Idaho
Idaho (/ˈaɪdəhoʊ/ ⓘ EYE-də-hoh) is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the United States. It shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north, with the province of British Columbia. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area. With a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see Idaho (disambiguation).
Idaho
July 3, 1890 (43rd)
Brad Little (R)
Scott Bedke (R)
Mike Crapo (R)
Jim Risch (R)
1. Russ Fulcher (R)
2. Mike Simpson (R) (list)
83,546[2] sq mi (216,444 km2)
82,623 sq mi (216,400 km2)
923 sq mi (2,398 km2) 1.11%
479 mi (771 km)
305 mi (491 km)
5,000 ft (1,520 m)
12,662 ft (3,859 m)
713 ft (217 m)
1,964,726
23.63/sq mi (8.33/km2)
$76,918[5]
Idahoan
111°03′ W to 117°15′ W
Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
- Mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides)
- Raptor: Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii)
Syringa (Philadelphus lewisii)
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
Western white pine (Pinus monticola)
- Fruit: Huckleberry
- Vegetable: Potato
Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens)
For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho has been inhabited by native peoples. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area of dispute between the U.S. and the British Empire. It officially became a U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in Oregon Territory and Washington Territory. Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.
Forming part of the Pacific Northwest (and the associated Cascadia bioregion), Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. The state's north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle, is closely linked with Eastern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone—the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone. The state's south includes the Snake River Plain (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state.[7]
Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism. Several science and technology firms are either headquartered in Idaho or have factories there, and the state also contains the Idaho National Laboratory, which is the country's largest Department of Energy facility. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. The official state nickname is the "Gem State."[8]
Etymology[edit]
The name's origin remains a mystery.[9] In the early 1860s, when the U.S. Congress was considering organizing a new territory in the Rocky Mountains, the name "Idaho" was suggested by George M. Willing, a politician posing as an unrecognized delegate from the unofficial Jefferson Territory.[10] Willing claimed that the name was derived from a Shoshone term meaning "the sun comes from the mountains" or "gem of the mountains",[11] but it was revealed later that there was no such term and Willing claimed that he had been inspired to coin the name when he met a little girl named Ida.[12] Since the name appeared to be fabricated, the U.S. Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory instead when it was created in February 1861, but by the time this decision was made, the town of Idaho Springs, Colorado had already been named after Willing's proposal.
The same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County was created in eastern Washington Territory. The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. It is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after Willing's claim was revealed. Regardless, part of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863.[13] Idaho Territory would later change its boundaries to the area that became the U.S. state.[14]
In popular culture[edit]
The 1980 film Bronco Billy filmed in Boise, Idaho for two months.[122] The 1985 film Pale Rider was primarily filmed in the Boulder Mountains and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in central Idaho, just north of Sun Valley.[123] River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves starred in the 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho, portions of which take place in Idaho.[124][125] The 2004 cult film Napoleon Dynamite takes place in Preston, Idaho; the film's director, Jared Hess, attended Preston High School.[126]
