Franklin county occupies the basin formed by the junction of the
Columbia and Snake rivers, being bounded east, south and west by
them. The southern portion of the county is scarcely 300 feet above
sea level, and the soil is fine and sandy. The northern part of
the county is somewhat higher and composed of successive benches
till they reach an altitude of 1,000 feet. It is only a few years
since these lands were all considered barren and useless. Yet in
1906 these bench lands in this county added 1,500,000 bushels of
wheat to the world's supply and in the following season nearly
doubled that output.
There are no forests, the land being covered with bunchgrass and
sagebrush.