1954 Map of Sleetmute D-1

About this map

The Kuskokwim River dominates this mid-century Alaskan landscape, cutting a wide, meandering path through a region defined by extensive marshlands and braided waterways. This 1954 field-annotated survey reveals a wilderness mostly untouched by permanent infrastructure, with only a lone Cabin situated along the western bank of the river providing evidence of human residency or seasonal trapping. The hydrology is complex, with the Tatlawiksuk River and the Swift River feeding into the main Kuskokwim channel through a network of smaller sloughs and wetlands. Higher elevations are marked by geodetic control points such as VABM Swift 424 and VABM 364 Boulder, which served as critical landmarks for the photogrammetric mapping of this remote interior territory. The map captures the Kuskokwim before any modern development, reflecting the era's reliance on aerial photography and limited field checking to document the vast, shifting river deltas of the Bethel region.