In the late 19th century, gold and silver were discovered in the Inland Northwest. The same year it was officially incorporated as a city under the name of Spokane Falls (it was re-incorporated under its current name ten years later). Completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1881 brought settlers to the Spokane area. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington. David Thompson explored the area with the westward expansion and establishment of the North West Company's Spokane House in 1810. The first people to live in the area, the Spokane tribe (their name meaning 'children of the sun' in Salishan), lived off plentiful game. A 2021 estimate sets the population of the Spokane Metropolitan Area at 593,466. At the 2020 census, Spokane's population was 228,989. According to the 2010 census, Spokane had a population of 208,916, making it the second-most populous city in Washington, and the 101st-largest city in the United States. The city and the wider Inland Northwest area are served by Spokane International Airport, 5 miles (8 km) west of Downtown Spokane. Officially, Spokane goes by the nickname of Hooptown USA, due to Spokane annually hosting Spokane Hoopfest, the world's largest basketball tournament. It is known as the birthplace of Father's Day, and locally by the nickname of 'Lilac City'. Spokane is the economic and cultural center of the Spokane metropolitan area, the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area, and the Inland Northwest.

It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, 92 miles (148 km) south of the Canadian border, 18 miles (30 km) west of the Washington– Idaho border, and 279 miles (449 km) east of Seattle, along I-90. Spokane ( / s p oʊ ˈ k æ n/ ⓘ spoh- KAN) is the most populous city in and seat of government of Spokane County, Washington, United States.

City of spokane county assessor map