Searching for the Seventies: US National Archives exhibition

Searching for the Seventies: The Documerica Photography Project, is based on an archive of 22,000 photos taken by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The photo above, taken in 1974, was captioned at the time: 'Religious fervor is mirrored on the face of a Black Muslim woman, one of some 10,000 listening to Elijah Muhammad deliver his annual Savior’s Day message in Chicago.' Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

The images do capture the horrors of contemporary pollution. Above, abandoned cars and other debris clutter an oil-filled five-acre pond near Ogden, Utah, 1974. It was cleaned up under EPA supervision to prevent possible contamination of the Great Salt Lake and a wildlife refuge nearby.
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

Other images explore the styles of the decade; Michigan Avenue, Chicago, 1975.
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

'The painted bus is home.' David Hiser, Rifle, CO, October 1972.
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

1972 image of a hitchhiker with his dog, Tripper.
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

Children play in Ruston, Washington, in 1972 near the Tacoma Smelter, which emitted arsenic and lead residue and has since been demolished.
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

'Young woman watches as her car goes through testing at an auto emission inspection station in Downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.' Lyntha Scott Eiler, September 1975.
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

'Inexpensive retirement hotels are a hallmark of the South Beach area. A favored place is the front porch, where residents sit and chat or watch the activities on the beach.' Flip Shulke, South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, June 1973.
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives

Children swim against the backdrop of a chemical plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, June 1972.

The exhibition runs at Washington's Lawrence F O'Brien Gallery until 8 September (archives.gov/nae/visit/gallery.html)
Photograph: Washington Post/US National Archives