Editing Spokane, Washington (section)

===Topography===
[[File:Spokane at night 20071003.jpg|thumb|upright=2|alt=The Spokane skyline at night from the southwest in Palisades Park|Spokane at night from the west, with [[Krell Hill]] silhouetted by radio antennas]]

Spokane is located on the [[Spokane River]] in [[eastern Washington]] at an elevation of {{convert|1843|ft|m}} above sea level,<ref>{{cite web |title=NWS Spokane, WA |publisher=National Weather Service |url=http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Spokane&state=WA&site=OTX&textField1=47.6589&textField2=-117.425&e=1| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref> about {{convert|18|mi|km}} from [[Idaho]], {{convert|92|mi|km}} south of the [[Metaline Falls-Nelway Border Crossing|Canadian border]], {{convert|229|mi|km}} due east of Seattle, and {{convert|279|mi|km}} southwest of [[Calgary]].<ref>{{cite web |title=How Far is it Between |publisher=Free Map Tools |url=https://www.freemaptools.com/how-far-is-it-between.htm| access-date = March 31, 2018}}</ref> The lowest elevation in the city of Spokane is the northernmost point of the Spokane River within city limits (in [[Riverside State Park]]) at {{convert|1608|ft|m}}; the highest elevation is on the northeast side, near the community of [[Hillyard, Spokane, Washington|Hillyard]] (though closer to Beacon Hill and the North Hill Reservoir) at {{convert|2591|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite map |publisher=2004 DeLorme |title=Delorme Topo USA 5.0 West Region (CD-ROM) |edition=5.0}}</ref> Spokane is part of the [[Inland Northwest (United States)|Inland Northwest]] region, consisting of eastern Washington, [[Idaho Panhandle|north Idaho]], northwestern [[Montana]], and northeastern [[Oregon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Inland Empire |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Incorporated |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inland%20empire| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref> The city has a total area of {{convert|60.02|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|59.25|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.77|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=December 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=July 2, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Upper Spokane Falls 20080524.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|alt=The Spokane River rushes past Canada island in Riverfront Park|The Upper [[Spokane Falls]] of the Spokane River flowing by Canada island]]

Spokane lies mostly within the [[Spokane Valley]] Outwash Plains at the periphery of the [[North Central Rockies forests]] ecoregion and partly within the eastern edge of the basaltic [[Channeled Scablands]] steppe of the [[Columbia Plateau (ecoregion)|Columbia Plateau]] ecoregion, a plain that eventually rises sharply to the east towards the rugged, timbered [[Selkirk Mountains]].<ref name="NWS">{{cite web |title=Station Information Data Sheet – Spokane, Washington |publisher=National Weather Service |date=April 2008 |url=http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/otx/spokane.php| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref><ref name=ecoregion/> The foothills of the [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]]—the [[Coeur d'Alene Mountains]]—rise about {{convert|25|mi}} to the east in north Idaho. The city is in a transition area between the barren landscape of the [[Columbia River Drainage Basin|Columbia Basin]] and the coniferous forests to the east; to the south are the lush [[prairie]]s and rolling hills of the [[Palouse]].<ref name="ecoregion">{{cite web|title=Ecoregions of the Pacific Northwest|url=https://gaftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/Ecoregions/reg10/pnw_map.pdf|publisher=[[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]]| access-date = July 9, 2023}}</ref> The highest peak in Spokane County is [[Mount Spokane]], at an elevation of {{convert|5883|ft|m}}, on the eastern side of the Selkirk Mountains.<ref>{{cite web |title=Feature Detail Report for: Mount Spokane |publisher=United States Geological Survey |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:34351196088528::NO::P3_FID:1512684| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref> The Spokane River is the area's most prominent water feature, a {{convert|111|mi|km|adj=on}} tributary of the [[Columbia River]], originating from [[Lake Coeur d'Alene]] in northern Idaho.<ref name="Soltero">Soltero et al. (1992), p. 460</ref> The river flows west across the Washington state line through downtown Spokane, meeting [[Latah Creek]], then turns to the northwest, where it is joined by the [[Little Spokane River]] on its way to the Columbia River, north of [[Davenport, Washington|Davenport]].<ref name="Soltero" /> The Channeled Scablands and many of the area's numerous large lakes, such as Lake Coeur d'Alene and [[Lake Pend Oreille]], were formed by the [[Missoula Floods]] after the ice-dammed [[Glacial Lake Missoula]] ruptured at the end of the last ice age.<ref>{{Cite report |last=Breckenridge |first=Roy M. |date=May 1993 |title=Glacial Lake Missoula and the Spokane Floods |url=http://www.idahogeology.org/PDF/GeoNotes_(G)/geonote_26.pdf |publisher=Idaho Geological Survey |series=GeoNotes |volume=26| access-date= July 7, 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120426010742/http://www.idahogeology.org/PDF/GeoNotes_(G)/geonote_26.pdf| archive-date= April 26, 2012| url-status= dead}}</ref> The [[Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge]] south of Cheney is the closest natural reserve, the closest National Forest is the [[Colville National Forest]], the closest [[National Recreation Area]] is the [[Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area]] and the closest national park is [[Mount Rainier National Park]], approximately a four-and-a-half hour drive from Spokane.