1953 Map of Ruby B-3

About this map

Nowitna River meanders across this interior Alaskan landscape, defining a complex network of oxbow lakes and wetlands within what would later be designated the Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge. The terrain is characterized by the prominent Monzonite Hills in the northwest, rising above the low-lying drainage basins of the Lost River and Little Mud River. Mapped primarily through aerial photography in the early 1950s, the sheet reveals a wilderness devoid of roads or permanent settlements, emphasizing the seasonal and fluid nature of the watercourses that dominate the region's geography. The intricate loops of the rivers indicate a mature fluvial system where the landscape is constantly reshaped by the slow movement of water through the valley floor.