Pocatello [key], city (1990 pop. 46,080), seat of Bannock co., SE Idaho, between mountains on the Portneuf River near its junction with the Snake (there dammed to form the American Falls Reservoir); inc. 1889. A railroad center since 1882, Pocatello is a major shipping and processing point for a livestock and farm area. It has an important mining industry (large phosphate deposits are nearby) and plants that manufacture electronic equipment, chemicals, and metal products. Tourism is significant; excellent skiing and water sport facilities are in the area. Pocatello is the seat of Idaho State Univ. and the headquarters for Caribou National Forest. Fort Hall reservation with its irrigation project is to the northwest; the site of Fort Hall (1834) is on the nearby Snake River.
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