The history of the Wine Country obviously starts with the Native Americans.  This is the home of the Yakima Nation, who's reservation covers almost half of Yakima County.  When members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the area in 1805, they recorded the Native American name Walla Walla, which means either "many waters" or "small, rapid stream." Fort Walla Walla (a fur-trading post) was built near here in 1818, and the American missionary Marcus Whitman established a medical mission nearby in 1836.  The community was settled in the late 1850s and developed after the arrival of the railroad in 1884.  The population of grew when a center for developing the atomic bomb was opened in Richland.  Since than it has developed into one of the largest wine producing regions in the United States (after California it is second).

The Columbia Plateau is a prairie like region in southeastern Washington.  Just north of the Snake River, is the large wheat-growing area of the Palouse River section. West of the Palouse lie the Scablands, or Channeled Scablands, an almost barren lava plateau.  There are sun-scorched and dry, rippling hills of the Yakima Valley, the Saddle Mountains have little foliage and the Yakima River cuts through the arid Umtanum Ridge lined with gray-green shrubs that grow in the dusty ground.  There are hops, orchards and vineyards that bask in the heat of the sun.  This region has more than 300 days of sun each year. Cool nights make it the perfect place for growing grapes.  There are many rolling hills and river canyons.

           Yakima indigenous people live in the wine country on reservations. In the 19th century they lived along the Columbia River. They numbered about 1,200 people. In 1855 the United States tried to place them on a reservation and that resulted a war. They lost, though. The culture of the Yakima was of the Plateau area (Natives, North American). They lived on salmon, roots, berries, and nuts. Today the Yakima tribe lives on a reservation and their main source of income is forestry.

~Lewis and Clark

In the dry, rippling hills of the Yakima Valley The Yakima River cuts through the arid Umtanum Ridge, lined with gray-green shrubs. Rafting and inner tubing are also convenient escapes from the afternoon heat that hugs the hillsides and river canyons. It's pretty much common knowledge that Washington is the worlds leader in apple production few people are aware that the Yakima Valley also produces 75 percent of the hops grown in the U.S Yakima Valley, it is becoming famous for the asparagus, peppers, chiles and specialty foods found at roadside stands . The wines of the Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley have become revered internationally if you enjoy wine and escape from the air of urban existence? The quality of the fruit here is rivaled perhaps only by the quality of life. More subtle than the massive volcanoes and dense city centers just to the west. Just look beneath the surface and discover the tasty secrets buried in the spirit of Wine Country. The 51 miles of Hanford Reach, the unbridled river flows through a spectacular landscape of cliffs, dunes and shrub-steppe terrain. Along with the river itself, rare birds and animals find refuge in this protected tract of wilderness.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/WshngtnSt_History.asp

June 3, 2002  9:40 AM

http://www.bartleby.com/65/ws/WshngtnSt.html

June 3, 2002  9:50 AM

http://www.winesnw.com/wahome.html

June 3, 2002  9:50 AM

http://www.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?areaID=WAREGWINE&CU_ID=1

June 3, 2002  9:50 AM