[3] It is the third-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene, and the twelfth-largest in the state.

Dams and locks on the Snake and Columbia Rivers make Lewiston reachable by some ocean-going vessels.

The first people of European ancestry to visit the Lewiston area were members of the David Thompson expedition of 1803.

Thompson was looking to establish fur trading posts for the Hudson's Bay Company of British North America (now Canada).

At the future townsite, the expedition encountered settlements of the native Nez Perce, and they returned to the valley on their eastward trip from the Pacific in the spring of 1806.

Lyon went downriver to Portland, Oregon, a trip marked by the alleged theft of the treasury from his steamship cabin.

It was completed 50 years ago in 1975,[11] creating a reservoir, Lower Granite Lake that stretches to Lewiston.

Away from downtown the terrain gains elevation quickly, as the steep riverbank highway of U.S. 95 north of Lewiston ascends to 2,756 feet (840 m).

The lowest point in the state of Idaho is located on the Snake River in Lewiston, where it meets the Clearwater and flows west into Washington.

The populated areas in Idaho with the lowest elevations are along (or near) the Clearwater River, from Lowell at 1,486 feet (453 m) to Lewiston.

There is little sign of any orchards today, although there is a wide proliferation of fruit trees in the backyards of many residences in this area of town.

The Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport is located on the western edge of the Orchards plateau at 1,438 feet (438 m) above sea level, with Bryden Canyon Road providing westbound access via the Southway Bridge into Clarkston.

Lewiston experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with occasionally cold, but short, winters, mostly influenced by mild Pacific air, and hot, dry summers.

[16] At 195 days, the growing season is relatively long, with the average window for freezing temperatures being October 23 thru April 10.

[26] The Port of Lewiston is Idaho's only seaport and is navigable for barges which transport grain, fuel, legumes, paper, lumber and other goods up and down the Columbia River and out to the Pacific Ocean.

[34] Ammunition maker CCI, and Speer Bullet (both now brands of Vista Outdoor) are headquartered in Lewiston.

As the metropolitan hub of the Lewis-Clark Valley, Lewiston is the primary regional transportation, retail, health care, wholesale and professional services, and entertainment center.

During and shortly after the festival these pink blossoms blow through yards and streets like drifts of snow.

During the fall, a number of cottonwood trees release cotton-like clouds of seeds that blow through the air and streets, blanketing them with a snow-like cover.

The town has a large Christmas festival that includes a number of lighted displays in the downtown area.

At the site of what was originally the Johann D. C. Thiessen mansion and ranch, now Locomotive Park, so named because of the retired locomotive Steam Engine 92 and Camas Prairie RR Caboose on display in the middle, large trees and pathways are decorated with lights from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

These events are sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, and the displays involved are typically quite impressive and often attract many visitors.

The display consists of long strings of ordinary light bulbs, arranged in the shape of a star (Christmas) and a cross (Easter).

A roster check in 1967 showed that 40% of the players and coaches of the Kansas City Athletics had been in Lewiston at one time or another.

The Broncs' rosters included Rick Monday,[40] manager John McNamara, Vearl ("Snag") Moore, Thorton ("Kip") Kipper, Antonio Perez, Ron Koepper, Delmer Owen, Dick Green, Bud Swan, Bert Campaneris, John Israel, Dave Duncan, Al Heist, and as a player, later coach-manager Robert ("Gabby") Williams.

After years of financial losses, the team was shut down in Lewiston in January 1975,[41][42] and resurfaced in June in southwestern Idaho as the Boise A's for two seasons.

Lewis-Clark State College is also the athletic home to the Warriors of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); LCSC's Harris Field ballpark hosts the NAIA World Series, of which the Warriors have won 19 national titles in baseball; the first sixteen were under head coach Ed Cheff.

Nonstop scheduled passenger airline service to Denver (DEN) via United Express, Salt Lake City (SLC) and Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) via Delta Connection is operated from the Lewiston - Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) with both air carriers operating regional jet aircraft on behalf of their respective major airline partners, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

[45] Because of the system of locks and dams on the Columbia River such as the Lower Granite Dam, Lewiston is navigable by some ocean-going vessels and is the eastern terminus of Marine Highway M-84 of the United States Marine Highway Program which connects to the M-5 along the coast at Astoria, Oregon.

Also, along much of the Snake River is a system of levees to protect against flooding; most are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.