[4] The unincorporated suburban areas of West Valley and Terrace Heights are considered a part of greater Yakima.

[8] The name Yakima originates from the Yakama Nation Native American tribe, whose reservation is located south of the city.

In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition came to the area and encountered abundant wildlife and rich soil, prompting the settlement of homesteaders.

When bypassed by the Northern Pacific Railroad in December 1884, over 100 buildings were moved with rollers and horse teams to the nearby site of the depot.

[13] On May 18, 1980, the eruption of Mount St. Helens caused a large amount of volcanic ash to fall on the Yakima area.

Visibility was reduced to near-zero conditions that afternoon, and the ash overloaded the city's wastewater treatment plant.

The unincorporated suburban areas of West Valley and Terrace Heights are considered a part of greater Yakima.

Other nearby cities include Moxee, Tieton, Cowiche, Wiley City, Tampico, Gleed, and Naches in the Upper Valley, as well as Wapato, Toppenish, Zillah, Harrah, White Swan, Parker, Buena, Outlook, Granger, Mabton, Sunnyside, and Grandview in the Lower Valley.

Due to the city's location in a rain shadow, precipitation, at an average of 8.01 in (203 mm) annually, is low year-round,[17] but especially during summer.

The Yakima Valley produces many fruit crops, including apples, peaches, pears, cherries, and melons.

Many of the city's residents have come to the valley out of economic necessity and to participate in the picking, processing, marketing and support services for the agricultural economy.

Three major department stores, and an entire shopping mall that is now closed, have been replaced by a Whirlpool Corporation facility (shut down in 2011), an Adaptis call center, and several hotels.

[32] The DFI has provided for street-to-storefront remodeling along Yakima Avenue throughout the entire downtown core, and includes new pedestrian-friendly lighting, water fountains, planters, banner poles, new trees and hanging baskets, and paver-inlaid sidewalks.

The Downtown Yakima Futures Initiative was created to make strategic public investments in sidewalks, lighting and landscaping to encourage further development.

As a result, local businesses featuring regional produce, wines, and beers, among other products, have returned to the downtown area.

Downtown Yakima's historic Capitol Theatre and Seasons Performance Hall, as well as the West-side's Allied Arts Center, present numerous musical and stage productions.

Larson Gallery housed at Yakima Valley College present six diverse art exhibitions each year.

The Yakima Area Arboretum is a botanical garden featuring species of both native and adapted non-native plants.

Popular music tours, trade shows, and other large events are hosted at the Yakima SunDome in State Fair Park.

[37] Yakima is one of the ten first class cities, those with a population over 10,000 at the time of reorganization and operating under a home rule charter.

The city council was elected at-large until a 2012 lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union was ruled in the favor of Latino constituents on the grounds of racial discrimination.

At the national level, Yakima is part of Washington's US Congressional 4th District, currently represented by Republican Dan Newhouse.

Founded in 1928, YVC is a public, four-year institution of higher education, and part of one of the most comprehensive community college systems in the nation.

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences opened in the fall of 2008,[43] and graduated its first class of osteopathic physicians (D.O.)

The first college on the 42.5-acre (172,000 m2) campus is home to the first medical school approved in the Pacific Northwest in over 60 years, and trains physicians with an osteopathic emphasis.

The school's mission is to train primary-care physicians committed to serving rural and underserved communities throughout the Pacific Northwest.

[45] Yakima is part of the U.S.'s 114th largest television viewing market, which includes viewers in Pasco, Richland and Kennewick.

State Route 24 terminates in Yakima and is the primary means of reaching Moxee City and agricultural areas to the east.

There are also free intercity bus systems between adjacent Union Gap and nearby Toppenish, Wapato, White Swan, and Ellensburg.