Idaho
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State flag
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Idaho
IDAHO,
one of the Mountain states of the U.S., bounded on the N by
British Columbia; on the E by Montana and Wyoming; on the S by Utah
and Nevada; and on the W by Oregon and Washington. Part of the E
boundary of Idaho is formed by the Continental Divide (the crest
of the Rocky Mts.). The Snake R. forms part of the W boundary of
the state.
Idaho entered the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43d state.
Idaho has traditionally been known for its agricultural, forest,
and mineral resources. By the 1990s, however, services and manufacturing
had supplanted agriculture as the state’s leading economic
sectors. Tourism is increasingly important to the economy; many
visitors are lured to Idaho each year by the unspoiled beauty of
the mountain wilderness areas. The name of the state is derived
from an Indian word that may be a Kiowa Apache name for the Comanche.
Idaho’s nickname is the Gem State.
| IDAHO STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
July 3, 1890; 43d state |
| CAPITAL: |
Boise |
| MOTTO: |
Esto perpetua (It is forever) |
| NICKNAME: |
Gem State |
| STATE SONG: |
“Here We Have Idaho” (words by McKinley Helm and Albert J. Tompkins; music by Sallie Hume Douglas) |
| STATE TREE: |
Western white pine |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Syringa (mock orange) |
| STATE BIRD: |
Mountain bluebird |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
1,293,953; 39th among the states |
| AREA: |
216,456 sq km (83,574 sq mi);
14th largest
state; includes 2131 sq km (823 sq mi) of inland water |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Borah Peak, 3859 m (12,662 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
216 m (710 ft), along the Snake River at Lewiston |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
4 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 2 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
C. L. (Butch) Otter (Rep.)
Took office January 2007 |
Idaho, with an area of 216,456 sq km (83,574 sq mi), is the
14th largest state in the U.S.; 60.6% of the land is owned
by the federal government. The state is roughly triangular in shape,
and its extreme dimensions are about 772 km (about 480 mi) from
N to S and about 499 km (about 310 mi) from E to W. Its elevations
range from 216 m (710 ft) along the Snake R. at Lewiston to 3859
m (12,662 ft) atop Borah Peak. The approximate mean elevation is
1524 m (5000 ft).
Nearly the entire N two-thirds of the state is occupied by
the Rocky Mts. This region contains some of the most rugged terrain
in the entire Rocky Mt. system. In general, the summit elevations
of the many ranges decrease to the NW from the crest of the Bitterroot
Range on the Montana border. This region, composed primarily of
geologically young granitic rocks, is noted for its vast tracts
of forestland.
The Columbia Plateau province occupies much of the S third
of the state as well as the W border N to Coeur d’Alene.
The plateau was formed by the accumulation of many lava flows, and
the soils that formed on it—reddish, volcanic aridisols—are
fertile. The Snake R. traverses this region, and its relatively
broad plain forms Idaho’s agricultural heartland.
In the SE part of the state lies a portion of the Great Basin.
This region contains a few, relatively low, parallel ranges separated
by valleys. Relatively fertile soils—mollisols—have
formed on the semiarid grass- and sagebrush-covered land of this
region.
Idaho’s principal stream is the Snake R., which,
along with its major tributaries—the Clearwater, Salmon,
Payette, and Boise—drains the S and central parts of the
state. The swift-flowing tributaries carry water from the mountains
to the drier plains. Many of these rivers flow through canyons,
the most impressive of which is the deep Hells Canyon of the Snake
R. The Kootenai, Pend Oreille, and Spokane rivers drain the N part
of the state. Numerous natural lakes are found in the N, mountainous
part of the state; Lake Pend Oreille and Coeur d’Alene
are the largest. Large artificial lakes have been created on the
Snake R. and its tributaries. These include Dworshak, Cascade, Palisades,
Arrowrock, and American Falls reservoirs.
In spite of its distance from the Pacific Ocean, Idaho has
a climate that is influenced by maritime air. Moisture-bearing winds
drop as much as 1270 mm (50 in) of precipitation on the higher W
slopes of the Rockies, mostly as snow in winter. The Snake R. plain
and the Basin and Range region are much drier, many areas receiving
less than 254 mm (less than 10 in) of precipitation a year. The moderating
effects of maritime air cause average winter temperatures to be
warmer and summer temperatures cooler than in the Great Plains states
to the E. The state’s average annual temperature is 7.8° C
(46° F). The recorded temperature has ranged from –51.1° C
(–60° F) in 1943 to 47.8° C (118° F)
in 1934.
| IDAHO AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Boise |
Pocatello |
| Average January temperature range |
–6.1° to 2.8° C |
21° to 37° F |
–10° to 0° C |
14° to 32° F |
| Average July temperature range |
15° to 32.8° C |
59° to 91° F |
8.3° to 31.7° C |
47° to 89° F |
| Average annual temperature |
10.6° C |
51° F |
8.3° C |
47° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
305 mm |
12 in |
279 mm |
11 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
533 mm |
21 in |
1016 mm |
40 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
91 |
92 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
48% |
47% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
124 |
111 |
Forests cover about 45% of the total land area of
Idaho; more than three-fifths of this is of commercial value. The
state is known for its fine coniferous forests (especially of western
white pine), found mainly in the mountainous regions. Western yellow
pine and Douglas fir grow at the lower elevations, giving way to
larch and western white pine and, at the highest elevations, spruce
and fir. The drier Snake R. plain, which is now dominated by irrigated
farmland, was once sagebrush-covered. The Great Basin area supports
a vegetation of piñon-juniper woodlands and sagebrush.
Fauna in the mountain zone includes deer, elk (wapiti), mountain
sheep, mountain goats, black bears, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks, jays,
and hawks. Also found in the state are mule deer, mountain lions,
coyotes, rabbits, and badgers. Hawks and eagles are found in the
Snake R. gorges, and migrating waterfowl are common on the Snake
R. plain. Salmon (in the Salmon R.) and trout (notably steelhead)
are Idaho’s major sport fish. Sturgeon are taken in the Snake
R.
Idaho is rich in mineral resources. The major deposits are concentrated
in two areas: the Coeur d’Alene district in the N panhandle,
which produces silver, zinc, and lead; and the SE Great Basin region,
which produces significant amounts of phosphate rock, one of the
state’s most valuable mineral products. Other mineral resources
include gold, antimony, garnet, molybdenum, and copper.
According to the 2000 census, Idaho had 1,293,953 inhabitants,
an increase of 28.5% over 1990. The average population
density in 2000 was about 15.6 persons per sq mi of land area. Whites
made up 91.0% of the population and blacks 0.4%;
additional population groups included 17,645 American Indians or
Alaska Natives, 11,889 Asians, and 1,308 Native Hawaiians and other
Pacific Islanders. (These figures do not included the 2.0% of
people who reported more than one race.) In all, 101,690 persons,
or 7.9%, reported being of Hispanic origin. Among the principal
Indian groups were the Nez Percé and Shoshoni. The state
has no large metropolitan centers; the largest cities were Boise,
the capital; Nampa; Pocatello; Idaho Falls; Meridian; and Couer
d’Alene.
A 2000 survey found that Mormons, the single largest religious group in Idaho, accounted for 24% of the total population and about half of all those adhering to a particular religious denomination; other groups included Roman Catholics (10%) and followers of various Protestant denominations.
According to the 2000 census, about 66% of Idaho’s residents
lived in areas defined as urban, and the rest lived in rural areas.
| POPULATION OF IDAHO SINCE 1870 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1870 |
15,000 |
0% |
| 1890 |
89,000 |
0% |
| 1900 |
162,000 |
6% |
| 1910 |
326,000 |
22% |
| 1920 |
432,000 |
28% |
| 1940 |
525,000 |
34% |
| 1960 |
667,000 |
48% |
| 1980 |
944,000 |
54% |
| 1990 |
1,006,749 |
57% |
| 2000 |
1,293,953 |
66% |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST
CITIES IN IDAHO |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Boise |
185,787 |
125,738 |
| Nampa |
51,867 |
28,365 |
| Pocatello |
51,466 |
46,080 |
| Idaho Falls |
50,730 |
43,929 |
| Meridian |
34,919 |
9596 |
| Coeur d’Alene |
34,514 |
24,563 |
| Twin Falls |
34,469 |
27,591 |
| Lewiston |
30,904 |
28,082 |
| Caldwell |
25,967 |
18,400 |
| Moscow |
21,291 |
18,519 |
Because Idaho is a rugged land with some relatively unpopulated
areas, many of the state’s educational and cultural institutions
are concentrated in the state’s major cities, especially
in the capital city, Boise.
The first school in Idaho, established in the 1830s, was a
missionary school for Indians. In 1864 the territorial legislature
created the post of superintendent of instruction, thus laying the
foundation for a statewide public school system. In 2002 Idaho’s public schools enrolled about 173,000 elementary school pupils (pre-Kindergarten through grade 8) and 75,000 secondary school students. In that year Idaho’s institutions of higher education had a combined enrollment of approximately 72,000 students. Among the most notable of these schools were the University
of Idaho (1889), in Moscow; Boise State University (1932), in Boise;
the College of Idaho (1891), in Caldwell; and Idaho State University
(1901), in Pocatello.
Among Idaho’s cultural institutions are the Boise
Gallery of Art and the Idaho State Historical Museum, both in Boise;
the Idaho Museum of Natural History, in Pocatello; and the University
of Idaho Museum, in Moscow. Of special interest is the Luna House
Museum, in Lewiston, containing Indian relics and artifacts. Symphony
orchestras are supported by Boise and Idaho Falls.
For the most part, Idaho’s historical sites are found
along the trails that pioneers used on their westward migrations:
the Oregon Trail, the Lewis and Clark route, and Mullan Road. Found
in the state are a number of old mining settlements and ghost towns
such as Bonanza, Custer, and Mount Idaho, as well as hundreds of
subterranean caverns. Nez Perce National Historical Park, near Lewiston,
contains Saint Joseph’s Mission and Fort Lapwai. Craters
of the Moon, near Arco, is a vast lava field and Idaho’s
only national monument. Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in the
U.S., and Shoshone Falls are both located on the Snake R.
Idaho’s mountains, lakes and streams, and extensive wilderness
areas make it a haven for outdoor activities such as skiing, hunting,
camping, hiking, boating, and fishing. Principal ski areas include
Silver Horn, near Kellogg; Schweitzer Basin, near Sandpoint; and
the renowned ski resort opened in 1936 by the Union Pacific Railroad,
Sun Valley.
The first radio station in the state, KFAU in Boise, was
licensed in 1922, and the first television station, KIDO in Boise,
began operation in 1953. The Golden Age, Idaho’s
first newspaper, began publication in Lewiston in 1862. In 2004, Idaho had 12 daily newspapers with a total paid circulation of about.210,000. Among the state’s influential newspapers were Boise’s Idaho Statesman, Lewiston’s Morning
Tribune, Idaho Falls’s Post Register,
and Twin Falls’s Times-News.
Idaho is governed under its original constitution, adopted
in 1889 and put into effect upon achieving statehood in 1890, as
amended. An amendment to the constitution may be proposed by the
state legislature or by a constitutional convention. To become effective,
it must be approved by a majority of the persons voting on the issue
in an election.
The chief executive of Idaho is a governor who is popularly
elected to a 4-year term. The constitution does not limit the number
of terms a governor or lieutenant governor may serve. The latter
succeeds the governor should he or she resign, die, or be removed
from office. Other elected executive officers are the secretary
of state, attorney general, treasurer, controller, and superintendent
of public instruction.
The bicameral Idaho legislature comprises a senate and a house
of representatives. The 35 members of the senate and the 70 members
of the house are popularly elected to 2-year terms. Special sessions
of the legislature may be called by the governor.
Idaho’s highest court, the supreme court, is made
up of a chief justice and four associate judges, all of whom serve
6-year terms. The court of appeals includes three judges, also serving 6-year
terms. The major trial courts, the district courts, have a total
of 39 judges, each serving a 4-year term. Supreme court, court of
appeals, and district court judges are initially nominated by the
Idaho Judicial Council and then appointed by the governor; for successive
terms they are elected on nonpartisan ballots.
Idaho is divided into 44 counties, each governed by a board
of county commissioners. Other county officials include the sheriff,
assessor, prosecuting attorney, coroner, treasurer, and clerk of
the district court. Cities have either mayor-council or commission
forms of government. In the early 2000s Idaho had some 200 municipalities, 116 school districts, and 798 special districts.
Idaho elects two senators and two representatives to the U.S.
Congress. The state has four electoral votes in presidential elections.
Idaho’s leading political figure was William E. Borah,
a Republican who represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1907
until his death in 1940. In presidential elections Idaho has usually
voted Republican. Democrats held the governorship of Idaho from the
late 1960s until the election of Phil Batt (1927– ), a Republican, in 1994. In the late 2000s, Republicans held the governorship, both U.S.
Senate seats, and overwhelming majorities in both houses of the state
legislature.
During the 19th century, farming and livestock raising dominated
the economy of Idaho; forestry and mining were other important sources
of income. Since the mid-20th century, industry has
grown rapidly. In the 1970s manufacturing surpassed agriculture
in the value of goods produced. From 1997 to 2004 Idaho’s gross state product, driven especially by manufacturing, real estate, and construction sectors, grew by more than 50%. Tourism has grown in importance. Farming and ranching still provide significant revenues outside the major urban centers, and the mining and forestry industries
remain major employers, especially in the N part of the state.
| IDAHO STATE ECONOMY |
| STATE BUDGET (in thousands) |
| General revenue |
$7,112,364 |
| General expenditure |
$5,762,624 |
| Accumulated debt |
$2,383,841 |
 |
| STATE TAXES PER CAPITA |
$1,898 |
|
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$28,158 |
|
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
13.8% |
|
| EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION |
| Management, business, finance |
79,000 |
| Professional and related |
120,000 |
| Services |
118,000 |
| Sales and related |
76,000 |
| Office and administrative support |
91,000 |
| Farming, fishing, forestry |
19,000 |
| Construction and extraction |
44,000 |
| Installation, maintenance, repair |
29,00 |
| Production |
39,000 |
| Transportation and moving |
41,000 |
|
| GROSS STATE PRODUCT |
$47.2 billion |
|
| NET FARM INCOME |
$1,216 |
| Principal products |
cattle, dairy products, potatoes |
Agriculture accounts for about 10% of the annual
gross state product in Idaho. The state has some 25,000 farms, which average around 190 ha (470 acres) in size. The principal agricultural products include potatoes, beef cattle, hay, wheat, milk, barley, and sugar beets. Livestock and livestock products account for over 50% of annual agricultural marketing income. Cattle, sheep, and pigs are raised primarily
on the S plain. Idaho typically ranks first nationally in potato
production and is usually third as a producer of sugar beets. Most
cropland is located in S Idaho on the fertile Snake R. plain. Here,
because of the semiarid climate, crops are generally grown under
irrigation; more than 1.3 million ha (more than 3.2 million acres)
of Idaho’s farmland are irrigated.
Forestry is an important industry, especially in the N part
of Idaho. Most of the timber harvested is softwood; Douglas fir,
Ponderosa pine, white fir, and white pine are the principal commercial
species.
Mining accounts for about 1% of the annual gross
state product in Idaho. The state usually ranks among U.S. leaders
in yearly silver, antimony, vanadium, and garnet production and
is among the nation’s principal sources of phosphates,
lead, gold, and zinc. Copper, molybdenum, and construction materials
are also produced. Most silver is mined in N Idaho; phosphate production
is predominantly in the SE.
Enterprises engaged in manufacturing account for about 14% of
the annual gross state product in Idaho and in 2003 employed some 58,000 workers. Manufacturing is based largely on processing of the state’s natural resources and agricultural products. Leading industries include food processing and the manufacturing of lumber and wood products,chemicals (notably fertilizers), industrial machinery, electronic
equipment, and paper goods. Most of the wood product industries
are located in the N two-thirds of the state, especially around
Lewiston and Coeur d’Alene. Most other industrial activities
are concentrated in the Boise area or in the larger towns of E Idaho.
Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of Idaho’s
economy. In the early 2000s visitors produced about $2.2 billion a year for the state economy. The world-famous Sun Valley resort is a focal point of winter activity, and the forests and mountain lakes in Idaho’s N panhandle attract many tourists each year. Also popular are the five areas administered by the National Park Service, including a small part of Yellowstone National Park; about 500,000 people visit Idaho’s national parks each year. Idaho also maintains a system of 24 state parks, which attract more than 2.5 million visitors each year.
Southern Idaho’s transportation network was developed
at an early date, since the Snake R. valley provided one of the
easiest overland routes to the Pacific Northwest. Highways cover a length of about 75,500 km (45,000 mi). Few paved roads, however, penetrate the central mountain region. Interstate highways, spanning 985 km (612 mi), are mostly located on the S plains. Railroads entered the region in the 1870s. In the early 2000s Idaho had more than 200 airports, over 100 heliports, and 13 seaplane bases. Lewiston, near Idaho’s border with the state of
Washington, is a port on the Snake-Columbia R. system. Vessels with
a maximum draft of 5 m (17 ft) can travel this waterway between
the Pacific coast and N Idaho.
Electricity generating plants in Idaho have a total capacity
of about 3 million kw and in 2003 produced some 10.4 billion kwh of electricity. More than 80% of all this energy is derived from hydroelectric sources. Development of the state’s ample hydroelectric potential began in the late 19th century. The Snake R. in the S
and the Pend Oreille R. in the N provide most of the major sites
for hydroelectric power installations. Also notable is the Dworshak
Dam on the North Fork of the Clearwater R.
The region occupied by present-day Idaho was originally part
of the Oregon Country, a vast tract claimed during the first quarter
of the 19th century by the U.S., Great Britain, Spain, and Russia.
Indian peoples indigenous to the area included the Shoshoni, Bannock,
Nez Percé, Pend d’Oreille, and Kutenai.
The first white explorers of the region were the Americans Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark in 1805 and 1806. Fur traders for the British North-West
Co. entered Idaho in 1809 and constructed a trading post on Lake
Pend Oreille. In 1810 the American Missouri Fur Co. established
a trading post on a branch of the Snake River; the next year John
Jacob Astor, head of the American Fur Co., sent an expedition to
the Idaho region. The British assumed complete control during the
War of 1812, but in 1818 Great Britain and the U.S. adopted an agreement
providing for joint occupation of the region. Spain and Russia relinquished
their claims to the Oregon Country in 1819 and 1824, respectively.
American trading activity in Idaho was resumed with the construction
(1834) of Fort Hall, near Pocatello.
British and American commercial rivalry in the Oregon Country
was resolved in 1846, when Great Britain and the U.S. concluded
a treaty recognizing American jurisdiction over the entire region
south of the 49th parallel. Two years later Idaho was made part
of the newly organized Oregon Territory; the section north of lat
46° N was attached to Washington Territory in 1853. Mormon settlers established Idaho’s first town at Franklin in 1860.
Large-scale immigration to Idaho began in 1861, following
the discovery of gold on a tributary of the Clearwater River. On
March 3, 1863, the U.S. government constituted the region consisting
of present-day Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana and parts of South Dakota,
North Dakota, and Nebraska as Idaho Territory. With the formation
of Montana Territory (1864) and Wyoming Territory (1868), Idaho
acquired its present boundaries.
The territorial economy expanded steadily during the 1870s
and ’80s. Livestock raising became a major industry, railroads
were constructed, and new, rich mineral deposits were discovered.
Between 1870 and 1880 various Indian tribes, resentful of encroachments
on their ancestral domains, attacked settlements in Idaho Territory.
Federal troops suppressed the uprisings, and the Indians were ultimately
confined to reservations. On July 3, 1890, Idaho became the 43d
state of the Union.
Already a leading silver state, Idaho began to develop a major
commercial lumber industry at this time. Federal irrigation projects
turned large desert tracts into arable land, creating an agricultural
boom during World War I. During World War II Idaho produced large
quantities of food for the armed services. Although agriculture has remained central to Idaho’s economy—the state ranks first in the nation’s
potato production—a post–World War II population
shift from rural to urban areas reflected Idaho’s industrial expansion.
In 1951 a nuclear reactor testing station in Idaho Falls generated
electricity from atomic power for the first time in history. By
the mid-1970s this station had become an important national engineering laboratory
under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Energy. Meanwhile, because of the popularity of mountain regions such as Sun Valley, Idaho experienced a boom in tourist business that
prompted a concentrated effort to develop new vacation sites. Development of port facilities at Lewiston also boosted the state economy.
The 1990s brought rapid growth in population and high-technology industries, as well as a rightward shift in state politics. National attention in 1992 focused on an armed confrontation between federal agents and white separatist Randy Weaver (1948– ) at Ruby Ridge, in N Idaho; a U.S. marshal and Weaver’s wife and 14-year-old son were shot and killed before Weaver finally surrendered, ending the 11-day standoff.
A measure imposing term limits on state legislators and other officeholders was approved by voters in 1994 and reaffirmed in 1998, but rescinded by the legislature in 2002. Dirk Kempthorne (1951– ), a Republican, was elected governor in 1998 and reelected in 2002; he left office in May 2006 to become U.S. secretary of the interior. Another Republican, three-term U.S. Rep. C. L. (Butch) Otter (1942– ), won the gubernatorial election of November 2006.