Pocatello () is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of and the largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the

Fort Hall Indian Reservation The Fort Hall Reservation is a Indian reservation, Native American reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock people, Bannock Tribes (Shoshoni language: Pohoko’ikkateeCrum, B., Crum, E., & Dayley, J. P. (2001). Newe Hupia: Shosh ...

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 Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. 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

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

and it sits on the Portneuf River in the Snake River Plain ecoregion. Pocatello covers a land area of . Pocatello is the home of

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

and the manufacturing facilities of Amy's Kitchen and ON Semiconductor Corporation; it is served by the

Pocatello Regional Airport Pocatello Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport in the western United States, located in Power County, Idaho, seven nautical miles (13 km) northwest of central Pocatello. The airport is built on the site of the Pocat ...

History

Indigenous tribes

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

and Bannock Indigenous tribes inhabited southeastern

for hundreds of years before the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

across

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 Chief Pocatello (known in the Shoshoni language as Tondzaosha (Buffalo Robe); 1815 – October 1884) was a leader of the Northern Shoshone, a Native American people of the Great Basin in western North America. He led attacks against early settler ...

, a 19th-century

Northern Shoshone Northern Shoshone are Shoshone of the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho and the northeast of the Great Basin where Idaho, Wyoming and Utah meet. They are culturally affiliated with the Bannock people and are in the Indigenous people of the Grea ...

leader.

Permanent settlements

Nathaniel Wyeth of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

established one of the first permanent settlements at

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the Western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern ...

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,

became a supply point for immigrants traveling the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

. Although thousands of immigrants passed through

, 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 The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

expanded its service.

Gate City

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

, 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.

Gold rush and agriculture

After the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

played out, the settlers who remained turned to agriculture. With the help of irrigation from the nearby

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

, the region became a large supplier of potatoes, grain and other crops. Residential and commercial development gradually appeared by 1882.

Alameda consolidation

The adjacent city of Alameda was consolidated into Pocatello in 1962, Chubbuck, further north, opposed a similar merger and remained a separate municipality. In the 1960 census, Alameda had a population of 10,660 and Pocatello was at 28,534; the consolidation made Pocatello the state's largest city based on those numbers, passing

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

and

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls is the List of cities in Idaho, fourth most populous city in Idaho and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County. It is the state's most populous city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United St ...

Flag

The Pocatello flag used from 2001 to 2017 was considered by the

North American Vexillological Association The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith, and others. Its membership of 1,100+ comprises flag s ...

to be the worst city flag in North America. In April 2016, the city's newly created flag design committee met for the first time. Attending the meeting was Roman Mars whose 2015

TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

had made Pocatello's flag infamous. On July 20, 2017, after a year and a half of work by the flag committee, the Pocatello City Council approved the adoption of a new flag with the informal name of "Mountains Left" out of a total of 709 designs.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. A main water feature of Pocatello is the Portneuf River, which runs southeast to northwest on the western side of the city. Since 1992, the city and the Portneuf Greenway Foundation have worked to create a system of trails that follow the river and connect to other trails in the greater Portneuf Valley. Currently, 15+ miles of trails have been constructed with 27 planned total miles.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Pocatello has a

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Pocatello was on August 2, 1969, August 8, 1990, July 22, 2000, and July 31, 2020, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 1, 1985.

Demographics

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates, there were people and households. The population density was . There were housing units at an average density of .To calculate density we use the land area figure from the places file in The racial makeup of the city was 86.2% White, 2.4% Asian, 2.3% some other race, 1.5% Native American or Alaskan Native, 1.4% Black or African American, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, with 6.0% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 9.6% of the population. Of the households, 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.1% had seniors 65 years or older living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 7.3% were couples cohabitating, 22.7% had a male householder with no partner present, and 25.8% had a female householder with no partner present. The median household size was and the median family size was . The age distribution was 24.8% under 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was years. For every 100 females, there were males. The median income for a household was $, with family households having a median income of $ and non-family households $. The per capita income was $. Males working full-time jobs had median earnings of $ compared to $ for females. Out of the people with a determined poverty status, 14.4% were below the poverty line. Further, 17.0% of minors and 12.3% of seniors were below the poverty line. In the survey, residents self-identified with various ethnic ancestries. People of English descent made up 20.5% of the population of the town, followed by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

at 14.2%, Irish at 9.8%, American at 6.0%,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

at 4.0%,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

at 3.0%, Danish at 3.0%, Swedish at 2.7%, Norwegian at 2.6%, French at 2.0%, Welsh at 2.0%, Polish at 1.4%,

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

at 1.3%, Scotch-Irish at 1.2%, and Dutch at 1.0%.

Government

Economy

Idaho Department of Correction operates the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center (PWCC) in Pocatello. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Pocatello, Bannock, and Gateway Station post offices. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is building a data center in Pocatello as part of an initiative to consolidate operations into three enterprise data centers.

Top employers

According to Pocatello's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

Pocatello is home to Idaho Museum of Natural History, Museum of Clean, Bannock County Historical Complex, and the Fort Hall Replica and Museum. Idaho State University's L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center is the largest such complex in Pocatello and hosts dance, theater, music, and other entertainment events. The grand concert hall seats up to 1,200 people. The Westside Players is a non-profit community theatre company that hosts shows at The Warehouse in the Warehouse District of Pocatello. There are over twenty National Historic Places in Pocatello including St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Church of the Assumption, Bethel Baptist Church, A.F.R. Building, Standrod House, John Hood House, Idaho State University Administration Building, Pocatello Carnegie Library, and multiple

historic districts A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...

Sports

Pocatello is home to Holt Arena, a multipurpose indoor stadium that opened in 1970 on the ISU campus. Known as the "Minidome" until 1988, Holt Arena was the home of the Real Dairy Bowl, a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

football

Bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

. Holt Arena also plays host to the Simplot Games, the nation's largest indoor high school track-and-field meet. The Pocatello Marathon and Half Marathon are held annually. Times from the course may be used to qualify for the Boston and New York marathons. Outdoor sports, both winter and summer, play an important role in the culture of Pocatello. Pebble Creek, Idaho is a ski resort located just south of Pocatello and offers skiing and snowboarding. Pocatello is also home to a semi-pro baseball team, the Gate City Grays, who are a member of the Northern Utah League. The Grays play in Halliwell Park located at 1100 W. Alameda. They were NUL champions in both 2015 and 2016.

Education

Primary and secondary education

All of the Bannock County portion of Pocatello is served by the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District #25. The district is home to three public high schools, four public middle schools and thirteen public elementary schools. Additionally, there are two public charter schools, and various alternative and church-based private schools and academies. The portion of Pocatello in Power County is within American Falls Joint School District 381.

High schools

* Century High School * Highland High School * Pocatello High School

Middle schools

* Alameda Middle School * Franklin Middle School * Hawthorne Middle School * Irving Middle School

Elementary schools

Chubbuck Elementary School * Edahow Elementary School * Ellis Elementary School * Gate City Elementary School * Gem Prep * Greenacres Elementary School * Indian Hills Elementary School * Jefferson Elementary School * Lewis & Clark Elementary School * Syringa Elementary School * Tendoy Elementary School * Tyhee Elementary School * Washington Elementary School * Wilcox Elementary School

Higher education

(ISU) is a public university operated by the state of Idaho. Originally an auxiliary campus of the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

and then a state college, it became the second university in the state in 1963. The ISU campus is in Pocatello, with outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls. The university's L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center occupies a prominent location overlooking Pocatello and the lower Portneuf River Valley. The center's three venues provide performance space, including the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall. Idaho State's athletics teams compete in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

, the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and basketball teams play in Holt Arena.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Commercial air service is available via

. Pocatello Regional Transit provides bus service on five hourly routes, Monday through Saturday. There is currently no evening or Sunday service.

Notable people

* Chris Abernathy, electrician and member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate seats. ...

* Torey Adamcik, one of two perpetrators of the Murder of Cassie Jo Stoddart. * Neil L. Andersen, member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints * Don Aslett, entrepreneur and founder of the town's Museum of Clean * Kayla Barron,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut * Billie Bird (1908–2002), comedian and actress * Greg Byrne, athletic director at

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

* Shay Carl, vlogger, one of the original founders of Maker Studios, which was sold to Walt Disney Co. in 2014 * Gloria Dickson, actress * Jan Broberg Felt, actress * George V. Hansen, politician * Taysom Hill, NFL tight end for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

* Merril Hoge, analyst for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, NFL running back * Tristen Hoge, offensive guard for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Bryan Johnson Bryan Johnson (born August 22, 1977) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, writer and author. He is the founder and former CEO of Kernel, a company creating devices that monitor and record brain activity, and OS Fund, a venture ca ...

, NFL football player * James Edmund Johnson,

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient, posthumously, for valor in combat in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

* Dirk Koetter, interim offensive coordinator for the Boise State Broncos * Wendy J. Olson, U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho * C. Ben Ross, Mayor of Pocatello and 15th Governor of Idaho * Bill Salkeld, Major League Baseball catcher * Richard G. Scott, member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints * Tom Spanbauer, writer, winner of the

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbo ...

* Brandon Steineckert, drummer * Edward Stevenson, costume designer for numerous films including ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...

'' and '' It's a Wonderful Life'' * Minerva Teichert, artist * Tommy Togiai, defensive tackle for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

* Celeste West, librarian and lesbian author, born Pocatello 1942 * Logan Wilde, professional archer * Reo Wilde, professional archer * Jack Williams, news anchor on WBZ-TV in Boston, Massachusetts * Benedicte Wrensted, photographer, lived in Pocatello from 1895 to 1912

In popular culture

* '' The Great Food Truck Race'' Season 4, Episode 3, "Potatoes in Pocatello". Pocatello, Idaho is the location of episode 3 food truck race challenge. Much of the city is shown, as well as the local foot traffic.

References

External links

City of Pocatello
{{Authority control Cities in Idaho Cities in Bannock County, Idaho Cities in Power County, Idaho Oregon Trail County seats in Idaho Populated places established in 1834 Pocatello, Idaho metropolitan area 1834 establishments in Oregon Country Idaho placenames of Native American origin