Idaho

Idaho is a state in the northwestern region of the United States. Idaho is the 14th largest, the 39th most populous, and the 7th least densely populated of the 50 United States. The state’s largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called “Idahoans”. Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state.

Idaho is a mountainous state with an area larger than that of all of New England. It borders the US states of Montanato the northeast, Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. To the north, it shares a 45 mi (72 km) international border with the Canadian province of British Columbia, the shortest such land border of any state. The network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River make the city of Lewiston the farthest inland seaport on the Pacific coast of the contiguous United States.

Idaho’s nickname is the “Gem State”, because nearly every known type of gemstone has been found there. In addition, Idaho is one of only two places in the world where star garnets can be found in any significant quantities, the other being India. Idaho is sometimes called the “Potato State” owing to its popular and widely distributed crop. The state motto is Esto Perpetua (Latin for “Let it be forever” or “Let it endure forever”).

Geography

Idaho borders six states and one Canadian province (British Columbia). The states of Washington and Oregon are to the west, Nevada and Utah are to the south, and Montana and Wyoming are to the east. Idaho also shares a short border with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. The landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States. For example, at 2.3 million acres (930,000 ha), the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area is the largest contiguous area of protected wilderness in the continental United States. Idaho is a Rocky Mountain state with abundant natural resources and scenic areas. The state has snow-capped mountain ranges, rapids, vast lakes and steep canyons. The waters of the Snake River rush through Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in the United States. Shoshone Falls plunges down rugged cliffs from a height greater than that of Niagara Falls. The major rivers in Idaho are the Snake River, the Clark Fork/Pend Oreille River, the Clearwater River, and the Salmon River. Other significant rivers include the Coeur d’Alene River, the Spokane River, the Boise River, and the Payette River. The Salmon River empties into the Snake in Hells Canyon and forms the southern boundary of Nez Perce County on its north shore, of which Lewiston is the county seat. The Port of Lewiston, at the confluence of the Clearwater and the Snake Rivers is the farthest inland seaport on the West Coast at 465 river miles from the Pacific at Astoria, Oregon.

Idaho’s highest point is Borah Peak, 12,662 ft (3,859 m), in the Lost River Range north of Mackay. Idaho’s lowest point, 710 ft (216 m), is in Lewiston, where the Clearwater River joins the Snake River and continues into Washington. The Sawtooth Range is often considered Idaho’s most famous mountain range. Other mountain ranges in Idaho include the Bitterroot Range, the White Cloud Mountains, the Lost River Range, the Clearwater Mountains, and the Salmon River Mountains.

Idaho has two time zones, with the dividing line approximately midway between Canada and Nevada. Southern Idaho, including the Boise metropolitan area, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Twin Falls, are in the Mountain Time Zone. A legislative error (15 U.S.C. ch. 6 §264) theoretically placed this region in the Central Time Zone, but this was corrected with a 2007 amendment. Areas north of the Salmon River, including Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Lewiston, and Sandpoint, are in the Pacific Time Zone, which contains less than a quarter of the state’s population and land area.

Climate

Idaho has much variation in its climate. Although the state’s western border is located about 350 miles (560 km) from the Pacific Ocean, the maritime influence is still felt in Idaho, especially in the winter when cloud cover, humidity, and precipitation are at their maximum extent. This influence has a moderating effect in the winter where temperatures are not as low as would otherwise be expected for a northern state with predominantly high elevations. The maritime influence is least prominent in the eastern part of the state where the precipitation patterns are often reversed, with wetter summers and drier winters, and seasonal temperature differences more extreme, showing a more semi-arid continental climate.

Climate in Idaho can be hot, although extended periods over 98 °F (37 °C) for the maximum temperature are rare, except for the lowest point in elevation, Lewiston, which correspondingly sees very little snow. Hot summer days are tempered by the low relative humidity and cooler evenings during summer months since, for most of the state, the highest diurnal difference in temperature is often in the summer. Winters can be cold, although extended periods of bitter cold weather below zero are unusual. This is what led the railroad tycoon Harriman family to develop the famous ski resort, Sun Valley. Idaho’s all-time highest temperature of 118 °F (48 °C) was recorded at Orofino on July 28, 1934; the all-time lowest temperature of −60 °F (−51 °C) was recorded at Island Park Dam on January 18, 1943.

Transportation

Main article: List of Idaho State Highways

The Idaho Transportation Department is the government agency responsible for Idaho’s transportation infrastructure, including operations and maintenance as well as planning for future needs. The agency is also responsible for overseeing the disbursement of federal, state, and grant funding for the transportation programs of the state.

The current state license plate design, modified since its introduction in 1991

The Idaho Transportation Department is the government agency responsible for Idaho’s transportation infrastructure, including operations and maintenance as well as planning for future needs. The agency is also responsible for overseeing the disbursement of federal, state, and grant funding for the transportation programs of the state.

Highways

I-15 shield

US-95 shield

Idaho is among the few states in the nation without a major freeway linking its two largest metropolitan areas, Boise in the south and Coeur d’Alene in the north. U.S. Route 95 (US-95) links the two ends of the state, but like many other highways in Idaho, it is badly in need of repair and upgrade. In 2007, the Idaho Transportation Department stated that the state’s highway infrastructure faces a $200 million per year shortfall in maintenance and upgrades. I-84 is the main highway linking the southeast and southwest portions of the state, along with I-86 and I-15.

Major federal aid highways in Idaho:

Airports

Major airports include the Boise Airport serving the southwest region of Idaho, and the Spokane International Airport (located in Spokane, Washington), which serves northern Idaho. Other airports with scheduled service are the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport serving the Palouse; the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport, serving the Lewis-Clark Valley and north central and west central Idaho; The Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls; the Idaho Falls Regional Airport; and the Pocatello Regional Airport.

Railroads

Idaho is served by three transcontinental railroads. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) connects the Idaho Panhandle with Seattle, Portland, and Spokane to the west, and Minneapolis and Chicago to the east. The BNSF travels through Kootenai, Bonner, and Boundary counties. The Union Pacific Railroad crosses North Idaho entering from Canada through Boundary and Bonner, and proceeding to Spokane. Canadian Pacific Railway uses Union Pacific Railroad tracks in North Idaho carrying products from Alberta to Spokane and Portland, Oregon. Amtrak’s Empire Builder crosses northern Idaho, with its only stop being in Sandpoint. Montana Rail Link also operates between Billings, Montana and Sandpoint, Idaho.

The Union Pacific Railroad also crosses southern Idaho traveling between Portland, Oregon, Green River, Wyoming, and Ogden, Utah and serves Boise, Nampa, Twin Falls, and Pocatello. There has been a recent call to return Amtrak service to southern Idaho.

Ports

The Port of Lewiston is the farthest inland Pacific port on the west coast. A series of dams and locks on the Snake River and Columbia River facilitate barge travel from Lewiston to Portland, where goods are loaded on ocean-going vessels.

Important Cities and Towns

Population > 100,000 (urbanized area)

• Boise – state capital

Population > 50,000 (urbanized area)

• Idaho Falls – location of the main offices of the Idaho National Laboratory
• Nampa – home of Northwest Nazarene University
• Pocatello – home of Idaho State University
• Meridian – suburb of Boise, fastest growing city in Idaho

Population > 30,000 (urbanized area)

• Caldwell – home of the College of Idaho
• Coeur d’Alene – home of North Idaho College, major tourist hub
• Lewiston – home of Lewis-Clark State College, inland port
• Twin Falls – home of College of Southern Idaho, BASE jumping

Population > 10,000 (urbanized area)

• Ammon – suburb of Idaho Falls
• Blackfoot – home of the Idaho Potato Museum
• Burley
• Chubbuck, Idaho – suburb of Pocatello
• Eagle – suburb of Boise
• Garden City – suburb of Boise
• Hayden
• Jerome
• Kuna – suburb of Boise
• Moscow – home of the University of Idaho
• Mountain Home – U.S. Air Force Base
• Post Falls
• Rexburg – home of Brigham Young University–Idaho

Smaller Towns and Cities

• American Falls – first town to be entirely relocated
• Arco – first city to be lit by electricity generated from a nuclear power plant
• Bonners Ferry – northernmost major town in Idaho
• Buhl – “trout capital of the world”
• Bone – population 2, but still has a gas station
• Cascade – Lake Cascade and dam
• Craigmont
• Cottonwood
• Driggs – skiing (Grand Targhee)
• Eden
• Emmett
• Grangeville – Idaho County seat
• Greenleaf
• Ferdinand
• Firth
• Fruitland
• Filer – suburb of Twin Falls
• Hazelton
• Homedale – “gateway to the Owyhees”
• Island Park – snowmobiling, world-class fishing
• Kimberly – suburb of Twin Falls
• Kellogg – skiing (Silver Mountain Ski Resort)
• Lapwai – “Lep’wey” – business headquarters of the Nez Perce Tribe
• Malad City – where Utah buys lottery tickets
• Mackay
• McCall – skiing (Brundage Mountain Resort) and recreation Payette Lake
• Melba, Idaho – south of Nampa, Idaho
• Middleton – small town
• Montpelier – bank robbed by the Wild Bunch
• Mullan – silver/lead/zinc mining
• New Meadows – at the 45th parallel north
• New Plymouth – first planned community in Idaho, third west of the Rocky Mountains
• Nezperce – Lewis County seat
• Notus
• Oakley – famous pioneer town, home of many historic buildings
• Orofino – site of Dworshak Dam, highest straight-axis dam in Western Hemisphere
• Paris – Bear Lake County seat
• Parma – site of Old Fort Boise
• Payette – Payette County seat
• Pierce – location of the first discovery of gold in Idaho
• Plummer – CDA tribal headquarters
• Preston – location of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite and the annual International Bed Races
• Rigby – television birthplace
• Riggins – located near the Seven Devils Mountains
• Reubens
• Rupert – Minidoka County seat
• Salmon – gateway to “River of No Return” (Salmon River)
• Sandpoint – skiing (Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort) and recreation Lake Pend Oreille
• Shelley – home of the russet potato
• Soda Springs – U.S.’s only captive geyser
• St. Anthony – sand dunes and several lava tubes
• St. Maries – Benewah County seat
• Stanley, Idaho – heart of the Saw Tooth mountains
• Star, Idaho – suburb of Boise
• Sun Valley – year-round resort with world-class skiing
• Wallace – historic district and Shoshone County seat
• Weippe – where the Lewis and Clark Expedition first met the Nez Perce tribe
• Weiser – Washington County seat, home of the National Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest
• Wilder – hometown of former governor Phil Batt
• Winchester
• Worley – casino

Sports

Central Idaho is home to one of North America’s oldest ski resorts, Sun Valley, where the world’s first chairlift was installed in 1936. Other noted outdoor sites include Hells Canyon, the Salmon River, and its embarkation point of Riggins.

Boise is the host to the largest 5 km run for women, the St. Luke’s Women’s Fitness Celebration.