Idaho is a state in the northwestern United States, and was the 43rd state to join the union.

Idaho became a state in 1890, and it is the 11th largest state in land area, and the 14th largest in total area (land and water). Despite this, the population of Idaho was estimated at only 1,787,065 by the United States Census Bureau in 2019, making it ranked the 39th largest state by population.

Idaho is bordered by Washington and Oregon on the west, Montana and Wyoming on the east, Utah and Nevada on the south and the country of Canada (British Columbia) on the north side. Idaho is known for its vast mountainous landscapes, and it is literally covered from north to south by the Rocky Mountains. Idaho is also home to the massive Snake River, which comes from the Grand Tetons in Wyoming and eventually flows to meld with the Columbia River in Washington state. This river dissects Hell's Canyon, the deepest gorge in America, which lies the state's Oregon border, and flows through south central Idaho. This river provides a fertile plain which is the base for most of the state's agricultural industries,  and the production of the potatoes for which Idaho is known. Idaho's state nickname is the "Gem State", despite also being known as the "Spud State", because of a man named George M. Willing who claimed it was derived from a Shoshone term.

Idaho's most prominent universities are Boise State University in its capital, Idaho State University in Pocatello, and the University of Idaho in Moscow.

Idaho's state motto is Esto perpetua, which is Latin for "Let it be forever".

Cities and towns

Population > 100,000 (city area)
 Boise (state capital)
Population > 50,000 (city area)
 Idaho Falls – The main offices of the Idaho National Laboratory are here
 Nampa – Home of Northwest Nazarene University
 Pocatello – Home of Idaho State University
 Meridian – Suburb of Boise
Population > 30,000 (city 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
 Twin Falls – Home of College of Southern Idaho
Population > 10,000 (city area)
 Ammon – Suburb of Idaho Falls
 Blackfoot – Home of the Idaho Potato Museum
 Burley
 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 moved
 Arco – First city to be lit by electricity from a nuclear power plant
 Bonners Ferry – Northernmost major town in Idaho
 Buhl – "Trout capital of the world"
 Bone- Population 2
 Driggs – skiing
 Eden
 Emmett
 Greenleaf
 Firth
 Fruitland
 Filer – Suburb of Twin Falls
 Hazelton
 Homedale – town's name was chosen from a hat
 Island Park
 Kimberly – Suburb of Twin Falls
 Kellogg – skiing
 Malad City
 McCall – skiing
 Melba, Idaho - South of Nampa, Idaho
 Middleton
 Montpelier bank robbed by the wild bunch
 Mullan – mining for silver, lead, zinc
 New Meadows - at the 45th parallel north
 New Plymouth – first planned community in Idaho, third west of the Rocky Mountains
 Notus
 Oakley – pioneer town, home of many historic buildings
 Orofino – Clearwater County seat, site of Dworshak Dam
 Paris – Bear Lake County seat
 Parma
 Payette – Payette County seat
 Plummer- CDA tribal headquarters
 Preston- location of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite and the annual International Bed Races
 Rupert- Minidoka County seat
 Rigby – Television birthplace
 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 SPUD
 Soda Springs – U.S.'s only captive geyser
 St. Anthony – sand dunes and several lava tubes
 St. Maries – Benewah County seat
 Stanley, Idaho – center of the Sawtooth mountains
 Star, Idaho
 Sun Valley – Year-round resort with skiing
 Wallace – Historic district and Shoshone County seat
 Weiser – Washington County seat, home of the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest
 Wilder
 Worley – casino

History of Idaho
Idaho was formerly Idaho Territory, until July 27, 1890, when it became the 43rd state. In the 1930s, Idaho suffered a lot economically as as a result of the Great Depression. Prices plummeted for Idaho's major crops: in 1932, a bushel of potatoes was worth only ten cents compared to $1.51 in 1919, while Idaho farmers´  annual income of $686 in 1929 fell to just $250 by 1932.

Politics 
Today, Idaho is a very conservative state. In the 2016 election, just two counties in Idaho supported Hillary Clinton. Idaho as a whole last voted Democratic in 1964, and that by a narrow margin of less than 2 percent. Both of Idaho's senators (Jim Risch and Mike Crapo) are Republican.

Related pages
 Colleges and universities in Idaho
 List of counties in Idaho
 List of rivers of Idaho

References

Idaho
1890 establishments in the United States