Central Washington is a region of the U.S. state of Washington between the western and eastern parts of the state extending from the border with the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

in the north to the border with the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in the south. Generally, the western edge is the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

and the eastern edge is in the vicinity of the

119th meridian west The meridian 119° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 119th meridian west forms a great c ...

. Central Washington is also further divided into North Central and South Central. Washington State Department of Transportation uses these groupings as part of their district office divisions. *North Central Washington, or NCW, is defined as including Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties. The Washington State Department of Transportation and the North Central Region Library includes Grant County In addition, the library system and the Heritage Museum includes Ferry County. Wenatchee is the largest city in this region. *South Central Washington includes Benton, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima Counties, in addition to all counties south of the Snake River, in the Department of Transportation use of the term.Washington State DOT South Central district
/ref> Yakima is the largest city in this region. If Benton and Franklin counties are included, then the

Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

are both the largest

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

and the center of the largest metro area in this region.

Counties

Central Washington is made up of the following counties: * Benton * Chelan *

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

* Kittitas * Klickitat * Okanogan *

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...

Cities of note

* Chelan * East Wenatchee *

Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and wa ...

* Ephrata *

Moses Lake Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA. Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River. Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses ...

Omak Omak ( Merriam (1997), p. 869) is a city located in the foothills of the Okanogan Highlands in north-central Washington, United States. With an estimated 4,845 residents as of 2010, distributed over a land area of , Omak is the largest municipa ...

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

* Quincy

Colleges and universities

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Lif ...

* Washington State University Tri-Cities in Richland *

Heritage University Heritage University (formerly named Holy Names College and Fort Wright College) is a private university on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Toppenish, Washington. It offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. History Founded in 1907 by ...

Toppenish Toppenish () is a city in Yakima County, Washington. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,854. It is located within the Yakama Indian Reservation, established in 1855. Toppenish calls itself the city of Murals, as it has more than 7 ...

Columbia Basin College Columbia Basin College (CBC) is a public community college in Pasco, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The college offers English as a second language and General Educational Development (GED) ...

in Pasco *

Wenatchee Valley College Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) is a public community college in Wenatchee, Washington. The college provides students with adult education classes, certifications, associate degrees, and four bachelor's degrees. WVC's primary service district i ...

Big Bend Community College Big Bend Community College (BBCC) is a public community college in Moses Lake, Washington. History Big Bend Community College was authorized by the Washington State Board of Education in 1961. Beginning fall quarter 1962 BBCC held its first r ...

Yakima Valley College Yakima Valley College (YVC) is a public college in Yakima, Washington. It was founded as Yakima Valley Community College in 1928 with Elizabeth Prior serving as the institution's first president. The college offers five Bachelor of Applied Scienc ...

Notable mountain ranges

Chiwaukum Mountains The Chiwaukum Mountains are a north–south mountain range in central Washington, United States. They stretch from Snowgrass Mountain at , to . The mountains are made of schist, part of the Nason terrane. The original rock in the Nason terran ...

Stuart Range The Stuart Range is a mountain range in central Washington, United States. The range lies within the eastern extent of the Cascade Range immediately southwest of Leavenworth and runs east–west. The western peaks make up a single sharp ridge. ...

Wenatchee Mountains The Wenatchee Mountains are a range of mountains in central Washington (state), Washington State, United States, United States of America. A major subrange of the Cascade Range, extending east from the Cascade crest, the Wenatchee Mountains sepa ...

References

External links

North Central Washington photos and information
{{Washington Regions of Washington (state)