Farmland in Washington state's Palouse region

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Harvest time in the Palouse. Harvest time in the Palouse

The Palouse region of the inland Pacific Northwest is an unusually hilly prairie that straddles the state line between Washington and Idaho. Farming seems an unlikely endeavor here, but the soil and weather patterns make it ideal for growing certain crops. This time of year, the soft white wheat harvest is on, as the grain turns from green to gold, and for the farmers, from harvest to profit. Earlier in the summer, farmers reap the other key crop of the Palouse, lentils. Before Europeans and early US settlers arrived, the Palouse was occupied by the Nez Perce people, who bred and raised horses with spotted coats—a breed that would eventually come to be known as 'appaloosas'—a gradual permutation of the name 'Palouse.'