

Northway and its surrounding village network sit at the confluence of the Tetlin River and Nabesna River, serving as a vital interior hub near the Alaska Yukon border. This region, surveyed between 1948 and 1960, illustrates a landscape where traditional indigenous sites like Nabesna Village and Batzulnetas coexist with early twentieth-century mining legacies. To the south, the Nutzotin Mountains and the massive Wrangell Mountains dominate the terrain, with the Nabesna Glacier and Chisana Glacier carving deep valleys through the high country. The map traces the essential transport corridors of the era, including the Glenn Highway and the Nabesna Road, which provided the only vehicular access to remote settlements like Nabesna. Remote outposts such as Chisana and the Gold Hill mining area highlight the persistent search for minerals in the copper and gold belts of the Wrangell-St Elias wilderness.