into the brownfields...

Exploring the urban wilds near the McCormick and Baxter Creosote "Superfund" site.

Toxic creosote chemicals from commercial activities here contaminated the soil, river, and water table for decades. All that remains now is a barren tract of wasteland, with only a thin veneer of recently planted grasses as the only visible sign of the remedial clean-up effort.

Although just down the bluff from North Portland, the site feels like another world entirely: vacant, shattered, eerie. Bicycling through it this summer Teshka and I felt like we were traversing the desolate outback of a Mad Max film, the last people alive on the planet.

The site is also described as one of the "worst places in the world". Biking there is loads of fun!

(The second photo shows some fogging on this roll that I haven't figured out yet.)

Portland, July 2006.

Ensign Selfix 12-20, Fomapan 400.