Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho
Main page
2307456

Pocatello, Idaho

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
2307456

Pocatello, Idaho

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello (/ˈpkəˈtɛl/ ) is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, containing the city's airport. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho.

As of the 2020 census, the population of Pocatello was 56,320. Pocatello is the 6th most populous city in the state, just behind Caldwell.

The city is at an elevation of 4,462 feet (1,360 m) above sea level and it sits on the Portneuf River in the Snake River Plain ecoregion. Pocatello covers a land area of 33.36 square miles (86.4 square kilometers).

Pocatello is the home of Idaho State University and the manufacturing facilities of Amy's Kitchen and ON Semiconductor Corporation; it is served by the Pocatello Regional Airport.

Shoshone and Bannock Indigenous tribes inhabited southeastern Idaho for hundreds of years before the Lewis and Clark Expedition across Idaho in 1805. The expedition's reports of the many riches of the region attracted fur trappers and traders to southeastern Idaho. The city is named after Chief Pocatello, a 19th-century Northern Shoshone leader.

Nathaniel Wyeth of Massachusetts established one of the first permanent settlements at Fort Hall in 1834, which is only a few miles northeast of Pocatello. When over-trapping and a shift in fashion to silk hats put an end to the fur trade, Fort Hall became a supply point for immigrants traveling the Oregon Trail.

Although thousands of immigrants passed through Idaho, it was not until the discovery of gold in 1860 that Idaho attracted settlers in large numbers. The gold rush brought a need for goods and services to many towns, and the Portneuf Valley, home of Pocatello, was the corridor initially used by stage and freight lines. The coming of the railroad provided further development of Idaho's mineral resources and "Pocatello junction" became an important transportation crossroads as the Union Pacific Railroad expanded its service.

After its founding in 1889, Pocatello became known as the "Gate City" for being a gateway to Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. As pioneers, gold miners and settlers traveled the Oregon Trail, they passed through the Portneuf Gap south of town. Stage and freight lines and the railroad soon followed, turning the community into a trade center and transportation junction.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.