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1955 Map of Teshekpuk B-4

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Teshekpuk B-4
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 encompasses this entire Arctic landscape, a vast expanse of water and tundra surveyed in the mid-1950s. The region is defined by the complex, meandering paths of the Ikpikpuk River, which dominates the eastern portion of the map, alongside the Chipp River and the Oumalik River. These slow-moving waterways wind through a dense network of countless small lakes and ponds, illustrating the saturated, low-relief geography of Alaska's North Slope.

Evidence of mid-century exploration is visible through the designated Tractor Trail segments that cut across the northern sections. This survey, mapped by the Army Map Service using 1955 aerial photography, provides a snapshot of the region during a period of strategic interest in northern mineral resources. The lack of permanent settlements emphasizes the isolation of this federal reserve, where the only infrastructure of note consists of these rudimentary trails for heavy equipment traversing the frozen ground.