1948 Map of Petersburg D-5

About this map

Kupreanof Island defines this portion of the Alexander Archipelago, showing a landscape of glacial carving and complex maritime inlets as they were documented in the late 1940s. The topographic detail follows the steep rise from the Towers Arm shoreline to the prominent peaks of Kupreanof Mountain and the Bohemian Range. This map reflects an era of aerial survey where much of the interior remained unsurveyed and unmarked by formal land lines, emphasizing the wilderness character of the Tongass National Forest. Inland water systems like Towers Lake and the winding Hamilton Creek suggest the difficult travel routes through the dense forest and muskeg of the island’s interior. Along the coast, features such as Portage Bay and the tidal flats of Big John Bay highlight the importance of water access for any human activity in this corner of Southeast Alaska.