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1957 Map of Selawik

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Selawik
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Noorvik sits along the Kobuk River within the Native Reservation, serving as a primary settlement in this water-defined landscape. The region is a complex network of deltas and massive lakes, where the Melvin Channel and Riley Channel fragment the land before opening into Hotham Inlet. To the south, the village of Selawik is positioned between Selawik Lake and Inland Lake, illustrating a life centered on the navigable waters of the Selawik River and its numerous tributaries like the Kugarak River.

Transportation patterns of the mid-1950s are preserved through specialized infrastructure like the Baldwin Seaplane Anchorage at Elephant Point and the Arctic Landing Area on the Baldwin Peninsula. The map captures a transition from coastal maritime activities in Kotzebue Sound to the interior highlands of the Waring Mountains and Selawik Hills, connected by a solitary Winter Trail that cuts across the northern tundra.