LightBox Files 2017

Detroit Lake • Ann Kendellen

The damming of Oregon’s Santium River in the early 1950’s created Detroit Lake. Water submerged the original town site, as well as a large section of adjacent forest. The relocated town, once faltering from the Great Depression, began to flourish with tourism and recreational sports. 

In winter and increasingly in drought-plagued summer months, dropping water levels expose an eerie landscape. Ghostly tree stumps and human debris appear scattered across the lake bed. This mausoleum of sacrificed forest suggests loss, and hints at what the future of our warming planet might hold. Ann Kendellen • March 2017