But Idaho boasts much more than mountains. Indeed, some people say Idaho s diversity and unique shape are the results of it having been created from the leftovers of surrounding states. The Snake River rises in Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming. It races westward, slicing through lava fields and forming a great, crescent-shaped plain that covers much of southern Idaho.
Soils covering most of the lava flows support grasslands and, where irrigated, crops.
These are the northern Rocky Mountains which tumble eastward across the Montana border. Here, a backcountry traveler might encounter a mountain lion, wolf, grizzly bear, or rare mountain caribou. Northern Idaho is know for its beautiful lakes. There are perhaps 2,000 lakes in this region, most of them small mountain lakes. Pend Oreille Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes lying wholly within the United States.