Eastern Washington

{{Short description|Geographical region in the United States}} {{About|the geographic region|the university|Eastern Washington University}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2010}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Eastern Washington | nickname = Eastside | image_map = Eastern Washington map.svg | settlement_type = Geographic region | population_as_of = 2020 census | population_total= 1,667,593 | population_density_sq_mi = auto | area_total_sq_mi = 46620 | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 =Washington | elevation_max_ft = 12,276 | elevation_max_point = Mount Adams | elevation_min_ft = 79 | elevation_min_point = Columbia River at White Salmon<br>~80 }} '''Eastern Washington''' is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the Palouse. Unlike in Western Washington, the climate is dry, including some desert environments.

==Geography==

===Nomenclature=== Other terms used for Eastern Washington or large parts of it include: *Columbia Basin *Eastside or east side of the state<ref>{{citation|title=WSP Eastside Recruiter Returns to Face Recruitment Challenge|date=September 8, 2010|access-date=December 27, 2010|publisher=Washington State Patrol Government and Media Relations|url=http://www.wsp.wa.gov/information/releases/2010_archive/mr090810.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103195020/http://www.wsp.wa.gov/information/releases/2010_archive/mr090810.htm|archive-date=November 3, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=Bellingham Herald|date=March 4, 2010|title=Eastside steelheading enters last month|url=http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/03/04/1323457/eastside-steelheading-enters-last.html|access-date=December 27, 2010}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Eastside Earthquakes Get Attention At Conference In Yakima|date=October 17, 2007|publisher=Oregon Public Broadcasting|url=http://news.opb.org/article/eastside-earthquakes-get-attention-conference-yakima|access-date=December 27, 2010|archive-date=March 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314104900/http://news.opb.org/article/eastside-earthquakes-get-attention-conference-yakima/|url-status=dead}}</ref> *Inland Empire/Inland Northwest (also includes the Idaho Panhandle) * "The 509" (in reference to the local area code)

===Cities=== [[Image:SpokaneFromPalisades 20070614.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Spokane is the largest city in eastern Washington and the metropolitan center of the Inland Empire region]]

Notable cities and towns in Eastern Washington include:

{{Div col start | colwidth=15em}} * Spokane * Spokane Valley * Yakima * Kennewick * Pasco * Richland * Wenatchee * Walla Walla * Pullman * Moses Lake * Ellensburg * Sunnyside * West Richland * East Wenatchee * Liberty Lake * Cheney * Grandview * Airway Heights {{Div col end}}

===Protected areas=== [[File:Goat Peak, Cascades.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The summit of Goat Peak in the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest]]

===Counties=== Eastern Washington is composed of:<ref>{{cite web |title=WAC 222-16-010 |url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=222-16-010 |work=Washington Administrative Code |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=August 10, 2025}}</ref>

{{Div col start | colwidth=15em}} * Adams * Asotin * Benton * Chelan * Columbia * Douglas * Ferry * Franklin * Garfield * Grant * Kittitas * Klickitat * Lincoln * Okanogan * Pend Oreille * Spokane * Stevens * Walla Walla * Whitman * Yakima {{Div col end}}

Some definitions also include part of Skamania County that lies east of the ridge line of the Cascade Mountains.

==Climate== [[File:Eastern Washington Köppen.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Köppen climate types in eastern Washington]] A significant difference between Eastern Washington and the western half of the state is its climate. While the west half of the state is located in a rainy oceanic climate, the eastern half receives little rainfall due to the rainshadow created by the Cascade Mountains. Also, due to being farther from the sea, the east side has both hotter summers and colder winters than the west. Most communities in Eastern Washington, for example, have significant yearly snowfall, while in the west snowfall is minimal and not seen every year. The east and west do still have some climatic traits in common, though: more rainfall in winter than summer, a lack of severe storms, and milder temperature ranges than more inland locations.

There is some variation in both temperature and rainfall throughout Eastern Washington. Generally, lower elevations are both hotter and drier than higher elevations. This is easily seen in the comparison between low-elevation Richland with higher elevation Spokane.

{{Weather box |location = Tri-Cities, Washington (combined average of {{abbr|3 cities|Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland}}) |single line = Y |Jan record high F = 74 |Feb record high F = 74 |Mar record high F = 87 |Apr record high F = 95 |May record high F = 105 |Jun record high F = 111 |Jul record high F = 115 |Aug record high F = 115 |Sep record high F = 106 |Oct record high F = 89 |Nov record high F = 79 |Dec record high F = 71 |year record high F=

|Jan record low F = −27 |Feb record low F = −23 |Mar record low F = 10 |Apr record low F = 18 |May record low F = 26 |Jun record low F = 35 |Jul record low F = 38 |Aug record low F = 37 |Sep record low F = 21 |Oct record low F = 9 |Nov record low F = −12 |Dec record low F = −22 |year record low F= |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 1.00 |Feb precipitation inch = 0.66 |Mar precipitation inch = 0.63 |Apr precipitation inch = 0.48 |May precipitation inch = 0.63 |Jun precipitation inch = 0.57 |Jul precipitation inch = 0.17 |Aug precipitation inch = 0.22 |Sep precipitation inch = 0.31 |Oct precipitation inch = 0.56 |Nov precipitation inch = 0.90 |Dec precipitation inch = 1.08 |year precipitation inch= 7.24 | Jan snow inch = 3.2 | Feb snow inch = 1.6 | Mar snow inch = 0.2 | Apr snow inch = trace | May snow inch = 0.0 | Jun snow inch = 0.0 | Jul snow inch = 0.0 | Aug snow inch = 0.0 | Sep snow inch = 0.0 | Oct snow inch = trace | Nov snow inch = 1.5 | Dec snow inch = 2.2 | year snow inch = 8.5 |source 1 = WRCC<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa7015 |title=RICHLAND, WASHINGTON (457015)|access-date=March 11, 2018 |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa4154 |title= KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON (454154)|publisher= Western Regional Climate Center|access-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref> |source 2 = NOAA<ref name = NOAA >{{cite web | url = http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=pdt | title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | access-date = March 11, 2018 | archive-date = April 18, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190418233749/https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=pdt | url-status = dead }}</ref> }}

{{Weather box

|single line= Y |location= Spokane (combined average of 3 stations)

|Jan snow inch= 9.9 |Feb snow inch= 4.1 |Mar snow inch= 1.8 |Apr snow inch= 0.5 |May snow inch= trace |Jun snow inch= trace |Jul snow inch= trace |Aug snow inch= 0.0 |Sep snow inch= trace |Oct snow inch= 0.1 |Nov snow inch= 4.2 |Dec snow inch= 12.7 |year snow inch= 33.2 |source 1 = WRCC<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa7938 |title=SPOKANE INTL AP, WASHINGTON (457938)|access-date=March 11, 2018 |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa7933 |title= SPOKANE, WASHINGTON (457933)|publisher= Western Regional Climate Center|access-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref> |source 2 = NOAA<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=otx |title= NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher= NOAA |access-date= March 11, 2018 |archive-date= September 21, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160921055956/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=otx |url-status= dead }}</ref> |date=February 2018}}

==Population== Compared to Western Washington, Eastern Washington has roughly twice the land area and one-fourth the population. As of the 2020 census, Eastern Washington was home to 1,667,593 of the state's total 7,705,281 residents, making its population comparable to that of West Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WA/PST045219|title=Census QuickFacts: Washington|access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref> The population growth rate between the two is roughly the same. Of Washington's ten Congressional districts, Eastern Washington exactly encompasses two (the 4th and 5th), aside from a small portion of the 8th in Chelan, Douglas, and Kittitas Counties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/washington-state-proposed-congressional-district-changes/281-4a4268ab-a0f8-4951-88d7-3abf0d6ab0a1|title=Proposed changes to Washington state's Congressional districts released|author-first1=Kipp|author-last1=Robertson|date=29 September 2021|website=KING 5}}</ref>

==Education== [[File:Bryan Hall.jpg|thumb|Bryan Hall, Washington State University]] Eastern Washington hosts a number of universities including three of the state's five public universities.

===Public institutions=== *Central Washington University *Eastern Washington University *Washington State University *A number of local community colleges including: **Big Bend Community College **Columbia Basin College **Spokane Community College **Spokane Falls Community College **Walla Walla Community College **Wenatchee Valley College **Yakima Valley College

===Private institutions=== *Gonzaga University *Heritage University *Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences *Walla Walla University *Whitman College *Whitworth University

===Research institutions=== *Pacific Northwest National Laboratory *Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University

==Proposed statehood== [[File:Map of Liberty.svg|thumb|right|Proposed State of Liberty in Eastern Washington{{legend|#4b2e83|Washington}}{{legend|#972335|Liberty}}]] There have been sporadic movements to create a 51st state out of Eastern Washington by splitting the current state down the Cascades, but proposals have rarely progressed out of the state legislature's committees. Bills in the Washington State Legislature which would have requested the United States Congress to take up the question were proposed in 1996, 1999, 2005, and 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/12/08/lawmakers-want-make-eastern-washington-its-own-state/95133706/|title=Lawmakers want to make eastern Wash. its own state|newspaper=USA TODAY|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> Proposed names for the new state have included Lincoln, Columbia, Liberty,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/feb/12/a-51st-state-called-liberty-would-have-political-c/ |title=A 51st state, called Liberty, would have political clout and an ag-based economy |author=Hallenberg, Pia |date=February 12, 2017 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |access-date=April 23, 2018}}</ref> or simply ''Eastern Washington''. Many of these proposals would include the Idaho Panhandle as part of the proposed state of Lincoln.

Eastern Washington tends to vote Republican, whereas Western Washington usually votes Democratic. Even Spokane, the proposed capital and largest city, is in a fairly reliably Republican county despite tending to have a higher democratic vote than other Eastern Washington cities. The only fairly consistently Democratic county is the college town dominated Whitman County, which even then is far less Democratic than Western Washington.

==Images== <gallery> File:Palouse Hills from Steptoe Butte.jpg|The Palouse Hills of southeastern Washington File:Dry Falls.jpg|Dry Falls in the semi-desert Channeled Scablands that dominate much of eastern Washington. File:Eastern Washington Truck.jpg|Truck transport going east on Highway 2, near Waterville Image:Azwell WA.jpg|Apple orchards in Azwell, Washington surrounding a community of pickers' cabins </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

Category:Eastern Washington Category:Regions of Washington (state)