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1964 Map of Sagavanirktok

Name: 1964 Topographic Map of Sagavanirktok
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

Franklin Bluffs stands as a prominent landmark overlooking the wide, braided course of the Sagavanirktok River in this mid-1960s survey of the Alaska North Slope. The landscape is defined by its massive river systems, including the Kuparuk River and Toolik River, which cut through a terrain of low ridges and coastal plains. To the west, the White Hills rise above the drainage basins, while the southern reaches of the map transition into higher elevations marked by Kakuktura Mtn.

This era predates the intensive development of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields, showing the region in a largely undisturbed state where the only sign of inland transit is a lone Tractor Trail. The map records a significant network of vertical angle benchmark points, such as VABM 350 Robin and VABM 1022 Dirk, which served as the primary terrestrial markers for early topographic surveying across this massive wilderness.