Loading map...

1953 Map of Valdez A-5

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Valdez A-5
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

Worthington Glacier dominates the upper-left quadrant of this mid-century Alaskan interior study, illustrating the ice mass as it appeared following 1950 aerial surveys. The landscape is defined by the critical transit corridor of the Richardson Highway, which winds through the high elevation of Thompson Pass. This route served as a primary artery into the interior, and the map captures the logistical infrastructure of the era through sites like Wortmanns and the ARC Camp.

Deep glaciated valleys like Heiden Canyon and the courses of the Tsina River and Lowe River reveal a terrain marked by extreme relief and numerous Crevasses. Surveyors utilized dozens of triangulation points, such as VABM 3700 Ptarmigan and VABM 3081 Divide, to chart these remote reaches. The map's detail provides a record of the early highway system before modern realignments and expansions altered these specific roadside settlements.