Arco

These photographs were created while living in the high desert of Southern Idaho. The town of Arco, ID sits on the Snake River Plain next to some of the largest basalt lava fields in the world, the remnants of the volcanic hot spot responsible for Yellowstone’s great geysers. To the East, the Idaho National Laboratory’s 569,135 acres served as the birthplace of modern nuclear power. As a result, Arco was the first city in the world to be powered by nuclear energy during the testing process. Pioneers on the Oregon trail had to navigate around the jagged lava fields and through the barren Snake River Plain, following in the footsteps of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes who followed the footsteps of wildlife to navigate the lava fields. The marks of the travelers and inhabitants are still visible. Interstate 84 passes through Idaho about an hour south of Arco, far from the cross-country traffic which serves as the lifeblood of many small towns in rural America. Without this constant flow of people, the town feels as if it is slowly fading back into the landscape. Invasive plants brought over to feed cattle fuel constant wildfires throughout the dry summer heat. Arco is the nexus of many different processes spanning time and space. It is where geologic activity, climate change, the myth of manifest destiny, global trade, and the development of the interstate system all intersect on the poetic canvas of the high desert. They also criss-cross the lives of the the people here and who have been here. These photographs attempt to document these intersections and the emotional landscape they create.