1955 Map of Umiat B-3

About this map

The confluence of major Arctic waterways defines this mid-century survey of the North Slope, where the Anaktuvuk River and Chandler River flow northward to meet the wide Colville River. This area represents a critical landscape of federal land management and early energy exploration, clearly marked by the Naval Petroleum Reserve No 4 Boundary and the presence of the Gubic Gas Field. Navigation and travel through this treeless terrain in 1955 relied heavily on a network of a Winter Trail, which threaded between the massive water bodies and prominent landmarks like Ulukrak Bluff and Shivugak Bluff. The drainage patterns of the Kutchik River and the isolated Kakiagun Lake illustrate the complex hydrology of the Alaskan tundra before modern industrial expansion.