Denver to Seattle

Some of the Palouse hills reach up to 60 metres high. The dunes can be seen to run almost uniformly from northeast to southwest, pushed into position over millennia by prevailing southwesterly winds.

The hills of the Palouse have been shaped into their wave-like formation by the wind over thousands of years.

The Palouse Region covers the southeastern corner of Washington and parts of northern Idaho.

A dust storm blows over the Palouse. Dust storms like this have covered the region in layers of silt which have built up over thousands of years to form hills.

The Palouse Region marked in green. The most prominent part of the region is located in southeastern Washington and into northern Idaho.

Overlooking the sea of silt dunes that form the Palouse Region of southeast Washington.

The picturesque hills of the Palouse resemble sand dunes in the desert.

A view over the Palouse from the air with Steptoe Butte in the centre.

The hills of the Palouse were formed by wind blowing deposits of silt into dune-like shapes over millennia.

From above, the Palouse hills resemble waves on the sea.

The Palouse hills covered in snow. The volcanic ash which created the hills settled just like snow on top of the region, gradually building up to heights seen today.

Lines of ploughed fields show as curvy lines on the hills of the Palouse.

The Palouse Region has been gradually building up over thousands of years from ashfall that has settled and been shaped into dunes.

The extent of the Columbia River Drainage Basin with its major tributaries marked. The Snake River Basin covers much of the Palouse Region.

Diagram showing the composition of an aquifer similar to the Grande Ronde. When it rains, water seeps into the ground through the water table and recharges the aquifer.

The Palouse Region is underlain by the Grande Ronde Aquifer which provides water to the people who live in the region.

The Snake River meets the Clearwater River on the border of Idaho and Washington. This is the main river in the Palouse and is part of the same water system that feeds the Grande Ronde Aquifer.

The Snake River forms the border of Idaho and Washington in the Palouse. The river is a tributary of the Columbia River, whose basin feeds the Grande Ronde Aquifer.

The University of Idaho's logo on the campus's water tower gives it the name 'I' Tower. The University of Idaho relies on the Grande Ronde Aquifer for its drinking water.

Map showing the Palouse Region. The Grande Ronde and Snake Rivers feed the Grande Ronde Aquifer that underlies the region.

The city of Moscow, Idaho is home to the University of Idaho and relies on the Grande Ronde Aquifer for its drinking water. The city's logo incorporates the Palouse landscape.

Washington State University in the city of Pullman, Washington relies on the Grande Ronde Aquifer for drinking water.

Sunset over a water tower at Moscow, Idaho. This city draws all of its freshwater from the Grande Ronde Aquifer.

The city of Moscow is reliant on the Grande Ronde Aquifer to meet the drinking water needs of its 24,000 residents.

Diagram illustrating a well penetrating an aquifer and the composition of the ground of the Palouse.

The Snake River winding through the Palouse Region of Washington State.

Farming machinery took a while to come into use in the Palouse, as farmers struggled to manouevre heavy machinery up the steep hills.

Before the introduction of smaller, lighter farm machinery the Palouse Region had to be ploughed by horses and man-power.

The Palouse is famous for its soft winter wheat, which thrives in the volcanic soils of the region.

Farming in the Palouse has been historically challenging due to the uneven ground.

The variety of colours on the Palouse reflects the different varieties of crops grown in each farm.

c. 1935 - A farm near Moscow, Idaho on the Palouse.

One of the many grain elevators that dot the Palouse Region collecting the crops that are harvested.

A freshly harvested field in the Palouse with bails of hay.

Farming in the Palouse. As farm machinery has evolved, it has become easier to farm the hills of the Palouse.

Pullman, Washington is host to the annual National Lentil Festival. Palouse is the largest producer of lentils in the United States.

c. 1930 - Farming in the Palouse region of Idaho. Large-scale farming with heavy machinery had just begun to take off at this point.

Harvesting wheat in the Palouse. Wheat was the first crop to be grown here by settlers in the 1880s.

A float in the annual Pullman Lentil Festival Parade, 2009. These local gymnasts celebrate lentils.

Green lentils are the most common types of lentils produced in the Palouse, although the region exports a number of other varieties of the legume.

A float in the annual Pullman Lentil Festival Parade, 2009. This is a giant pot for cooking lentils, the region's primary crop.

Farming is by far the largest industry in the Palouse Region; almost all of the land is taken up by agricultural fields.

The ploughed wheat fields of the Palouse take on a spectacular pattern.