Spokane, Washington

city in and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States

Spokane (Pronounced: spoh-KAN)[6] is a city in the U.S. state of Washington. Spokane is in the eastern half of the state, about 20 miles (32 km) from Idaho. Spokane is 92 miles (148 km) south of Canada.

Spokane, Washington
Flag of Spokane, Washington
Nickname: 
The Lilac City
Motto: 
Creative by Nature
Location of Spokane, Washington
Coordinates: 47°39′32″N 117°25′30″W / 47.65889°N 117.42500°W / 47.65889; -117.42500
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountySpokane
Founded1873[1]
IncorporatedNovember 29, 1881
Founded byJames N. Glover[1]
Named forSpokane people
Government
 • TypeMayor–council
 • MayorLisa Brown
Area
 • City69.50 sq mi (179.99 km2)
 • Land68.76 sq mi (178.09 km2)
 • Water0.74 sq mi (1.91 km2)
Elevation
1,843 ft (562 m)
Population
 • City228,989
 • RankUS: 97th
WA: 2nd
 • Density3,300/sq mi (1,300/km2)
 • Urban
447,279 (US: 90th)
 • Urban density2,605.4/sq mi (1,006.0/km2)
 • Metro
597,919 (US: 97th)
 • CSA
781,497 (US: 70th)
DemonymSpokanite
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
Zip codes[4]
Area code509
Official treePonderosa Pine
GNIS feature ID1512683[5]
Websitemy.spokanecity.org

Spokane is the second largest city in Washington, while Seattle is the largest. Spokane's nickname is the "Lilac City" because of how many of those flowers grow in the area.

The population of the city in 2020 was 228,989,[3] and the population of the metro area of Spokane is 585,784.

History

change

Spokane was founded in 1871 when a sawmill was built on the Spokane Falls. In 1889 a fire burned down the downtown area of Spokane. In 1892 the railroad came to Spokane, and this made it easier for people to get into and out of the city. In 1974 Spokane hosted the World's Fair. This brought a lot of people and business into Spokane.

Spokane River

change
 
The Spokane Falls

The Spokane River flows through the city. In downtown Spokane, there is a large waterfall called the Spokane Falls. The first buildings in Spokane were built near the falls.

 
Famous landmarks in Spokane

The Spokane River has many dams that make energy for the people of Spokane.

Climate

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In the Summer, Spokane is hot and dry. Spokane has cold and snowy Winters. Spring and Fall are very short.

Temperatures over 100 °F (38 °C) or less than −10 °F (−23 °C) do not usually happen in Spokane. However, the hottest temperature in Spokane was 108 °F (42 °C), and the coldest was −30 °F (−34 °C).

Climate data for Spokane
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 62
(17)
63
(17)
74
(23)
90
(32)
97
(36)
101
(38)
108
(42)
108
(42)
98
(37)
87
(31)
70
(21)
60
(16)
108
(42)
Average high °F (°C) 34
(1)
40
(4)
49
(9)
57
(14)
67
(19)
74
(23)
83
(28)
83
(28)
73
(23)
58
(14)
42
(6)
32
(0)
58
(14)
Average low °F (°C) 25
(−4)
26
(−3)
32
(0)
37
(3)
44
(7)
50
(10)
56
(13)
56
(13)
47
(8)
37
(3)
30
(−1)
23
(−5)
39
(4)
Record low °F (°C) −30
(−34)
−24
(−31)
−10
(−23)
14
(−10)
24
(−4)
33
(1)
37
(3)
35
(2)
22
(−6)
7
(−14)
−21
(−29)
−25
(−32)
−30
(−34)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.79
(45)
1.33
(34)
1.61
(41)
1.28
(33)
1.62
(41)
1.25
(32)
0.64
(16)
0.59
(15)
0.67
(17)
1.18
(30)
2.30
(58)
2.30
(58)
16.56
(421)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 11.4
(29)
6.8
(17)
3.5
(8.9)
1.0
(2.5)
0.1
(0.25)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.1
(0.25)
7.4
(19)
14.6
(37)
44.9
(114)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 13.4 10.4 11.6 10.1 10.2 7.9 5.0 3.8 5.1 7.8 13.7 13.2 112.2
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 9.0 5.0 3.9 1.1 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 4.9 9.8 34.4
Average relative humidity (%) 82.5 79.1 70.3 61.0 58.2 53.9 44.0 45.0 53.9 66.6 82.7 85.5 65.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 78.3 118.0 199.3 242.3 296.7 322.8 382.4 340.4 271.2 191.0 73.8 59.1 2,575.3
Source: [7]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Spokane History". City of Spokane. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "QuickFacts: Spokane city, Washington". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  4. "Zip Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  5. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  6. "Definition of SPOKANE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  7. "Monthly Average/Record Temperatures". weather.com. Retrieved 8 August 2015.