Located at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers, Wenatchee stretches for miles beneath a line of spectacular, semiarid mountain ridges that rise above the rooftops as a vast, deeply furrowed wall, studded with rock outcrops and largely bare of trees. From some points, a cluster of peaks in the Cascade Range just above the ridges as a reminder of the alpine beauty that exists west of town within the Wenatchee National Forest. A fishing and hunting ground for Plateau Indians for thousands of years, the Wenatchee Valley was settled during the 1870's by ranchers, traders and apple growers. With the arrival of the railroad in 1892, it became an important shipping hub for the region's agricultural produce. Irrigation began in 1904, greatly expanding the valley's arable land, and helped boost it to the forefront of Washington's apple industry. Wenatchee remains an important agricultural center, but its economy has diversified to include manufacturing, medical services, utilities and government service.