Alaska Maps
This entry was originally written by Dwight A. Radford for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
The United States Geological Survey publishes a catalog of topographical maps that cover the entire state of Alaska. Ask for the publications entitled 'Alaska Catalog of Topographical and Other Published Maps' and 'Alaska Index to Topographic and Map Coverage.' The catalog lists the over-the-counter dealers of U.S. Geological maps in Alaska (see page 5). Residents of Alaska may order Alaska maps from the Alaska Distribution Section, U.S. Geological Survey, New Federal Bldg., Box 12, 101 Twelfth Ave., Fairbanks, AK 99701.
Many libraries maintain reference files of the published maps of the U.S. Geological Survey. In Alaska, maps are deposited in the libraries of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys in Anchorage; Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys at College, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks; the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, both in Juneau; the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and the public library in Ketchikan; and the Matanuska-Susitna Community College in Palmer.
The National Archives'Pacific Alaska Region has a large collection of Alaskan maps indexed in the 'Guide to Cartographic Records in the National Archives' (Special List #13). They include railroad maps, federal lands, various historical maps, mining areas, judicial district maps, mineral claims, steamship routes, early Eskimo and Russian settlements, and topographical maps. One map of special interest in conducting native research is an 1875 map showing the distribution of native tribes in Alaska and the adjoining territories. The Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston (see Massachusetts Archives, Libraries, and Societies) has an unusual collection of Alaska historical maps (1865'88) that should not be overlooked.
