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1955 Map of Noatak C-2

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Noatak C-2
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1970
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1970

About this map

The settlement of Noatak sits at the western edge of this mid-century survey, positioned near a designated Landing Strip along the winding course of the Noatak River. The landscape is dominated by the complex hydrological networks of the Arctic, where the river braids into numerous channels and oxbows across a broad floodplain. To the east, the Eli River meanders toward its confluence, flanked by a dense pattern of small tundra lakes and ponds.

Transport through this territory in the 1950s relied on the Winter Trail, which provided a necessary overland route when the ground was frozen. The map documents smaller drainages like Kuchak Creek and Kiyak Creek as they feed into the main river system. This survey, based on aerial photography from 1952 and 1955, captures the remote outpost of Noatak during a period of expanding aviation infrastructure in the Northwest Arctic, serving as a primary point of human activity within an otherwise undeveloped wilderness.