Nine Mile Falls

Nine Mile Falls
Name	Nine Mile Falls
Settlement type	Unincorporated community
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	Washington
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Spokane County and Stevens County
Established title	Settlement
Established date	19th century
Timezone	Pacific (PST)
Utc offset	−8
Timezone DST	PDT
Utc offset DST	−7

Nine Mile Falls is an unincorporated community and waterfall area located on the Spokane River in eastern Washington, straddling Spokane County and Stevens County near the city of Spokane. The locale sits downstream of Long Lake (also called Lake Spokane) and upstream of the Spokane River Gorge, and it has historically been shaped by Indigenous presence, hydroelectric development, and regional transportation corridors. The area is associated with regional water management, recreational access, and riparian ecosystems central to Columbia River Basin resource networks.

History

The site lies within the traditional territories of the Spokane people, who used riverine corridors for fishing and trade prior to European-American settlement associated with the Lewis and Clark Expedition era expansion and later Pacific Northwest development. Euro-American settlement increased with 19th-century fur trade routes tied to the Hudson's Bay Company and later the arrival of Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway lines that facilitated timber and mining industries. Hydroelectric ambitions in the early 20th century linked the area to companies such as Washington Water Power Company (later Avista Corporation) and regional projects like the Little Falls Dam era developments on the Spokane River; public works during the New Deal era paralleled other Pacific Northwest infrastructure projects overseen by agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Tennessee Valley Authority-era model influences. Twentieth-century environmental policy shifts involving the National Environmental Policy Act and litigation around river flows saw stakeholders including the Sierra Club and the Washington State Department of Ecology engage in regional management debates. Local governance and land use have involved Spokane County authorities, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and tribal governments such as the Spokane Tribe of Indians in co-management discussions.

Geography and Geology

The falls occupy a reach of the Spokane River where the river traverses the Columbia River Plateau near the transition to the Selkirk Mountains and Bitterroot Range physiographic zones. Bedrock in the vicinity is dominated by Columbia River Basalt Group outpourings overlain in places by glacial deposits from the Pleistocene Cordilleran Ice Sheet, echoing geomorphic patterns seen at the nearby Grand Coulee and Palouse Falls regions. Topographic relief is influenced by ancestral floods linked to the Missoula Floods associated with the Lake Missoula cycle and the Channeled Scablands creation. Soils derive from loess and colluvial deposits characteristic of the Palouse and adjacent riparian terraces. Regional transportation corridors such as U.S. Route 2 and the historical Great Northern Railway grades follow the river valley geometry that shaped settlement patterns.

Hydrology and Falls Characteristics

Hydrologically, the reach downstream of Lake Spokane is regulated by the Long Lake Dam complex operated by entities historically including Avista Corporation and subject to state and federal licensing through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Flow regimes reflect reservoir storage patterns, seasonal runoff driven by snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest precipitation modulated by Pacific storm tracks associated with the Aleutian Low. The falls themselves comprise a sequence of cataracts and rapids within a confined channel, with hydraulic head influenced by impoundment and spillway operations at upstream dams. Water quality monitoring has involved agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Health for parameters like temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients, particularly as they affect anadromous and resident fish populations monitored under frameworks like the Endangered Species Act consultations when applicable.

Ecology and Wildlife

Riparian and aquatic habitats along the Spokane River corridor support assemblages including native fish such as Westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, and rainbow trout, alongside introduced species including smallmouth bass and walleye that reflect stocking and colonization histories tied to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Avian communities include raptors such as the bald eagle and peregrine falcon, waterfowl like mallard and Canada goose, and songbird species that utilize cottonwood-willow galleries. Mammalian fauna include beaver, river otter, white-tailed deer, and coyote populations within mixed-conifer and riparian corridors featuring ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir stands. Vegetation communities reflect Palouse-steppe transition zones with invasive plant management involving species regulated under Washington invasive species statutes, often coordinated with non-profits such as The Nature Conservancy and state stewardship programs.

Recreation and Access

The area provides recreational opportunities linked to boating, angling, hiking, and wildlife observation, with access points connected to regional trail systems like the Centennial Trail (Spokane County) and boat launches serving Lake Spokane. Nearby municipal and state parks—including Nine Mile Falls Community Park administration, Riverside State Park, and other county-managed sites—support picnicking, trail networks, and interpretive signage about local natural history. Recreation is influenced by water-level policies coordinated among utilities, county sheriffs, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, and search-and-rescue organizations such as Spokane County Sheriff's Office volunteers. Connectivity to urban centers is via arterial routes linking to Spokane, Washington, Mead, Washington, and other regional communities.

Conservation and Management

Conservation planning integrates federal, state, tribal, and private stakeholders including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, county conservation districts, and utilities subject to licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Management priorities include riparian restoration, barrier mitigation for fish passage, invasive species control, and balancing hydroelectric generation with ecological flow needs guided by plans coherent with the Columbia River Basin frameworks. Collaborative initiatives have involved land trusts, watershed councils, and non-governmental organizations such as the Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited to fund habitat projects, public education, and monitoring programs aligned with state conservation strategies and federal statutes including the Clean Water Act provisions for impaired waters.

Category:Spokane County, Washington Category:Stevens County, Washington Category:Spokane River