Spokane, Washington

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
City
Flag
Nickname:  The Lilac City
Motto:  Creative by Nature
Coordinates: 47°39′32″N 117°25′30″W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Spokane
Founded	1873[1]
Incorporated	November 29, 1881
Founded by	James N. Glover[1]
Named for	Spokane people
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Mayor	Lisa Brown
Area [2]
• City	69.50 sq mi (179.99 km2)
• Land	68.76 sq mi (178.09 km2)
• Water	0.74 sq mi (1.91 km2)
Elevation	1,843 ft (562 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• City	228,989
• Rank	US: 98th WA: 2nd
• Density	3,300/sq mi (1,300/km2)
• Urban	447,279 (US: 90th)
• Urban density	2,605.4/sq mi (1,006.0/km2)
• Metro	597,919 (US: 98th)
• CSA	781,497 (US: 70th)
Demonym	Spokanite
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes	Zip codes[4] 99201, 99202, 99203, 99204, 99205, 99206, 99207, 99208, 99209 (PO BOX), 99210 (PO BOX), 99211 (PO BOX), 99212, 99213 (PO BOX), 99214 (PO BOX), 99215 (PO BOX), 99216, 99217, 99218, 99219 (PO BOX), 99220 (PO BOX), 99223, 99224, 99228 (PO BOX), 99251, 99252, 99256, 99258, 99260, 99299
Area code	509
Official tree	Ponderosa Pine
GNIS feature ID	1512683[5]
Website	my.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

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

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

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]