![\"Idaho](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Idaho-in-the-United-States.png\" "\\"\\"")
It borders the state of Montana<\/a> to the east and northeast, Wyoming<\/a> to the east, Nevada<\/a> and Utah<\/a> to the south, and Washington<\/a> and Oregon<\/a> to the west. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canadian border with the province of British Columbia<\/a>. The state’s capital and largest city is Boise<\/a>.<\/p>\n Idaho prior to European settlement was inhabited by Native American peoples, some of whom still live in the area.\u00a0 In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country<\/a>, an area disputed between the U.S. and the United Kingdom<\/a>.\u00a0 It officially became U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846<\/a>, but a separate Idaho Territory<\/a> was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in Oregon Territory<\/a> and Washington Territory<\/a>.<\/p>\n Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.<\/p>\n Forming part of the Pacific Northwest<\/a>, Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions.\u00a0 In the state’s north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle<\/a> is closely linked with Eastern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone<\/a> \u2013 the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone<\/a>.\u00a0 The state’s south includes the Snake River Plain<\/a> (which has most of the population and agricultural land), while the south-east incorporates part of the Great Basin<\/a>.\u00a0 Idaho is quite mountainous, and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains<\/a>.\u00a0 The United States Forest Service<\/a> holds about 38% of Idaho’s land, the most of any state.<\/p>\n Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism.\u00a0 A number of science and technology firms are either headquartered in Idaho or have factories there, and the state also contains the Idaho National Laboratory<\/a>, which is the country’s largest Department of Energy<\/a> facility.\u00a0 Idaho’s agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield.<\/p>\n The name’s origin remains a mystery.\u00a0 In the early 1860s, when the United States Congress<\/a> was considering organizing a new territory in the Rocky Mountains, eccentric lobbyist George M. Willing<\/a> suggested the name “Idaho”, which he claimed was derived from a Shoshone<\/a> language term meaning “the sun comes from the mountains” or “gem of the mountains”.\u00a0 Willing later claimed he had invented the name.\u00a0 Congress decided to name the area Colorado Territory<\/a> when it was created in February 1861.\u00a0 Thinking they would get a jump on the name, locals named a community in Colorado “Idaho Springs”.<\/p>\n However, the name “Idaho” did not fall into obscurity.\u00a0 The same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County<\/a> was created in eastern Washington Territory.\u00a0 The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River<\/a> in 1860.\u00a0 It is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after Willing’s claim was revealed.\u00a0 Regardless, part of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863.<\/p>\n An alternative etymology attributes the name to the Plains Apache<\/a> word “\u00eddaah\u0119\u0301” (enemy) that was used in reference to the Comanche<\/a>.<\/p>\n The landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States.\u00a0 For example, at 2.3 million acres, the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area<\/a> is the largest contiguous area of protected wilderness in the continental United States.\u00a0 Idaho is a Rocky Mountain state with abundant natural resources and scenic areas.\u00a0 The state has snow-capped mountain ranges, rapids, vast lakes and steep canyons.\u00a0 The waters of the Snake River<\/a> rush through Hells Canyon<\/a>, the deepest gorge in the United States.\u00a0 Shoshone Falls<\/a> plunges down rugged cliffs from a height greater than Niagara Falls<\/a>.<\/p>\n The major rivers in Idaho are the Snake River, the Clark Fork\/Pend Oreille River<\/a>, the Clearwater River<\/a>, and the Salmon River<\/a>.\u00a0 Other significant rivers include the Coeur d’Alene River<\/a>, the Spokane River<\/a>, the Boise River<\/a>, and the Payette River<\/a>.\u00a0 The Salmon River empties into the Snake in Hells Canyon and forms the southern boundary of Nez Perce County<\/a> on its north shore, of which Lewiston<\/a> is the county seat.<\/p>\n Idaho’s highest point is Borah Peak<\/a>, 12,662 feet, in the Lost River Range<\/a> north of Mackay<\/a>.\u00a0 Idaho’s lowest point, 710 feet, is in Lewiston, where the Clearwater River joins the Snake River and continues into Washington.\u00a0 The Sawtooth Range<\/a> is often considered Idaho’s most famous mountain range.\u00a0 Other mountain ranges in Idaho include the Bitterroot Range<\/a>, the White Cloud Mountains<\/a>, the Lost River Range<\/a>, the Clearwater Mountains<\/a>, and the Salmon River Mountains<\/a>.<\/p>\n Idaho has two time zones, with the dividing line approximately midway between Canada and Nevada. Southern Idaho, including the Boise metropolitan area, Idaho Falls<\/a>, Pocatello<\/a>, and Twin Falls<\/a>, are in the Mountain Time Zone. \u00a0A legislative error (15 U.S.C. ch. 6 \u00a7264) theoretically placed this region in the Central Time Zone, but this was corrected with a 2007 amendment.\u00a0 Areas north of the Salmon River, including Coeur d’Alene<\/a>, Moscow<\/a>, Lewiston, and Sandpoint<\/a>, are in the Pacific Time Zone, which contains less than a quarter of the state’s population and land area.<\/p>\n Humans may have been present in the Idaho area as long as 14,500 years ago. Excavations at Wilson Butte Cave<\/a> near Twin Falls in 1959 revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America.\u00a0 American Indian peoples predominant in the area included the Nez Perc\u00e9<\/a> in the north and the Northern and Western Shoshone in the south.<\/p>\n An early presence of French-Canadian trappers is visible in names and toponyms: Nez Perc\u00e9, C\u0153ur d’Al\u00e8ne, Bois\u00e9, Payette<\/a>, some preexisting the Lewis and Clark<\/a> and Astorian expeditions<\/a> which themselves included significant numbers of French and M\u00e9tis<\/a> guides recruited for their familiarity with the terrain.<\/p>\n Idaho, as part of the Oregon Country, was claimed by both the United States and Great Britain until the United States gained undisputed jurisdiction in 1846.\u00a0 From 1843 to 1849, present-day Idaho was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon.\u00a0 When Oregon became a state, what is now Idaho was in what remained of the original Oregon Territory not part of the new state, and designated as the Washington Territory.<\/p>\n Between then and the creation of the Idaho Territory on March 4, 1863, at Lewiston, parts of the present-day state were included in the Oregon, Washington, and Dakota Territories<\/a>.\u00a0 The new territory included present-day Idaho, Montana, and most of Wyoming.<\/p>\n The Lewis and Clark expedition crossed Idaho in 1805 on the way to the Pacific and in 1806 on the return, largely following the Clearwater River both directions.\u00a0 The first non-indigenous settlement was Kullyspell House<\/a>, established on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille<\/a> for fur trading in 1809 by David Thompson<\/a> of the\u00a0North Wes<\/a>t Company<\/a>.\u00a0 In 1812 Donald Mackenzie<\/a>, working for the Pacific Fur Company<\/a> at the time, established a post on the lower Clearwater River near present-day Lewiston.\u00a0 This post, known as “MacKenzie’s Post<\/a>” or “Clearwater”, operated until the Pacific Fur Company was bought out by the North West Company in 1813, after which it was abandoned.\u00a0 The first attempts at organized communities, within the present borders of Idaho, were established in 1860.\u00a0 The first permanent, substantial incorporated community was Lewiston in 1861.<\/p>\n After some tribulation as a territory, including the chaotic transfer of the territorial capital from Lewiston to Boise, disenfranchisement of Mormon polygamists<\/a> upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> in 1877, and a federal attempt to split the territory between Washington Territory which gained statehood in 1889, a year before Idaho, and the state of Nevada which had been a state since 1864, Idaho achieved statehood in 1890.<\/p>\n Idaho was one of the hardest hit of the Pacific Northwest states during the Great Depression<\/a>.\u00a0 Prices plummeted for Idaho’s major crops: in 1932 a bushel of potatoes brought only $.10 compared to $1.51 in 1919, while Idaho farmers saw their annual income of $686 in 1929 drop to $250 by 1932.<\/p>\n In recent years, Idaho has expanded its commercial base as a tourism and agricultural state to include science and technology industries.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n Idaho is an important agricultural state, producing nearly one-third of the potatoes grown in the United States.\u00a0 All three varieties of wheat, dark northern spring, hard red, and soft white are grown in the state.\u00a0 Nez Perce County is considered a premier soft white growing locale.<\/p>\n Important industries in Idaho are food processing, lumber and wood products, machinery, chemical products, paper products, electronics manufacturing, silver and other mining, and tourism.\u00a0 The world’s largest factory for barrel cheese, the raw product for processed cheese is in Gooding, Idaho<\/a>.\u00a0 It has a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of barrel cheese and belongs to the Glanbia group<\/a>.\u00a0 The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the largest Department of Energy facility in the country by area.\u00a0 INL is an important part of the eastern Idaho economy.\u00a0 Idaho also is home to three facilities of Anheuser-Busch<\/a> which provide a large part of the malt for breweries across the nation.<\/p>\n A variety of industries are important. Outdoor recreation is a common example ranging from numerous snowmobile and downhill and cross-country ski areas in winter to the evolution of Lewiston as a retirement community based on mild winters, dry, year-round climate and one of the lowest median wind velocities anywhere, combined with the rivers for a wide variety of activities.\u00a0 Other examples would be ATK Corporation<\/a>, which operates three ammunition and ammunition components plants in Lewiston.\u00a0 Two are sporting and one is defense contract.\u00a0 The Lewis-Clark valley<\/a> has an additional independent ammunition components manufacturer.\u00a0 Four of the world’s six welded aluminum jet boat manufacturers are in the Lewiston-Clarkston.<\/p>\n Today, Idaho’s largest industry is the science and technology sector.\u00a0 It accounts for over 25% of the state’s revenue and over 70% of the state’s exports.\u00a0 Idaho’s industrial economy is growing, with high-tech products leading the way.\u00a0 Since the late 1970s, Boise has emerged as a center for semiconductor manufacturing.\u00a0 Boise is the home of Micron Technology, the only U.S. manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips<\/a>.\u00a0 Hewlett-Packard<\/a> has operated a large plant in Boise since the 1970s, which is devoted primarily to LaserJet<\/a> printers production.\u00a0 Boise-based Clearwater Analytics<\/a> is another rapidly growing investment accounting and reporting software firm, reporting on over $1 trillion in assets.\u00a0 ON Semiconductor<\/a>, whose worldwide headquarters in Pocatello<\/a>, is a widely recognized innovator in modern integrated mixed-signal semiconductor products, mixed-signal foundry services, and structured digital products.\u00a0 Coldwater Creek<\/a>, a women’s clothing retailer, is headquartered in Sandpoint<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sun Microsystems<\/a>, now a part of Oracle Corporation<\/a>, has two offices in Boise and a parts depot in Pocatello.\u00a0 Sun brings $4 million in annual salaries and over $300 million of revenue to the state each year.<\/p>\n A number of Fortune 500 companies started in or trace their roots to Idaho, including Safeway<\/a> in American Falls<\/a>, Albertsons<\/a> in Boise, JR Simplot<\/a> across southern Idaho, and Potlatch Corp<\/a>. in Lewiston.\u00a0 Zimmerly Air Transport in Lewiston-Clarkston was one of the five companies in the merger centered around Varney Air Lines<\/a> of Pasco, Washington<\/a>, which became United Airlines<\/a> and subsequently Varney Air Group that became Continental Airlines<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Idaho Transportation Department<\/a> is the government agency responsible for Idaho’s transportation infrastructure, including operations and maintenance as well as planning for future needs. The agency is also responsible for overseeing the disbursement of federal, state, and grant funding for the transportation programs of the state.<\/p>\n Idaho is among the few states in the nation without a major freeway linking its two largest metropolitan areas, Boise in the south and Coeur d’Alene in the north.\u00a0 US-95<\/a> links the two ends of the state.<\/p>\n Interstates in Idaho include:<\/p>\n Major airports include the Boise International Airport<\/a> that serves the southwest region of Idaho and the Spokane International Airport<\/a> (in Spokane, Washington<\/a>) that serves northern Idaho.<\/p>\n Other airports with scheduled service are the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport<\/a> serving the Palouse<\/a>; the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport<\/a>, serving the Lewis-Clark Valley and north central and west central Idaho; The Magic Valley Regional Airport<\/a> in Twin Falls; the Idaho Falls Regional Airport<\/a>; and the Pocatello Regional Airport<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amtrak’s Empire Builder<\/a> crosses northern Idaho, with its only stop being in Sandpoint.\u00a0 Montana Rail Link<\/a> also operates between Billings, Montana<\/a> and Sandpoint, Idaho<\/p>\n The Port of Lewiston<\/a> is the farthest inland Pacific port on the west coast. A series of dams and locks on the Snake River and Columbia River facilitate barge travel from Lewiston to Portland<\/a>, where goods are loaded on ocean-going vessels.<\/p>\n The flag of the state of Idaho consists of the state seal on a field of blue.\u00a0 The words \u201cState of Idaho\u201d appear in gold letters on a red and gold band below the seal.<\/p>\n The seal depicts a miner and a woman representing equality, liberty and justice.\u00a0 The symbols on the seal represent some of Idaho\u2019s natural resources: mines, forests, farmland, and wildlife.<\/p>\n The current seal contains the text “Great Seal of the State of Idaho” in the outer ring, with the star that signifies a new light in the galaxy of states. The inner ring contains a banner with the Latin motto, Esto perpetua (“Let it be perpetual” or “It is forever”).<\/p>\n A woman, signifying justice, and a man, dressed as a miner, support a shield.\u00a0 The miner reminds us of the chief industry of the State at the time of statehood.<\/p>\n Inside, the shield bears images symbolic of the State.\u00a0 The pine tree in the foreground refers to Idaho’s immense timber interests.\u00a0 The husbandman plowing on the left side of the shield, together with the sheaf of grain beneath the shield, are emblematic of Idaho’s agricultural resources, while the two cornucopias, or horns of plenty, refer to the horticultural.\u00a0 Idaho has a game law, which protects the elk and moose, and an elk’s head rises above the shield.\u00a0 The state flower, the wild Syringa or Mock Orange<\/a>, grows at the woman’s feet, while the ripened wheat grows as high as her shoulder.\u00a0 The river depicted in the shield is the Snake or Shoshone River.<\/p>\n Idaho’s nickname is “The Gem State” for the abundance of natural resources and scenic areas that include snow-capped mountain ranges, rapids, vast lakes and steep canyons.<\/p>\n The mountains of Idaho contain veins of gold<\/a>, silver<\/a>, lead<\/a>, zinc<\/a>, cobalt<\/a>, copper<\/a>, and many other rare minerals.\u00a0 Among these rare minerals are gems<\/a> – star garnets<\/a>, jasper<\/a>, opal<\/a>, jade<\/a>, topaz<\/a>, zircon<\/a>, and tourmaline<\/a>.<\/p>\n Up Next:<\/p>\n We will move onward to the 44th state, the Equality State, Wyoming, in our next post, viewable in days time.\u00a0 Cheers and thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The flag of the state of Idaho consists of the state seal on a field of blue. The words \u201cState of Idaho\u201d appear in gold letters on a red and gold band below the seal.![\"Boise](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Boise-in-Autumn-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Washington](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Washington-Territory.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Idaho](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Idaho-Time-Zones-300x207.gif\" "\\"\\"")
Origin of the Name:<\/h2>\n
![\"Idaho](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Idaho-County-Map-221x300.gif\" "\\"\\"")
Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"Shoshone](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Shoshone-Falls-300x223.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Topographic](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Topographic-Map-of-Idaho-183x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
History:<\/h2>\n
![\"Wilson](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Wilson-Butte-Cave-300x141.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Idaho](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Idaho-Territory-300x207.png\" "\\"\\"")
Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"Wheat](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Wheat-Harvest-300x195.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Idaho](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Idaho-National-Laboratory-300x199.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Sun](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Sun-Microsystems-Server-300x224.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Transportation:<\/h2>\n
Roads:<\/h3>\n
![\"Transportation](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Transportation-Map-of-Idaho-300x235.png\" "\\"\\"")
\n
Airports:<\/h3>\n
![\"Boise](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Boise-International-Airport-300x159.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Railroads:<\/h3>\n
Ports:<\/h3>\n
![\"Port](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Port-of-Lewiston-300x98.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
The Flag of Idaho:<\/h2>\n
![\"Idaho](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Idaho-Flag.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Idaho](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Idaho-State-Quarter-300x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Seal](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/Seal-of-Idaho-296x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
State Nickname:<\/h2>\n
\nThe seal depicts a miner and a woman representing equality, liberty and justice. The symbols on the seal represent some of Idaho\u2019s natural resources: mines, forests, farmland, and wildlife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5,6,7,41,43,40,42],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}