9,308 photographs of North Dakota

October 13, 2012 2:05 PM

9,308 photographs of North Dakota
I got the most detailed map of North Dakota I could find, visited every dot on the map, and photographed something at every single spot.

873 places in North Dakota -- real towns, ghost towns, railroad stations, and a few bonus places that don't even rate dots on the map:
Abercrombie • Absaraka • Adams • Addison Township • Addison • Adrian • Agate • Akra • Alamo • Alexander • Alfred • Alice • Alkabo • Almont • Alpha • Alsen • Alton • Ambrose • Amenia • Amidon • Anamoose • Aneta • Anselm • Antelope • Antler • Appam • Apple Valley • Ardoch • Arena • Argusville • Armourdale • Arndt • Arnegard • Arnold • Arthur • Arvilla • Ashley • Auburn • Aurelia • Avoca • Aylmer • Backoo • Baden • Baker • Baldwin • Balfour • Balta • Banks • Bantry • Barks Spur • Barlow • Barney • Barrie • Bartlett • Barton • Bathgate • Bayne • Beach • Belcourt • Belden • Belfield • Belmar • Benedict • Bentley • Berea • Bergen • Berlin • Berthold • Berwick • Beulah • Binford • Bisbee • Bismarck • Blabon • Blackmer • Blaisdell • Blanchard • Bloom • Bluegrass • Bonetraill • Bordulac • Bottineau • Bounty • Bowbells • Bowdon • Bowesmont • Bowman • Boyle • Braddock • Brampton • Brantford • Breien • Bremen • Briarwood • Brinsmade • Brisbane • Brittin • Brocket • Brooktree Park • Brumbaugh • Buchanan • Bucyrus • Buffalo Springs • Buffalo • Buford • Burlington • Burnstad • Burt • Butte • Buttzville • Buxton • Caledonia • Calio • Calspur • Calvin • Cando • Cannon Ball • Carbury • Carpio • Carrington • Carson • Cartwright • Cashel • Casselton • Cathay • Cavalier • Cayuga • Center • Chafee • Chaffee • Chama • Charbonneau • Charlson • Chaseley • Chola • Christine • Churchs Ferry • Clement • Clementsville • Cleveland • Clifford • Clifton • Clyde • Coburn • Cogswell • Cole Ford • Coleharbor • Colfax • Colgan • Colgate • Columbus • Comstock • Concrete • Considine • Conway • Cooperstown • Cooperstown • Corinth • Coteau • Coulee • Courtenay • Crane Creek Township • Crary • Crete • Crocus • Croff • Crosby • Crystal Springs • Crystal • Cuba • Cummings • Daglum • Dahlen • Daily • Dalrymple Spur • Dana • Darby • Davenport • Dawson • Dazey • De Lamere • De Mores • De Sart • De Villo • Deep • Deerheart Lodge • Deering • Deisem • Denbigh • Dengate • Denhoff • Derrick • Des Lacs • Des Moines Lake • Devils Lake • Dewar • Dickey • Dickinson • Divide • Dodge • Donnybrook • Dore • Double Ditch Indian Village • Douglas • Dover • Doyon • Drady • Drake • Drayton • Dresden • Driscoll • Duane • Dundas • Dunn Center • Dunning • Dunseith • Durbin • Durupt • Dwight • Eagle Nest • Easby • East Fairview • Eastedge • Eckelson • Eckman • Edgeley • Edinburg • Edmore • Edmunds • Egeland • Eland • Eldridge • Elgin • Ellendale • Elliott • Ellsberry • Elmore • Embden • Emerado • Emmet • Emrick • Enderlin • Englevale • Enloe • Epping • Epworth • Erie Junction • Erie • Esmond • Essex • Everest • Fairdale • Fairfield • Fairmount • Fairview Junction • Falkirk • Fallon • Fargo • Farmington • Fayette • Fessenden • Fife • Fillmore • Fingal • Finley • Flaat • Flasher • Flaxton • Fleece • Flora • Fonda • Forbes • Fordville • Forest River Colony • Forest River • Forfar • Forman • Fort Clark • Fort Ransom • Fort Rice • Fort Totten • Fort Yates • Fortuna • Foxholm • Franklin • Freda • Fredonia • Fried • Frontier • Fryburg • Fullerton • Funston • Gackle • Galchutt • Galesburg • Gardar • Gardena • Gardner • Garrison • Garske • Gascoyne • Gateway • Geneseo • Genoa • Gilby • Gladstone • Gladys • Glasston • Glen Ullin • Glenburn • Glenfield • Glenharold • Glover • Golden Township • Golden Valley • Goldwin • Golva • Goodrich • Gorham • Grace City • Grafton • Grand Forks • Grand Harbor • Grand Rapids • Grandin • Grano • Granville • Grassna • Great Bend • Greene • Greenfield • Grenora • Griffin • Guelph • Guptill • Guthrie • Guyson • Gwinner • Hague • Haley • Halliday • Hallson • Hamar • Hamberg • Hamilton • Hamlet • Hamlin • Hampden • Hample • Hankinson • Hanks Corner • Hanks • Hannaford • Hannah Junction • Hannah • Hannover • Hansboro • Harding • Harlow • Harmon • Hartland • Harvey • Harwood • Hastings • Hatton • Havana • Havelock • Hawkeye • Haynes • Hazelton • Hazen • Heaton • Hebron • Heil • Heimdal • Helendale Township • Hensel/Canton • Hensler • Herriott • Hesper • Hettinger • Hickson • Highland Park • Hillsboro • Hirschville • Holmes • Homer • Honeyford • Hong • Hoople • Hope • Horace • Hoving • Howard • Huff • Hull • Hunter • Hurd • Hurdsfield • Hurning • Independence • Inkster • Isabel • Ives • Jamestown • Jessie • Johnson • Johnsons Corner • Johnstown • Joliette • Josephine • Juanita • Jud • Judson • Kaiser • Karlsruhe • Karnak • Kathryn • Keene • Keith • Kellogg • Kelly • Kelso • Kelvin • Kempton • Kenaston • Kenmare • Kensal • Kermit • Kerry • Kief • Killdeer • Kincaid • Kindred • Kintyre • Kloten • Kloze • Knox • Koldok • Kongsberg • Kramer • Kulm • Kuroki • La Mars • La Moure • Ladoga • Lake Williams Township • Lake Williams • Lakewood Park • Lakota • Lallie • Landa • Langdon • Lankin • Lansford • Larimore • Lark • Larson • Lawton • Leal • Leeds • Lefor • Lehigh • Lehr • Leipzig • Leith • Lemert • Leonard • Leroy • Leverich • Leyden • Lidgerwood • Lignite • Lincoln Valley • Lincoln • Linton • Lisbon • Litchville • Lithia • Livona • Logan Center • Logan • Loma • Lonetree • Loraine • Lostwood • Lowell • Lucca • Ludden • Lunds Valley • Luverne • Lynchburg • Lynwood • Lyons • Maddock • Magnolia • Maida • Makoti • Mandan • Mandaree • Mandt • Manfred • Manitou • Manning • Mantador • Manvel • Mapes • Mapleton • Marion • Marley • Marmarth • Marmon • Marmot • Martin • Mason • Max • Maxbass • Mayville • Maza • McArthur • McCanna • McClusky • McGregor • McHenry • McKenzie County • McKenzie • McLeod • McVille • Medberry • Medina • Medora • Mekinock • Melville • Menoken • Mercer • Merida • Merricourt • Merrifield • Michigan • Midway • Millarton • Millers Spur • Milnor • Milroy • Milton • Minnewaukan • Minot • Minto • Moffit • Mohall • Monango • Montpelier • Mooreton • Mose • Moselle • Mott • Mount Carmel • Mountain • Munich • Munster • Murray • Mylo • Myra • Nanson • Napoleon • Nash • Neche • Nekoma • New England • New Hradec • New Leipzig • New Minneapolis • New Rockford • New Salem • New Town • Newburg • Newman • Niagara • Nicholson • Niles • Nine Mile Corner, Burke and Ward Counties • Nolan • Nome • Noonan • Norfolk • Norma • Norman • North Almont • North Dakota • North Grand Forks • North Lemmon • North River • North Valley City • Northgate • Northwood • Nortonville • Norway • Norwich • Oakdale • Oakes • Oakwood • Oberon • Olga • Olmstead • Omemee • Ops • Oriska • Orr • Orrin • Osnabrock • Oswald • Otter Creek • Overly • Oxbow • Page • Palermo • Park River • Parkhurst • Parshall • Pasha • Paulson • Peak • Pekin • Pelto • Pembina • Penn • Perella • Perth • Peters • Petersburg • Peterson Township, Stutsman County • Petrel • Pettibone • Pick City • Pickardville • Pickert • Pierce, Apple Creek Township, Burleigh County • Pierce, Woodberry Township, Slope County • Pillsbury • Pingree • Pinkham • Pisek • Pitcairn • Pittsburgh • Plainview School, McKenzie County • Plaza • Pleasant Lake • Poland • Porcupine • Portal • Portland Junction • Portland • Powell • Power • Powers Lake • Preston • Price • Prosper • Raleigh • Ralston • Ramsey • Rangeley • Raub • Rawson • Ray • Reeder • Reeves • Regan • Regent • Reiles Acres • Renville • Revere • Reynolds • Rhame • Rice Lake Park • Richardton • Rider • Riga • Rising • Rival • Riverdale Junction • Riverdale • Riverside • Robinson • Rock Haven • Rocklake • Rogers • Rogus • Rohrville • Rolette • Rolla • Roseglen • Roseville • Ross • Roth • Rugby • Ruso • Russell • Ruthville • Rutland • Ryder • Saint Gertrude • San Haven • Sanborn • Sanger • Sanish • Sarles • Saundersville • Sawyer • Schafer • Schefield • Schmidt • Scranton • Selfridge • Selz • Sentinel Butte • Seven Mile Corner, Burke County • Sharlow • Sharon • Shawnee • Sheldon • Shell Valley • Shepard • Sherbrooke • Sherwood • Sheyenne • Shields • Sibley • Silva • Silverleaf • Simcoe • Sims • Six Mile Crossing • Skaar • Solen • Sonora • Souris • South Fairfield • South Heart • South Prairie • Southam • Spiritwood Lake • Spiritwood • Spotted Horn • Springbrook • Squaw Gap • St Andrews • St Benedict • St Boniface Grotto, Good Luck Township, Williams County • St Joe • St John • St Michael • St Thomas • St. Anthony • Stampede • Stanley • Stanton • Starkweather • Steele • Sterling • Stiles • Still • Stirum • Strange Siding • Strasburg • Straubville • Streeter • Sully Springs • Sunny • Surrey • Sutton • Svold • Sweet Briar • Sweetwater • Sydney • Sykeston • Taft • Tagus • Tappen • Tasco • Taylor • Temple • Temvik • Thelan • Thompson • Thorne • Three V Crossing • Timmer • Tioga • Tokio • Tolley • Tolna • Tower City • Towner • Trenton • Trotters • Truax • Truro • Tunbridge • Turtle Lake • Tuttle • Tyler • Underwood • Union • Upham • Urbana • Valley City • Van Hook • Vance • Vang • Vanville • Vashti • Velva • Venlo • Venturia • Verendrye • Verona • Veseleyville • Voltaire • Voss • Wabek • Wahpeton • Walcott • Walden • Wales • Walhalla • Walser Crossing • Walum • Warren • Warsaw • Warwick Junction • Warwick • Washburn • Wassaic • Watford City • Watrous • Weaver • Webster • Wellsburg • Werner • West Bonetraill • West Fargo • Westfield • Westhope • Wheatland • Wheelock • White Earth • White • Whitman • Wild Rice • Wildrose • Williston • Willow City • Wilton • Wimbledon • Windsor • Wing • Wirch • Wishek • Woburn • Wogansport • Wolford • Wolseth • Woods • Woodworth • Wyndmere • York • Youngtown • Ypsilanti • Zahl • Zap • Zeeland • Zenith

Forthcoming (Kickstarter willing): two books, one, featuring one photograph of every North Dakota dot, and another, featuring photos of only the tiniest towns in North Dakota and westward. [current Kickstarter campaign]

Role: photographer

posted by afiler (7 comments total)

This project was posted to MetaFilter by capricorn on October 14, 2012: From Abercrombie to Zenith

Holy cow! How many trips altogether? This is great.
posted by kokogiak at 2:40 PM on October 13, 2012

Thanks! I worked on and off over the past decade or so on this, but I would say that about 50% of the photography was done in 4 multi-week-long trips in 2008 and 2009. I was at the mercy of the weather, so I'd photograph for as long as it stayed sunny.
posted by afiler at 3:24 PM on October 13, 2012

I had been told, but had not realised, that North Dakota was very flat. Wow, it's really really flat.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 7:54 PM on October 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

This is exactly the sort of thing I would do with my life if I could ever get a damn day off of work. Bravo!
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:28 AM on October 14, 2012

Echoing the "this is great!" Now I want a map and a day to go exploring ND through your photos.
posted by marguerite at 2:28 PM on October 14, 2012

Yeah, this is awesome afiler. It reminds me of a Human Geography course from undergrad, which was probably my favorite course ever. How fun!
posted by foxhat10 at 11:56 AM on October 17, 2012

I've only poked around a bit, but I really like the look of the town of Starkweather (and the creepy "association" with Charles, too).
posted by mr. digits at 7:28 PM on October 18, 2012