La Palouse, Washington

Located just south of Spokane, in Washington state, The Palouse is a rich farming area of some 3,000 square miles. It is somewhat reminiscent of Tuscany, in Italy, except instead of vineyards the main crop here is wheat and rapeseed (Canola). The Palouse is a photographically exciting area to explore, in large measure because it is comparitively unknown. The origin of the name "Palouse" is unclear. One theory is that the name of the Palus tribe (spelled in early accounts variously Palus, Palloatpallah, Pelusha, et cetera) was converted by French-Canadian fur traders to the more familiar French word pelouse, meaning "land with short and thick grass" or "lawn." Over time, the spelling changed to Palouse. Another theory is that the name was in the first place a French word, describing the area which was then applied to the indigenous people inhabiting it. The peculiar and picturesque silt dunes which characterize the Palouse Prairie were formed during the ice ages (Alt and Hyndman 1989). Blown in from the glacial outwash plains to the west and south, the Palouse hills consist of more or less random humps and hollows. The steepest slopes, which may reach 50% slope, face the northeast. The highly productive loess ranges from 5 to 130 cm (2 to 51 in) deep. Large areas of level land are rare. The weather was bitterly cold in December during this photoshoot ranging between 10 and 1F with winds of up to 20 mph. The view from Steptoe Hill State Park is breathtaking and provides a unique vantage point over Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Shot December 28-31 2014.