Idaho

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 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
1890 establishments in the United States