During World War II, over 120,000 persons of Japanese descent were held in a variety of incarceration sites spread across the United States. These facilities were run by several different U.S. governmental agencies and served multiple purposes.

Learn more about the different types of detention facilities in the Densho Encyclopedia

Concentration Camps

Ten large self-contained communities constructed by the War Relocation Authority to incarcerate persons of Japanese ancestry.

Gila River (931)
Granada (Amache) (2254)
Heart Mountain (3064)
Jerome (644)
Manzanar (4121)
Minidoka (3119)
Poston (Colorado River) (1947)
Rohwer (876)
Topaz (Central Utah) (920)
Tule Lake (2563)

Temporary Assembly Centers

Hastily-built temporary camps on the West Coast for holding people of Japanese ancestry before more permanent camps were erected.

Fresno (113)
Marysville (18)
Mayer (1)
Merced (106)
Owens Valley (5)
Parker Dam (1)
Pinedale (115)
Pomona (99)
Portland (154)
Puyallup (Camp Harmony) (292)
Sacramento (Walerga) (55)
Salinas (43)
Santa Anita (411)
Stockton (71)
Tanforan (255)
Tulare (56)
Turlock (33)

Immigration Detention Centers

Temporary holding facilities for foreign nationals considered "enemy aliens."

East Boston
Ellis Island (1)
San Francisco (2)
San Pedro
Seattle (11)
Sharp Park (9)
Tuna Canyon (4)

Department of Justice Internment Camps

Facilities operated by the Department of Justice that interned foreign nationals considered "enemy aliens."

Crystal City (314)
Fort Lincoln (Bismarck) (31)
Fort Missoula (191)
Fort Stanton (5)
Kenedy (6)
Kooskia (5)
Old Raton Ranch (8)
Santa Fe (219)
Seagoville (3)

U.S. Army Internment Camps

U.S. Army sites in Hawaii, Alaska and the mainland that interned foreign nationals considered "enemy aliens."

Camp Blanding
Camp Forrest (3)
Camp Livingston (74)
Camp McCoy
Florence
Fort Bliss
Fort Howard
Fort Lewis
Fort McDowell
Fort Meade
Fort Richardson (1)
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sill (11)
Griffith Park (1)
Honouliuli (10)
Lordsburg (126)
Sand Island (6)
Stringtown

Citizen Isolation Centers

Detention centers that held U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry who had been labeled as "troublemakers" by concentration camp administrators.

Leupp (17)
Moab (3)

Additional Facilities

Sites that served as emergency short-term housing to defuse tensions at the concentration camps.

Antelope Springs
Cow Creek (31)
Nyssa, Oregon (detention facility)
Tulelake (37)

U.S. Federal Prisons

Prisons that held U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry who resisted the military draft.

Catalina Federal Honor Camp (8)
Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary (50)
McNeil Island Penitentiary (28)

API