The Inland Northwest, or Inland Empire,[1] 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:
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.
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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) to 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.
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 Bitteroot 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.
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