Inland Northwest

For other uses, see Inland Empire (disambiguation).

The Inland Northwest, also known as the Inland Empire, is a region in the Pacific Northwest centered on Spokane, Washington, including the surrounding Columbia River basin and all of North Idaho.

Included in the region are the counties of:

Washington

Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, and Yakima

Idaho

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, and Shoshone

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the estimated population as of 2004 was 1,913,682 making it, in population, comparable to New Mexico. Its Canadian counterpart, north of the border, is the British Columbia Interior.

Geography

The region is bounded by the Cascade Mountains on the west and the Rocky Mountains (following the spine of the remote and rugged Cabinet Mountains) on the east, the Blue Mountains (Oregon) and foothills of the Wallowa Mountains to the south, southeast, and encompasses the Columbia river basin (or Columbia Plateau). Between the three mountain ranges are large, sweeping areas of semi-arid steppe, part of which has been irrigated due to the Columbia Basin Project, resulting in expansive farmland in central Washington. The Palouse, original home of the Appaloosa, is another major agricultural region located in the gently rolling hills of southeastern Washington and extending into Idaho. In Idaho, the Silver Valley is a mineral rich region of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains in northern Idaho noted for its mining heritage, dating back to the 1880s.

The largest city in the region, Spokane ("The Lilac City"), is located near where the arid, and largely unforested Columbia plateau meets the lush forests of the Selkirk Mountains. The urban area stretches east into Idaho along the I-90 corridor through the Spokane River valley across the border of Idaho to Post Falls, Idaho and the city of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on the north bank of Lake Coeur d'Alene. The Northeastern Washington and Northern Idaho portion of the Inland Empire are mountainous and forested, and the crest of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Mountains forms part of the eastern boundary of the Inland Empire region, while the Columbia River forms a significant part of its southern boundary.

Gallery

• 
  Coeur d'Alene
• 
  Coeur d'Alene
• 
  Hangman Creek (a.k.a., Latah Creek): Significant NW historical site
• 
  Lake Pend Oreille (approx. 1200 ft deep)
• 
  View from north of Lewiston and Clarkston
• 
  Oregon Butte in the Wenaha–Tucannon Wilderness
• 
  Palouse Canyon
• 
  Palouse Falls
• 
  Spokane Falls
• 
  Mount Spokane
• 
  Priest Lake
• 
  The Palouse from Steptoe Butte
• 
  interpretive sign on summit of Steptoe Butte
• 
  Yakima River

Climate

The Washington side is generally semi-arid, while the Idaho side experiences mostly a humid continental climate.

Largest cities by population

• Spokane (pop. 208,916)
• Yakima (pop. 91,067)
• Spokane Valley (pop. 89,755)
• Kennewick (pop. 73,917)
• Pasco (pop. 59,781)
• Richland (pop. 48,058)
• Coeur d'Alene (pop. 44,137)
• Wenatchee (pop. 31,925)
• Lewiston (pop. 31,894)
• Walla Walla (pop. 31,731)
• Pullman (pop. 29,799)
• Post Falls (pop. 27,574)
• Moscow (pop. 23,800)
• Moses Lake (pop. 20,366)
• Ellensburg (pop. 18,174)

See also

• Palouse
• Columbia Plateau (ecoregion)
• Inland Empire Highway
• Silver Valley, Idaho
• Lincoln (proposed Northwestern state)
• Appaloosa