Spokane County, Washington

Spokane County Education, Geography, and History

Spokane County is a county located in the state of Washington. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 471,221, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington state The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest city in the state, behind Seattle.

Spokane County was formed on January 29, 1858. It was annexed by Stevens County on January 19, 1864, and re-created on October 30, 1879. It is named after the Spokane tribe.

Spokane County comprises the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Spokane County Name

The Spokane Native American tribe.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Spokane County History

 Spokane County was created 29 January 1858 from Walla Walla County. Abolished 19 January 1863 and merged with Stevens County. Recreated October 30, 1879 from Stevens County. Spokane County is the most populous county in mainly rural Eastern Washington and home to the second largest city in the state. After settlement in the 1870s, Spokane became the hub for the mining, timber, and railroad industries of the Inland Northwest. In the surrounding areas, cattle ranging and especially wheat farming became important. Today, the city and county of Spokane serve as the medical, financial, and commercial center of a vast region stretching from the Cascades eastward into western Montana. Fairchild Air Force Base is the county's largest employer, and agriculture remains a factor.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,781 square miles (4,612 km²), of which, 1,764 square miles (4,568 km²) of it is land and 17 square miles (44 km²) of it (0.96%) is water. It is part of the Palouse, a wide and rolling prairie-like region of the middle Columbia basin. The lowest point in the county is the Spokane River behind Long Lake Dam (boundary of Stevens County) at 469 meters (1,538 feet) above sea level. (There is virtually no change in elevation between the dam and the mouth of the Little Spokane River inside Riverside State Park.) The highest point in the county is Mount Spokane at 1,793 meters (5,883 feet).

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Pend Oreille County, Washington - north
• Bonner County, Idaho - northeast
• Kootenai County, Idaho - east
• Benewah County, Idaho - southeast
• Whitman County, Washington - south
• Lincoln County, Washington - west
• Stevens County, Washington - northwest

Education

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