Eastern Washington
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- For the university, see Eastern Washington University.
Eastern Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington east of the Cascade Mountains. It is notable for, among other things:
- Central Washington University
- The Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam
- Eastern Washington University
- Gonzaga University
- Hanford Nuclear Reservation
- The Palouse: very fertile farmland; among its products are lentils and wheat
- Washington State University
- Whitman College
- Whitworth College
- The Yakima Valley: also very fertile farmland; among its products are apples, hops, wine grapes, pears, and cherries
- The amazing channeled scablands terrain created by the Missoula Floods, including features such as Moses Coulee, Grand Coulee, Dry Falls, Drumheller Channels, Wallula Gap, Palouse Falls, and Sims Corner Eskers and Kames
There have been sporadic movements to create a 51st state out of Eastern Washington by splitting the current state down the Cascades, but proposals have rarely progressed out of the state legislature's committees. Recent proposals were made in 1996, 1999, and 2005. Proposed names for the new state have included Lincoln, and Columbia, or simply Eastern Washington. Many of these proposals were to include the Idaho Panhandle. See: State of Lincoln for more information.
Compared to Western Washington, Eastern Washington has roughly twice the land area and one-third the population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the population estimate as of 2004 was 1,371,802, less populous than King County alone. The population growth rate between the two is roughly the same. Of Washington's nine Congressional districts, Eastern Washington is nearly exactly comprised of two (the 4th and 5th), aside from a small portion of the 4th in Skamania County. In the 2004 election, this region voted 59% for Republican Dino Rossi, while the Western half voted 53% for Democrat Christine Gregoire.
Eastern Washington is composed of Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, and Yakima Counties.
