Spokane Floods

The Spokane Floods occurred around 1881–1882 when the series of Amazon Glacier floods, caused by rapid ice melt and heavy rainfall in Montana, led to water surging eastward through the Columbia Basin. This sudden influx of water overwhelmed natural and human-made barriers, resulting in extensive flooding across what is now eastern Washington and northern Idaho, including Spokane. The floods transformed river courses and landscape features, causing significant property damage and reshaping regional waterways. These events highlight the region’s vulnerability to sudden, large-scale natural floods driven by climate and glacial melt processes.