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Idaho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State of Idaho
Flag of Idaho Seal Nickname(s): Gem State, Spud State Motto(s): Esto perpetua
Official language(s)	English
Demonym	Idahoan
Capital	Boise
Largest city	Boise
Largest metro area	Boise metropolitan area
Area	Ranked 14th in the US
- 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 in the US
- Total	1,293,953
- Density	15.64/sq mi  6.04/km² (44th in the US)
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)
Lieutenant Governor	Jim Risch (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
Website	www.idaho.gov/

Idaho Portal

[show]Idaho State Symbols
Living Symbols
-Amphibian	Eastern Tiger Salamander
-Bird	Mountain Bluebird
-Butterfly	Monarch Butterfly
-Fish	Cutthroat trout
-Flower	Mock Orange
-Insect	Monarch Butterfly
-Mammal	Appaloosa horse
-Tree	Western White Pine
Dance	Square Dance
Food	Potato, Huckleberry
Fossil	Hagerman horse
Gemstone	Star Garnet
Slogan(s)	Great Potatoes. Tasty Destinations.
Soil	Threebear
Song(s)	Here We Have Idaho
Route Marker(s)
Quarter	2007
See Also

The State of Idaho (IPA: /ˈaɪdəhoʊ/) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state’s largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state.

According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2004, Idaho had an estimated population of 1,493,262. The state’s postal abbreviation is ID. Idaho’s nickname is the Gem State because of its abundance of natural resources. The state motto is Esto Perpetua (Latin for "Let it be forever").

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[edit] Geography

Welcome to Idaho sign.

Map of Idaho

Idaho Population Density Map

Sixty percent of Idaho’s land is held by the National Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management, and it leads the nation in forest service land as a percentage of total area.^[2].^[3]

Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in the Owyhee Mountains about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Boise, Idaho.

Crooked Creek in Gospel Hump Wilderness, Idaho

The Palouse region of northern Idaho.

A scenic part of the Snake River in Idaho Falls.

Sunset over the Snake River Plain near Chubbuck.

Further information: List of Idaho counties

Idaho borders six states and one Canadian province. The states of Washington and Oregon are to the west, Nevada and Utah are to the south, and Montana and Wyoming are to the east. Idaho also shares a short (48 miles (77 km)) border with Canada: the province of British Columbia is to the north. 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, vast 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 Clark Fork/Pend Oreille River, the Clearwater River and the Salmon River. Other significant rivers include the Coeur d’Alene/Spokane River, the Boise River and the Payette River. The Port of Lewiston, at the confluence of the Clearwater and the Snake Rivers is the farthest inland seaport in the Pacific Northwest.

Idaho’s highest point is Borah Peak, 12,662 ft (3,859 m), in the Lost River Range north of Mackay. Idaho’s lowest point, 745 ft (227 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. (A legislative oddity (15 U.S.C. ch.6 § 264) theoretically places this region in the Central Time Zone, but this error is not widely known and is universally ignored.) Areas north of the Salmon River, including Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Lewiston, and Sandpoint are in the Pacific Time Zone and revolve commercially and culturally around Spokane, Washington

[edit] Climate

Idaho has much variation in its climate. Although the state’s western border is located 300 miles (480 km) from the Pacific Ocean,^{[citation needed]} 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.

Climate in Idaho can be hot, although extended periods over 100 °F (38 °C) 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.

[edit] 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 (Idaho-Utah)
• Lake Walcott
• Hayden Lake
• Lake Cascade

[edit] History

Main article: History of Idaho

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.^[4][5]

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.^[6]

The Idaho State Historical Society preserves and promotes Idaho’s cultural heritage.

[edit] Origin of name

Idaho is the only state that was likely named as the result of a hoax (the so called "Idahoax") although this is disputed. 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[2][3]. 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.

Chief Joseph Seltice, of the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Nation, posits another possible origin of the name. In his history of the tribe, Saga of the Coeur d’Alene Indians, he writes:

Some sources claim that the name "Idaho" comes from an Indian word, "Ee-dah-how," meaning "Gem of the Mountains." This expression may have come from some other Tribe, and it would have a different meaning for them than it would for the Coeur d’Alenes.
As the Coeur d’Alenes understood the word "Idaho," it would be more correctly pronounced "Ah-d’Hoo." It means "greetings by surprise," indicating friendship, but surprise.
The first syllable conveys to the mind, "All are welcome, from wherever you come; but keep the friendly peace. We welcome you with out-stretched arms, and this entitles us to permanent friendship."
The last syllable is a surprise and exclamation point. The expression means that all are welcome, "though we are surprised to see so many different strangers. The first dawn of day welcomes you as the sun rises." This expression was used by many of the Coeur d’Alenes on the Bitterroot Mountains to greet all who come.
So to all who read these words: "Welcome, with open arms! We’re just surprised that there are so many of you!"

[edit] Demographics

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. The population density of the state is 15.6 people per square mile.

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. As of 2007, the population in Nampa was estimated at 84,000. Growth of 5% or more over the same period has also been observed in Caldwell, Coeur d’Alene, Meridian, Post Falls and Twin Falls.[4]

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.[5]

The largest reported ancestries in the state are: German (18.9%), English (18.1%), Irish (10%), American (8.4%), Norwegian (3.6%), Swedish (3.5%).

[edit] Religion

A church in Idaho City

Greek Orthodox Church in Pocatello.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Idaho Falls Temple.

In 2004, the religious affiliations of Idahoans were surveyed as: [6]

• Protestant – 29.3%
• LDS (Mormon) – 22.8%
• Catholic – 14.3%
• Christian – 13.6%
• None – 12.7%
• Other – 7.2%

In 2001, the religious affiliations of the people of Idaho were surveyed as: [7] [8]

• Christian – 79%
  • Protestant – 50%
    • Baptist – 10%
    • Methodist – 10%