1953 Map of Nulato C-4

About this map

Soonkakat River winds through a vast, water-heavy landscape in this 1950s survey of the Alaska interior. The terrain is defined by a dense network of small ponds and wetlands, illustrating the complex hydrology of the region before modern development. In the northwest corner, the drainage pattern becomes more pronounced where Patsy Slough and Happy Slough flank Big Island. These waterways are characteristic of the meandering river systems that dictate travel and seasonal change in the Yukon-Koyukuk region. Compiled from aerial photography taken in 1952, the map documents a remote wilderness largely untouched by infrastructure, showing the natural state of the land as it was managed by the Bureau of Land Management during the mid-century era.