1958 Map of Talkeetna D-2

About this map

Denali National Park encompasses this high-altitude landscape, where massive glacial systems define the topography of the Alaska Range. The survey, based on 1952 aerial photography and 1958 field annotations, captures a vertical world dominated by the massive Ruth Glacier and the sheer walls of The Great Gorge. Peaks such as Mount Huntington, The Mooses Tooth, and Mount Dickey tower over the Ruth Amphitheater, illustrating the extreme glacial carving that shaped this region. To the east and west, the Buckskin Glacier and Tokositna Glacier highlight the interconnected nature of these ice flows before they descend into lower drainage basins like Alder Creek. This map is a record of the park's glaciology and high-peaks geography mid-century, long before modern climatic shifts altered these massive ice sheets.