1953 Map of Valdez A-5

About this map

Richardson Highway carves through this glacial landscape, providing a critical transportation link through the Chugach Mountains at the midpoint of the 20th century. The survey highlights the high-altitude transition at Thompson Pass, where the road winds past Blueberry Lake and the massive Worthington Glacier. This area is defined by its dramatic ice fields, including the Heiden Glacier, Deserted Glacier, and Marshall Glacier, which feed into the Lowe River and Tsina River systems. Evidence of early aviation and mountain transit is visible at the Landing Strip near Ptarmigan Drop. Further south, the settlement at Wortmanns sits near the mouth of Heiden Canyon, marking a rare point of habitation amidst the extensive networks of crevasses and ice flows that dominate the quadrangle.