Manzanar

Manzanar is the site of a World War II-era Japanese American incarceration camp in the Owens Valley of California, preserved today to interpret that history.

The site features a National Park Service visitor center with museum exhibits, interpretive panels across the camp footprint, a cemetery, and reconstructed elements such as a guard tower and camp foundations that help visitors visualize the living conditions. The site is a focal point for education about wartime incarceration and civil liberties.

Manzanar was established in 1942 as one of several War Relocation Authority camps and was used to incarcerate people of Japanese ancestry during World War II; it was closed in 1945. The site’s later preservation and interpretation emphasize memory, testimony, and public history.

Geographically it sits in the Owens Valley near the town of Lone Pine and the eastern Sierra Nevada, within Inyo County, California, on the floor of the valley east of the town.

• Scale of Incarceration: Held roughly 10,000 people of Japanese ancestry between 1942 and 1945 as part of wartime forced relocation and incarceration in the United States.
• Annual Pilgrimage: An annual pilgrimage and commemorative events are held each April to remember those interned and to promote public education.

What to See #

• Visitor Center: Operated by the National Park Service, the visitor center contains exhibits about incarceration and daily life, orientation materials, and a bookstore; it is the primary starting point for understanding the site.
• Manzanar Cemetery: A small cemetery with grave markers and a memorial recording the names of those who died while imprisoned at the camp and those buried there.
• Camp Site and Structures: Foundations, reconstructed elements such as a guard tower and restored road alignments mark the footprint of the former camp and help illustrate the camp layout for visitors.