2020 Map of Teshekpuk C-5 NW

About this map

Topagoruk River meanders across this Arctic coastal plain in the North Slope Borough, carving a complex network of oxbows and seasonal channels through the saturated tundra. The landscape is dominated by countless thermokarst lakes and ponded water, characteristic of the permafrost-underlain terrain near the Beaufort Sea coast. In the northwestern corner, the river begins its final approach toward Admiralty Bay, where the freshwater systems meet the brackish inlets of the Arctic Ocean. This 2020 survey by the U.S. Geological Survey documents a wilderness environment defined entirely by its shifting hydrology and lack of permanent human infrastructure, offering a detailed look at the drainage patterns and landforms of one of the most isolated regions in Alaska.