Tule Lake Relocation Center and the Tule Lake “Segregation Center: From the Perspective of the WRA Photos

Published: Aug. 21, 2014 Modified: April 11, 2025

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The Tule Lake Relocation Center was one of the ten American concentration camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. The center was located in northern California 35 miles south east of Klamath Falls, OR. It was opened in May 27, 1942 by the War Relocation Authority. Sixty two percent of the inmates were American Citizens.

The following photos were downloaded from the National Archives. The photos were taken by War Relocation Authority (WRA) photographers who were constrained by WRA rules. The photos could not be sad or too happy. A sad photo would make the camp image suffer. A too happy photo would make the administrators look like coddlers. An example of images being too sad are photos taken by Dorothea Lange that were impounded by the Army. Lange was subsequently fired from her job. Ref. Dinitia Smith, NY Times, Nov. 2006, Photographs of an Episode That Lives in Infamy Retrieved March 17, 2011.

The photos are in three albums sorted by date:

Tule Lake Photo Album 1 >>

Tule Lake Photo Album 2 >>

Tule Lake Photo Album 3 >>

For those who would like more details about these images, go to the National Archives website. Hit "Digital Copies" and set limit to 1000. Type in "Tule Lake Relocation Center" and hit search.