Kahlotus () is a city in Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 147 at the 2020 census.
Etymology
Originally named Hardersburg after Hans Harder who platted the town in 1902, the community was later renamed Kahlotus. The meaning of the word "Kahlotus" is uncertain. According to toponymist William Bright, the name derives from the Sahaptin placename /kalúːt'as/. The name is also thought to translate from another Native American word meaning "Hole in the ground". A third possibility is that the town was named for a Palouse tribal chief and signer of the Yakima Treaty of 1855. His name appeared with various spellings, including Kohlotus, Quillatose (by future governor Isaac Stevens), Qalatos, and Kahlatoose.
History
The first organized settlement of Kahlotus was by German immigrants, imported by the railroads, in around 1880.
Being located on the floor of a coulee puts Kahlotus at relatively lower elevation than the surrounding terrain. The steep walls of the coulee rise hundreds of feet dramatically to the north and south of the city center.