What Is the Inland Northwest?

My new posts focus on the Inland Northwest U.S. But what in fact is this?  Also, why do we sometimes hear it called the Inland Empire? And how does it relate to the region known as the Pacific Northwest?

When I first arrived here, I assumed Inland Northwest was a sort of regional branding, similar to the phrase ‘near nature, near perfect’ blazoned across Spokane’s tourist magazine. The alternate nickname, the Inland Empire, seemed an old term for the region, no longer in vogue because it conjured up (to me at least) other images, such as Star Wars episodes. Over time, I realized the term Inland Northwest is ingrained in the region, used by banks, health services, councils, religious groups, and a variety of businesses and organizations. Tourism has co-opted the term, not the other way round.

Cascade Range

Pacific Northwest

Let’s start with the better-known phrase, the Pacific Northwest. Located in the western coastal region of North America, bounded (according to most definitions) by the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Range, it primarily takes in western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada, although some people extend the borders farther north and south. It is a region of lush temperate rain forest and dramatic mountains and volcanoes, similar to what I saw during my month in Valdivia, Chile. Historically, cities in this region, particularly around the Puget Sound, were known for radical labor organizing in the lumber, shipyard, and mining industries, and the populace remains among the most politically progressive in North America.

Columbia River Gorge

Inland Northwest

Much of central and eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon differ markedly from the Pacific Northwest. A semi-arid region of rolling hills and vast plains, the barren other-worldly Columbia Plateau shares the landscape with rich farmland irrigated by water from the Columbia River. Farther east, northern Idaho is known for pine forests, lakes, and mountain ridges. Though different geographically, the two regions find common ground in their history and in being sparser and politically more conservative than their coastal counterparts. On occasion, politicians threaten to form a new state, the state of Lincoln, an idea that has been batted about since the mid-1800s. This is the Inland Northwest. Its boundaries extend roughly west to the Cascades, north to Canada, east to the Bitterroot Mountains in western Montana, and south to mountains below the Columbia River.

Patsy Clark Mansion

Inland Empire

The Inland Empire designation dates back to the late-1800s, when James J. Hill, the ‘empire builder,’ established the Great Northern Railroad through the region, linking the northwest with the rest of the U.S. To this day, Amtrak’s long-distance passenger train connecting Chicago with Portland and Seattle, by way of Spokane, is known as the Empire Builder. Highly lucrative mining and lumbering industries, particularly in northern Idaho, and vast wheat farms created their own empires and turned Spokane, the largest city in the region, into a wealthy boomtown. Profits for a few rivaled those of the commerce barons back East, and ornate mansions lined many of the city’s streets.

Apparently, some of Spokane’s native residents consider ‘Inland Empire’ to be the correct term for the region, believing ‘Inland Northwest’ is used primarily by newcomers preferring something more neutral. Oops — guilty as charged.

For a spirited exchange about this topic, visit Wiki Talk: Inland Northwest.