The Idaho Panhandle is the northern region of the U.S. State of Idaho that encompasses the ten northernmost counties of Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Shoshone. Residents of the panhandle refer to the region as North Idaho. The southern part of this region from Moscow south is sometimes referred to as North Central Idaho, with the rest as North Idaho. The panhandle is bordered by Washington state to the west, Montana to the east and British Columbia to the north.
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city within the Idaho panhandle, however nearby Spokane, Washington is the region's largest city and also the location of the regional airport, Spokane International Airport (GEG). Other important cities include Lewiston, Moscow (home of the University of Idaho), Post Falls, Hayden, Sandpoint, and the smaller towns of St. Maries and Bonners Ferry. East of Coeur d'Alene is the Silver Valley, which follows Interstate 90 to the Montana border at Lookout Pass.
The region has a land area of 54,422.49 km² (21,012.64 sq mi), or 25.39 percent of Idaho's land area; there is also 839.07 km² (323.95 sq mi) of water area. The estimated population of the Idaho Panhandle as of 2004 was 295,160, or slightly more than 21% of Idaho's estimated population of 1,393,262. The 2000 census number was 278,866 residents, or 21.55% of the state's population at the time.
The Idaho Panhandle region observes Pacific Time north of the western-flowing Salmon River in the southern part of Idaho County. The rest of the state to the south observes Mountain Time, which begins at Riggins. The primary reason for the different time zones, even though cites and towns in North Idaho are at the same longitude as their southern Idaho neighbors is the regional sphere of influences. The panhandle is linked to Spokane, WA (Pacific Time), while southern Idaho is linked to Boise and Salt Lake City, Utah (Mountain Time). Neighboring Montana also observes Mountain Time.
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History
The Idaho Panhandle was originally created when the Montana Territory was organized from the Idaho Territory in 1864.
When the seat of territorial government was moved to Boise from Lewiston in late 1864, it was thought that the panhandle region was hard to govern. A proposal was made to make the northern part of the state its own state. The proposal failed, but was attempted again in 1901. This time it was proposed to join the panhandle with Eastern Washington to form the "State of Lincoln", but failed a second time. As an olive branch to North Idaho, the University of Idaho was placed in Moscow in 1889.
Influence
Although the Coeur D'Alene area has experienced growth, southwestern Idaho has grown at a faster pace.
North Idaho has not elected a governor since Cecil Andrus (D) in the 1970s (Andrus, an Oregon native, was a resident of Orofino; Boise was his residency during his later campaigns), or a member of the U.S. Congress since Compton I. White, Jr. (D) in the 1960s.
Attractions
- Panhandle National Forests
- Priest Lake
- Lake Pend Oreille
- Lake Coeur d'Alene
- Kootenai River
- Silverwood
Indian reservations
Major communities
- Bonners Ferry
- Coeur d'Alene
- Dalton Gardens
- Grangeville
- Hayden
- Kellogg
- Lewiston
- Moscow
- Orofino
- Post Falls
- Rathdrum
- Sandpoint
- St. Maries
External links
- Visit Idaho.org - official state site - North Idaho
- U.S. Forest Service - official site - Panhandle National Forests
- History of the Columbia Region Territories- Washington State Historical Society
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