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russet Burbank
n.
A long rounded potato with a rough brown skin. Also called Idaho.
[After Luther BURBANK.]
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n.
A state of the northwest United States. It was admitted as the 43rd state in 1890. Explored by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805, the region was held jointly by Great Britain and the United States from 1818 to 1846. Idaho became a separate territory in 1863. Boise is the capital and the largest city. Population: 1,500,000.
Idahoan I'da·ho'an adj. & n.
For more information on Idaho, visit Britannica.com.
US History Encyclopedia:
Idaho
Few states are as dramatically differentiated, both geographically and culturally, as Idaho. According to the 2000 census, just 1,293,953 people inhabited its 82,751 square miles, or 15.6 people per square mile. Idaho stretches 479 miles from north to south. It has eighty mountain ranges, and at 5,000 feet above sea level, is the fifth highest state in the Union. Forests cover 41 percent of the state and 82 percent of land in the north, and the state receives 100 million acre-feet of water annually in the form of rain and snow, to supply 16,000 miles of rivers and streams. The most important tributary is the Snake River, which flows for 1,000 miles before draining into the Columbia. Culturally, the state is divided between the Mormon southeast, the new high-tech industries of Boise and the southwest, and the north, formerly devoted to mining and lumbering, and now working to develop tourist attractions.
Indians and Trappers
Native American settlement in Idaho was split between the Shoshones of the Great Basin in the south, who had access to the resources of the Snake and Boise Rivers with their fish and game, and the Nez Perce and Coeur d'Alene tribes in the north. The arrival of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 preceded the entry of trappers and traders into the region. In 1810, Fort Henry was erected as the first American habitation. A trade war was pursued between the Hudson's Bay Company and independent American trappers, which lasted into the 1840s. Fort Hall and Fort Boise were established as part of this competition, but ultimately came to be staging posts on the Oregon Trail. The rise of Oregon "fever" in the 1840s led 53,000 settlers to take the trail in the next two decades.
Miners and Mormons
Idaho Territory had no formal settlements until the incorporation of Franklin in 1860. In the north, however, there were a set of mining camps, which were illegally established on the Nez Perce Indian reservation to service the diggings at Orofino Creek and Pierce City. The gold rush proved alluring to depression-hit farmers, and the territory produced $3 million of gold dust by 1861. Such communities were unstable and had a large proportion of saloons and theaters. Mormon pioneers made their first permanent settlement in Idaho in the 1860s as part of Brigham Young's plans for colonization. Theirs was a much harder existence but a more stable community life, centered on family and religion, with homesteads clustered around a ward meetinghouse and supported by cooperative organizations.
State Formation
In 1853, Washington Territory was separated from Oregon and the future Idaho Territory was divided between them. Six years later, Oregon became a state and southern Idaho was added to Washington Territory. Idaho Territory was created in 1863, with only 32,342 residents. Congress removed portions of the future territories of Montana and
Wyoming in 1868, but Idaho was still too sprawling to be well administered. The north fought to be annexed by Washington Territory in the 1880s, but President Grover Cleveland vetoed a bill to separate it. The territorial legislature propitiated the north by locating the state university at Moscow. In 1889, Idaho held a special convention and drafted a constitution that Congress approved, and a year later it became a state.
Developing the Land
There was little active government in Idaho during the Civil War, and many Confederate sympathizers and migrants from the border states settled in the region. In 1864, the legislature moved the capital to Boise, a site with much fertile land and a mild climate. Boise became a trade and transportation hub and two-thirds of Idaho farms were located in the Boise area by 1870. Cattle raising became common in the 1860s, and farming succeeded mining as the principal occupation in the 1870s, although it was as dependent as mining on outside financing. With irrigation, the Snake River valley became capable of development, and in the northern region of the Palouse, wheat growing was developed on a grand scale.
Silver Mining and Lumber Production
Lead and silver strikes at Wood River (1880) and the Coeur d'Alene (1883-1884) produced a new source of wealth for Idaho. The town of Hailey near Wood River had Idaho's first electric lighting and first telephone service. Initial placer methods were succeeded by hard-rock mining financed by outside investors, most notably the Sunshine Mine in the Coeur d'Alene, with the largest recorded silver production in the world. Eastern and Californian demand for timber spurred the creation of the Clearwater Timber Company by Frederick Weyerhaeuser in 1900, and by 1903, most private timberland was in the hands of the big timber companies. In 1904, production had reached 350 million board feet and by 1925, 1,100 million board feet.
Building a Transport Network
Mining, lumbering, and wheat growing companies required an effective railroad network to transport their products. In 1882, Pocatello, in the southeast, became a major railroad center, with a complex of railroad shops that was more unionized and ethnically diverse than other parts of the state, and far less Mormon than most towns in the east. The expansion of the network continued into the twentieth century, and by 1918, there were 2,841 miles of track in Idaho. Railroad stations were a matter of community pride and stimulated town growth, even though they also created dependency on the railroad timetable.
Immigration and Anti-Mormonism
The changes of the 1880s brought newcomers to Idaho. These included the Basques, who were known to work as shepherds but often worked in mining and dam construction; they developed their own hotels and boardinghouse culture. The 1880s also saw the rise of anti-Mormonism, because of the perception of the Latter-day Saints as outsiders who tended to vote as a bloc for the Democratic Party. Under the leadership of Fred Dubois, a campaign was waged against the Mormon practice of polygamy, and the legislature passed a measure in 1882 that barred Latter-day Saints from voting, holding office, or serving on a jury, although most of these restrictions were abandoned in 1893.
The Politics of the 1890s
During the 1890s, miners' support for silver monetization made Populism a political force in Idaho. Organized labor grew rapidly, and in 1907, there were forty-five unions with 2,240 members. In the Coeur d'Alene in 1892 and 1899, there were violent attacks on mine property. In 1899, Governor Frank Steunenberg declared martial law and many miners were imprisoned. In 1905, Harry Orchard planted a bomb at Steunenberg's home that killed the governor. The subsequent kidnap and prosecution of miners' leader William Haywood in 1906 set the stage in the following year for one of the more colorful trials of the century, with Senator William Borah as the prosecutor and the radical lawyer Clarence Darrow for the defense.
Idaho in the Progressive Era
Violent protest was not, however, the only means of bringing about reform. During the 1890s, Boise's Columbian Club created the first traveling library in the West. In 1900, there were about fifteen reform clubs in Idaho that pushed for progressive legislation. Although the Republican Party was strong in the state, Idaho saw the introduction of the direct primary, initiative, referendum, recall, and workers' compensation, as well as prohibition. Equally important was the irrigation of the Snake River plain, with the assistance of the federal Reclamation Bureau. By 1915, over 19 million acres (about 35 percent of state) had been formed into twenty-two national forests. Such assistance, however, created a problem of dependence on federal resources and technological expertise. The rise of irrigated land led to the "selling" of Idaho in the East by communities and railroads. Tourism was also pushed through such instruments as National Geographic.
Idaho in the 1920s
During World War I, Idaho contributed 20,000 men to the armed forces; produced food, minerals, and timber for aircraft; and purchased many war bonds and savings stamps. The state also fought the syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World, who were campaigning in the mining towns and lumbering camps for an eight-hour day and higher wages. Governor Moses Alexander asked for federal troops to quell unrest in the towns of Wallace and Lewiston, and the state legislature passed a criminal syndicalism law. The agricultural depression of 1921 prompted some out-migration and twenty-seven banks failed in the 1920s. Nevertheless, Idaho completed a basic network of highways and electric railroads for a number of communities, including Boise. Motorization spurred the creation of all-weather roads and then larger schools, and caused the demise of many remote villages. A north-south highway was completed by 1920, making possible direct communication between the two halves of the state. During the 1920s, Idaho experienced a farm revolt that led to the creation of the Progressive Party, which elected candidates in 1922 and controlled three county governments. But the Republican Party remained dominant.
The Great Depression
Of the Pacific Northwest states, Idaho suffered most during the Great Depression. Farm prices fell 44 percent between 1929 and 1930; the Snake River plain experienced severe drought and declining production through the early 1930s; and average income fell 49.3 percent between 1929 and 1932. The Democrat C. Ben Ross was elected governor in 1930 and Idaho voted strongly for the Democrats in 1932. The state was fifth in the nation in New Deal per capita spending, with programs for construction, electricity in the countryside, and agricultural relief. The development of hydroelectric power by the federal government was a serious political issue in the Pacific Northwest, but Idaho proved less keen on the idea of public power than Washington and Oregon, and the legislature rejected public utility districts in 1937.
World War II and the Transformation of Idaho
During World War II, 60,000 Idahoans—11 percent of the state's population—served in the armed forces. Air bases were established at Boise and Pocatello, while the largest inland naval base was located at Sandpoint, training 293,381 sailors. After the war, the Strategic Air Command maintained Mountain Home Air Force Base for refueling, while on the Snake River, the federal government built the National Reactor Testing Station with fifty-two reactors, which produced the first electricity from nuclear power in 1951.
Postwar Reconstruction
After 1945, Idaho saw the rise of manufacturing and of firms like Morrison-Knudsen, a construction company that had worked on Hoover Dam, Albertson's grocery and drugs, one of the largest retail outlets in the United States, and the J. R. Simplot Company, with interests in food processing, fertilizers, and ranching. Other employers included Boise Cascade, one of the nation's largest producers of plywood; Micron Technology, a semiconductor company founded in 1978; and Hewlett Packard. The federal Idaho National Engineering Laboratory employed 10,000 people in the early 1990s or 5 percent of the state's jobs. Boise emerged as a major northwestern city, experienced suburban growth, and retained its small-town ambiance. It was the only city in the central Northwest with more than 100,000 residents. Big growth in the 1970s was followed by a recession in the early 1980s, especially in mining and timber. Resource-based communities turned to tourism for salvation and a large inmigration took place, mostly from California, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. During the 1990s, the state's population grew 28.5 percent.
Politics in the Late Twentieth Century
Despite holding the governorship from 1971 to 1994 and producing influential figures like Senator Frank Church, the Democratic Party became increasingly irrelevant in Idaho. The Republicans held the majority of seats in the state legislature from 1961 to the beginning of the twentyfirst century. During the 1980s, union power declined, and Idaho's first right-to-work law was enacted. Idahoans voted for Republican Bob Dole over Democrat Bill Clinton by a margin of 18 percent in 1996 and for Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore by a margin of 39 percent in 2000.
Bibliography
Arrington, Leonard J. History of Idaho. 2 vols. Moscow: University of Idaho Press, 1994.
Ashby, LeRoy. The Spearless Leader: Senator Borah and the Progressive Movement in the 1920s. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972.
Ewert, Sara E. Dant. "Evolution of an Environmentalist: Senator Frank Church and the Hells Canyon Controversy." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 51, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 36–51.
Fahey, John. The Inland Empire: Unfolding Years, 1879–1929. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1986.
Malone, Michael P. C. Ben Ross and the New Deal in Idaho. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1970.
May, Dean L. Three Frontiers: Family, Land, and Society in the American West, 1850–1900. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Schwantes, Carlos A. In Mountain Shadows: A History of Idaho. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
Wells, Merle W. Gold Camps and Silver Cities: Nineteenth Century Mining in Central and Southern Idaho. Moscow: Idaho Department of Lands, Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1983.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
Idaho
(ī'dəhō) , one of the Rocky Mt. states in the NW United States. It is bordered by Montana and Wyoming (E), Utah and Nevada (S), Oregon and Washington (W), and the Canadian province of British Columbia (N).
Facts and Figures
Area, 83,557 sq mi (216,413 sq km). Pop. (2000) 1,293,953, a 28.5% increase since the 1990 census. Capital and largest city, Boise. Statehood, July 3, 1890 (43d state). Highest pt., Borah Peak, 12,662 ft (3,862 m); lowest pt., Snake River, 710 ft (217 m). Nickname, Gem State. Motto, Esto Perpetua [It Is Perpetual]. State bird, mountain bluebird. State flower, syringa. State tree, white pine. Abbr., ID
Geography
Much of Idaho has an unspoiled beauty, with rugged slopes and towering peaks, a vast expanse of timberland, scenic lakes, wild rivers, cascades, and spectacular gorges. From the northern Panhandle, where Idaho is about 45 mi (72 km) wide, the state broadens south of the Bitterroot Range to 310 mi (499 km) in width. The Snake River flows in a great arc across S Idaho; with its tributaries the river has been harnessed to produce hydroelectric power and to reclaim vast areas of dry but fertile land. To the north of the Snake River valley, in central and north central Idaho, are the massive Sawtooth Mts. and the Salmon River Mts., which shelter magnificent wilderness areas, including the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Area, and the Idaho Primitive Area.
In the central and north central regions and in the Panhandle there are tremendous expanses of national forests covering approximately two fifths of the state and constituting one of the largest areas of national forests in the nation. Idaho's jagged granite peaks include Mt. Borah, which is 12,662 ft (3,859 m) high. Hells Canyon, which at one point is 7,900 ft (2408 m) below the mountaintops, is the deepest gorge in North America. The state also contains Craters of the Moon National Monument and a protected grove of ancient cedars at Upper Priest Lake.
Rushing rivers such as the Salmon and the Clearwater, and many lakes, notably Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Coeur d'Alene (often described as one of the world's loveliest), and Priest Lake, as well as the state's mountain areas, make Idaho a superb fish and game preserve and vacation land. The state is especially inviting to campers, anglers, and hunters (Idaho has one of the largest elk herds in the nation). The state's climate ranges from hot summers in the arid southern basins to cold, snowy winters in the high wilderness areas of central and northern Idaho. The capital and largest city is Boise; other cities of importance are Pocatello and Idaho Falls.
Economy
Manufacturing has recently supplanted agriculture as the most important sector of Idaho's economy. Cattle and dairy goods are among the leading agricultural products. Idaho's chief crops are potatoes (for which the state, easily the nation's largest producer, is famous), hay, wheat, peas, beans, and sugar beets. Electronic and computer equipment, processed foods, lumber, and chemicals are the major manufactured items.
The unspoiled quality of much of Idaho's land has nourished one of the youngest of Idaho's businesses—the tourist trade. Sun Valley, one of the nation's best-known year-round vacation spots, is an example of the development of resorts in Idaho. Mining, once the major source of income, and still economically important, produces phosphates, gold, silver, molybdenum, antimony, lead, zinc, and other minerals.
Government, Politics, and Higher Education
Idaho's constitution, adopted in 1889, became effective in 1890 upon statehood. The state's chief executive is a governor elected for a term of four years. The legislature consists of a 42-member senate and an 84-member house of representatives. The state also elects two representatives and two senators to the U.S. Congress and has four electoral votes.
Idaho is a Republican state in national politics but had Democratic governors from 1970 to 1994. Cecil D. Andrus, elected governor in 1970 and reelected in 1974, served as secretary of the interior during the Carter administration; he was elected governor again in 1986 and 1990. Republican Phil Batt, elected governor in 1994, was succeeded by Republican Dirk Kempthorne, elected in 1998 and reelected in 2002. Kempthorne was appointed secretary of the interior in 2006. He was succeeded as governor by Lt. Gov. James E. Risch, also a Republican, and Republican Butch Otter was elected to the post later in the year.
Outstanding among Idaho's institutions of higher learning are the Univ. of Idaho, at Moscow; Idaho State Univ., at Pocatello; and Boise State Univ., at Boise.
History
Early Explorers and Fur Traders
Probably the first nonnatives to enter the area that is now Idaho were members of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805. They were not far ahead of the fur traders who came to the region shortly thereafter. A Canadian, David Thompson of the North West Company, established the first trading post in Idaho in 1809. The next year traders from St. Louis penetrated the mountains, and Andrew Henry of the Missouri Fur Company established a post near present-day Rexburg, the first American trading post established in the area.
In this period the fortunes of the Idaho region were wrapped up with those of the Columbia River region, and the area encompassed by what is now the state of Idaho was part of Oregon country, held jointly by the United States and Great Britain from 1818 to 1846. Fur traders in an expedition sent out by John Jacob Astor came to the Snake River region to trap for furs after having established (1811) a trading post at Astoria on the Columbia River. In 1821 two British trading companies operating in the Idaho region, the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, were joined together as the Hudson's Bay Company which, after 1824, came into competition with American mountain men also trapping in the area. By the 1840s the two groups had severely depleted the region's fur supply.
Gold, Settlement, and Resistance
In 1846 the United States gained sole claim to Oregon country south of the 49th parallel by the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain. The area was established as a territory in 1848. Idaho still had no permanent settlement when Oregon Territory became a state in 1859 and the eastern part of Idaho was added to Washington Territory. A Mormon outpost founded at Franklin in 1860 is considered the first permanent settlement, but it was not until the discovery of gold that settlers poured into Idaho.
Gold was discovered on the Clearwater River in 1860, on the Salmon in 1861, in the Boise River basin in 1862, and gold and silver were found in the Owyhee River country in 1863. The usual rush of settlers followed, along with the spectacular but ephemeral growth of towns. Most of these settlements are only ghost towns now, but the many settlers who poured in during the gold rush—mainly from Washington, Oregon, and California, with smaller numbers from the east—formed a population large enough to demand new government administration, and Idaho Territory was set up in 1863.
Native Americans, mostly Kootenai, Nez Percé, Western Shoshone, Bannock, Coeur d'Alene, and Pend d'Oreille, became upset by the incursion of settlers and some resisted violently. The federal government had subdued many of these groups by 1858, placing them on reservations. The Bannock were defeated in 1863 and again in 1878. In 1876–77 the Nez Percé, led by Chief Joseph, made their heroic but unsuccessful attempt to flee to Canada while being pursued by U.S. troops.
Development and Disputes
A new mining boom started in 1882 with the discovery of gold in the Coeur d'Alene, and although the gold strike ended in disappointment, it prefaced the discovery there of some of the richest silver mines in the world. Coeur d'Alene and Kellogg became notable mining centers, and the Bunker Hill and Sullivan (a lead mine) became extremely famous mines. Severe labor troubles in the mines at the end of the century led to political uprisings. Frank Steunenberg, who as governor had used federal troops to put down the uprisings, was assassinated in 1905. The trial of William Haywood and others accused of involvement in the murder drew national attention and marked the beginning of the long career of William E. Borah (who had prosecuted the mine leaders) as an outstanding Republican party leader in the state and nation.
The late 19th cent. also witnessed the growth of cattle and sheep ranching, along with the strife that developed between the two groups of ranchers over grazing areas. The coming of the railroads (notably the Northern Pacific) through Idaho in the 1880s and 90s brought new settlers and aided in the founding of such cities as Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and American Falls.
Putting Water and the Atom to Work
Expanding Idaho farming led to private irrigation projects. Some of these aroused public opposition, which led to establishment of state irrigation districts under the Carey Land Act of 1894. The Reclamation Act of 1902 brought direct federal aid. Notable among public reclamation works are the Boise and Minidoka projects. Both public and private, these have also helped to increase the development of Idaho's enormous hydroelectric potential. Further private hydroelectric projects along the Snake River were put into operation between 1959 and 1968.
In 1949 the Atomic Energy Commission built the National Reactor Testing Station in SE Idaho. Now known as the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, the facility in 1955 provided energy for nearby Arco, the first American town to be lighted by electricity from a nuclear power plant.
Idaho suffered during the recession of the early 1980s but rebounded later in the decade by attracting new business, including high-technology firms. The growth of the winter sports industry has helped make Idaho a leading tourist state. These improvements in its economy made Idaho one of the nation's fastest-growing states in population between 1990 and 2000.
Bibliography
See Federal Writers' Project, Idaho (1938, rev. ed. 1950); M. W. Wells, Idaho: An Illustated History (1980).
Geography:
Idaho
State in the Rocky Mountains bordered by British Columbia, Canada, to the north; Montana and Wyoming to the east; Utah and Nevada to the south; and Oregon and Washington to the west. Its capital and largest city is Boise.
Maps:
Idaho
Local Time:
Idaho
Local Time: Jul 20, 4:51 AM
Local Time: Jul 20, 3:51 AM
Stats:
Idaho
 |
- Abbreviation: ID
- Capital City: Boise
- Date of Statehood: Jul. 3, 1890
- State #: 43
- Population: 1,293,953
- Area: 83574 sq.mi. Land 82751 sq. mi. Water 823 sq.mi.
- Economy:
Agriculture: cattle, potatoes, dairy products, wheat, sugar beets, barley;
Industry: food processing, lumber and wood products, machinery, chemical products, paper products, silver and other mining, tourism - Where the name comes from: Idaho is a coined or invented word
- State Bird: Mountain Bluebird
- State Flower: Syringa
- About the Flag: The silk flag, adopted in 1907, is a blue field, bordered with gilt fringe, with Idaho's state seal, in the center. A woman represents liberty, justice and equality; a man is a miner. The pictures on the shield represent the main industries of forestry, farming and mining. The cornucopias, or horns of plenty, are symbols of abundance. The elks head representing wildlife appears under the words "Esto perpetua" (Let it be perpetual). The words "State of Idaho" are embroidered in block letters.
- State Motto: Esto perpetua -- Let it be perpetual
- State Nickname: Gem State
- State Song: Here We Have Idaho
Parks:
Idaho
Wikipedia:
Idaho
| State of Idaho | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Official language(s) | English [1] | ||||||||||
| Capital | Boise | ||||||||||
| Largest city | Boise | ||||||||||
| Largest metro area | Boise metropolitan area | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 14th | ||||||||||
| - Total | 83,642 sq mi (216,632 km²) |
||||||||||
| - Width | 305 miles (491 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 479 miles (771 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 0.98 | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 43.19 N to 49° N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 112.35′ W to 117°15′ W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 39th | ||||||||||
| - Total (2000) | 1,293,953 | ||||||||||
| - Density | 15.64/sq mi 6.04/km² (44th) |
||||||||||
| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Borah Peak[1] 12,662 ft (3,862 m) |
||||||||||
| - Mean | 5,000 ft (1,524 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Snake River[1] 710 ft (217 m) |
||||||||||
| Admission to Union | July 3, 1890 (43rd) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Butch Otter (R) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | Larry Craig (R) Mike Crapo (R) |
||||||||||
| Congressional Delegation | List | ||||||||||
| Time zones | |||||||||||
| - north of Salmon River | Pacific: UTC−8/−7 | ||||||||||
| - remainder | Mountain: UTC 7/ 6 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | ID US-ID | ||||||||||
| Web site | www.idaho.gov/ | ||||||||||
The State of Idaho (IPA: /ˈaɪ.ɾəˌhoʊ/) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the
According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2004, Idaho had an estimated population of 1,393,262. The state's postal abbreviation is ID. Idaho is nicknamed the Gem State because of its abundance of natural resources. The state motto is Esto Perpetua (Latin for "Let it be perpetual").
Geography
- Further information: List of Idaho counties
Idaho borders the states of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and the Canadian province of British Columbia (the Idaho-BC border is miles ( km) long). The landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States. It is a Rocky Mountain state with abundant natural resources and scenic areas. The state has snow-capped mountain ranges, rapids, placid lakes and steep canyons. The waters of Snake River rush through Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon 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 Clearwater River and the Salmon River. Other significant rivers include the Boise River and the Payette River. The Port of Lewiston is the farthest inland seaport in the Pacific Northwest.
Idaho's highest point is Borah Peak, ft ( m), in the Lost River Range north of Mackay. Idaho's lowest point, ft ( m), is in Lewiston, where the Clearwater River joins the Snake River and continues into Washington.
Southern Idaho, including the Boise metropolitan area, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Twin Falls are in the Mountain Time Zone. Areas north of the Salmon River, including Coeur d'Alene, Moscow, and Lewiston, are in the Pacific Time Zone.
Climate
Idaho has much variation in its climate. Although the state's western border is located miles ( 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 highest points. 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 a mostly elevated altitude. The maritime influence is lowest in the southeastern 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 continental climate.
Summers in Idaho can be hot, although extended periods over 100 °F for the maximum temperature are rare. 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.
| Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Idaho Cities. | ||||||||||||
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | 37/24 | 44/29 | 54/34 | 62/39 | 71/47 | 80/54 | 89/60 | 88/60 | 77/51 | 64/41 | 48/32 | 37/24 |
| Lewiston | 39/28 | 46/31 | 54/36 | 62/41 | 70/47 | 78/54 | 88/59 | 88/59 | 77/51 | 62/41 | 47/34 | 39/28 |
| Pocatello | 32/16 | 39/21 | 48/27 | 58/33 | 68/39 | 78/46 | 88/51 | 87/50 | 76/42 | 62/33 | 44/25 | 34/17 |
| [2] | ||||||||||||
Lakes
- Lake Coeur d'Alene
- Priest Lake
- Payette Lake (McCall)
- Pend Oreille
- Lake Lowell
- Henry's Lake
- Stanley Lake
- Redfish Lake
- Alturas Lake
- Petit Lake
- Sawtooth Lake
- Warm Lake
- Bear Lake
- Lake Walcott
- Hayden Lake
- Lake Cascade
Adjacent States and Provinces
- British Columbia of Canada - north
- Montana - east by north
- Wyoming - east
- Utah - east by south
- Nevada - west by south
- Oregon - west
- Washington - north by west
History
Humans may have been present in the Idaho area as long as 14,500 years ago. Excavations at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls in 1959 revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. Native American tribes predominant in the area included the Nez Perce in the north and the Northern and Western Shoshone in the south.
Idaho, as part of the Oregon Country, was claimed by both the United States and United Kingdom until the United States gained undisputed jurisdiction in 1846. Between then and the creation of the Idaho Territory in 1863, parts of the present-day state were included in the Oregon, Washington, and Dakota Territories. The new territory included most of present-day Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The first organized communities, within the present borders of Idaho, were established in 1860.[3][4]
After some tribulation as a territory, including the chaotic transfer of the territorial capital from Lewiston to Boise, disenfranchisement of the large Mormon minority and a federal attempt to split the territory between Washington Territory and the state of Nevada, Idaho achieved statehood in 1890. The economy of the state, which had been primarily supported by metal mining, shifted towards agriculture and tourism.
In recent years, Idaho has expanded its commercial base as a tourism and agricultural state to include science and technology industries. Science and technology have become the largest single economic center (over 25% of the state's total revenue) within the state and are greater than agriculture, forestry and mining combined.[2]
The Idaho State Historical Society preserves and promotes Idaho’s cultural heritage.
Origin of name
Idaho is the only state that was likely named as the result of a hoax (the so called "Idahoax"). In the early 1860s, when the United States Congress was considering organizing a new territory in the Rocky Mountains, eccentric lobbyist George M. Willing suggested the name "Idaho," which he claimed was derived from a Shoshone language term meaning "the sun comes from the mountains" or "gem of the mountains." Willing later claimed that he had made up the name himself[5][6]. Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory when it was created in February 1861.
However, the name "Idaho" did not go away. 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, a portion of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863.
Despite this lack of evidence for the origin of the name, many textbooks well into the 20th century repeated as fact Willing's account that the name "Idaho" derived from the Shoshone term "ee-da-how".
- An excerpt from an Idaho History Textbook:
- "Idaho" is a Shoshoni Indian exclamation. The word consists of three parts. The first is "Ee", which in English conveys the
idea of "coming down". The second is "dah" which is the Shoshoni stem or root for both "sun" and "mountain". The third syllable,
"how", denotes the exclamation and stands for just the same thing in Indian that the exclamation mark (!) does in the English
language. The Shoshoni word is "Ee-dah-how", and the Indian thought thus conveyed when translated into English means, "Behold!
the sun coming down the mountain".
- "IDAHO in the Pacific Northwest". Barber -Martin. 1956. Caxton Printers Ltd. Library of Congress 55-5192.
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 |
—
|
||
| 1880 | 117.4% | ||
| 1890 | 171.5% | ||
| 1900 | 82.7% | ||
| 1910 | 101.3% | ||
| 1920 | 32.6% | ||
| 1930 | 3.0% | ||
| 1940 | 17.9% | ||
| 1950 | 12.1% | ||
| 1960 | 13.3% | ||
| 1970 | 6.8% | ||
| 1980 | 32.5% | ||
| 1990 | 6.7% | ||
| 2000 | 28.5% | ||
As of 2005, Idaho has an estimated population of 1,429,096, which is an increase of 33,956, or 2.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 135,140, or 10.4%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 58,884 people (that is 111,131 births minus 52,247 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 75,795 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 14,522 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 61,273 people.
This makes Idaho the sixth fastest-growing state after Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, and Utah. From 2004 to 2005, Idaho grew the third-fastest, surpassed only by Nevada and Arizona.
Nampa, the state's second largest city, has experienced particularly strong growth in recent years. According to census estimates Nampa has grown 22.1% to nearly 65,000 residents between 2000 and 2003. Growth of 5% or more over the same period has also been observed in Caldwell, Coeur d'Alene, Meridian, Post Falls and Twin Falls [7].
Since 1990, Idaho's population has increased by 386,000 (38%).
The Boise Metropolitan Area (officially known as the Boise City-Nampa, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area) is Idaho's largest metropolitan area. Other metropolitan areas in order of size are Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Lewiston.
As of 2006, six official micropolitan statistical areas are based in Idaho. Twin Falls is the largest of these.
The center of population of Idaho is located in Custer County, in the town of Stanley [8].
| Demographics of Idaho (csv) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | White | Black | AIAN | Asian | NHPI |
| AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native - NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
| 2000 (total population) | 96.99% | 0.65% | 2.14% | 1.36% | 0.23% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) | 7.53% | 0.10% | 0.28% | 0.07% | 0.03% |
| 2005 (total population) | 96.81% | 0.84% | 2.05% | 1.48% | 0.22% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) | 8.70% | 0.17% | 0.27% | 0.08% | 0.03% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (total population) | 10.24% | ||||