1955 Map of Teshekpuk A-1

About this map

Pik Dunes and a labyrinth of thaw lakes define this Arctic landscape, mapped by the Army Map Service during a mid-century period of heightened interest in the region's resources. The entire area lies within the original boundaries of Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4, a designation that influenced much of the early surveying in this part of the North Slope. A solitary Tractor Trail provides the only evidence of overland transit through this water-rich terrain, winding past unnamed basins toward the drainage of Inicok Creek. The map reflects a moment when the Bureau of Land Management was predetermining land lines for unsurveyed territory, creating a grid of township and range boundaries over a wilderness dominated by permafrost-driven geography and migrating dunes.