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Boise, Idaho Idaho Idaho State Capitol
Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, the population of Boise at the 2010 Census was 205,671, the 99th largest in the nation. Its estimated population in 2013 was 214,237. 

The Boise-Nampa metropolitan area, also known as the Treasure Valley, includes five counties with a combined population of 664,422, the most populous metropolitan area in Idaho. It contains the state's three largest cities; Boise, Nampa, and Meridian. Boise is the third most populous metropolitan area in the United States' Pacific Northwest region, behind Seattle and Portland.

History

Etymology

Accounts differ about the origin of the name. One account credits Capt. B.L.E. Bonneville of the U.S. Army as its source. After trekking for weeks through dry and rough terrain, his exploration party reached an overlook with a view of the Boise River Valley. The place where they stood is called Bonneville Point, located on the Oregon Trail east of the city. According to the story, a French-speaking guide, overwhelmed by the sight of the verdant river, yelled "" ("The wood! The wood!")—and the name stuck.

The name may instead derive from earlier mountain men, who named the river that flows through it. In the 1820s, French Canadian fur trappers set trap lines in the vicinity. Set in a high-desert area, the tree-lined valley of the Boise River became a distinct landmark, an oasis dominated by cottonwood trees. They called this "La rivière boisée", which means "the wooded river." 

The area was called Boise long before the establishment of Fort Boise by the federal government. The original Fort Boise was 40 mi west, near Parma, down the Boise River near its confluence with the Snake River at the Oregon border. This private sector defense was erected by the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1830s. It was abandoned in the 1850s, but massacres along the Oregon Trail prompted the U.S. Army to re-establish a fort in the area in 1863 during the U.S. Civil War.

The new location was selected because it was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail with a major road connecting the Boise Basin (Idaho City) and the Owyhee (Silver City) mining areas, both of which were booming. During the mid-1860s, Idaho City was the largest city in the Northwest, and as a staging area, Fort Boise grew rapidly; Boise was incorporated as a city  in 1863. The first capital of the Idaho Territory was Lewiston in north central Idaho, which in 1863 was the largest community, exceeding the populations of Olympia and Seattle, Washington Territory and Portland, Oregon combined. The original territory was larger than Texas. But following the creation of Montana Territory, Boise was made the territorial capital of a much reduced Idaho in a controversial decision which overturned a district court ruling by a one-vote majority in the territorial supreme court along geographic lines in 1866.

Designed by Alfred B. Mullett, the U.S. Assay Office at 210 Main Street was built in 1871 and today is a National Historic Landmark.

Pronunciation

Natives and longtime residents use the pronunciation (BOY-see), as given on the city's website. The pronunciation is sometimes used as a shibboleth, as outsiders (and newcomers) tend to pronounce the city's name as (BOY-zee). 

Geography

Boise is located in southwestern Idaho, about 41 mi east of the Oregon border, and 110 mi north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's elevation is 2704 ft above sea level.

Most of the metropolitan area lies on a broad, flat plain, descending to the west. Mountains rise to the northeast, stretching from the far southeastern tip of the Boise city limits to nearby Eagle. These mountains are known to locals as the Boise foothills and are sometimes described as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. About 34 mi southwest of Boise, and about 26 mi southwest of Nampa, the Owyhee Mountains lie entirely in neighboring Owyhee County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which,  is land and  is water.  The city is drained by the Boise River. The City of Boise is considered part of the Treasure Valley.

Parts of the city

Boise occupies a large area — 64 sqmi according to the United States Census Bureau. Like all major cities, it is composed of several neighborhoods. These include the Bench, the North End, West Boise and Downtown, among others. In January 2014 the Boise Police Department partnered with the folksonomic neighborhood blogging site Nextdoor, the first city in the Northwest and the 137th city in the U.S. to do so.   Since the app, which enables the city's police, fire, and parks departments to post to self-selected, highly localized areas, first became available in October 2011,  101 neighborhoods and sections of neighborhoods have joined. 

Downtown Boise

Downtown Boise is Boise's cultural center and home to many small businesses and a few mid-rises. While downtown Boise lacks a major retail/dining focus like Seattle, Portland, and Spokane, the area has a variety of shops and growing option for dining choices. Centrally, 8th Street contains a pedestrian zone with sidewalk cafes and restaurants. The neighborhood has a number of local restaurants, bars and boutiques and supports a vibrant nightlife. The area contains the Basque Block, which gives visitors a chance to learn about and enjoy Boise's Basque heritage. Downtown Boise's main attractions include the Idaho State Capitol, the classic Egyptian Theatre on the corner of Capitol Boulevard and Main Street, the Boise Art Museum  on Capitol in front of Julia Davis Park, and Zoo Boise located on the grounds of Julia Davis Park. 

Boise's economy was threatened in the late 1990s by commercial development at locations away from the downtown center, such as Boise Towne Square Mall and at shopping centers located near new housing developments. 

Cultural events in Downtown Boise include Alive after Five  and First Thursday. 

Boise State University

To the south of downtown Boise is Boise State University and its surrounding environs. The area is dominated by residential neighborhoods and businesses catering to the student population. The unique blue playing field at the 37,000-seat Albertsons Stadium on the BSU campus, home to the Boise State Broncos football team, is a major city landmark. Other cultural and sports centers in the area include the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts and Taco Bell Arena. Broadway Avenue to the east and south of the BSU campus features many college-themed bars and restaurants.

The North End

The North End, generally defined as the part of Boise north of State Street, contains many of the city's older homes.  It is known for its tree-lined drives such as Harrison Boulevard, and for its quiet neighborhoods near the downtown area. Downtown Boise is visible from Camel's Back Park. On 13th Street, Hyde Park  is home to restaurants and other businesses. The North End also hosts events such as the annual Hyde Park Street Fair. In 2008, the American Planning Association (APA) designated Boise's North End one of 10 Great Neighborhoods. 

Boise Highlands

The Boise Highlands is located just north of The North End. Its location is generally defined as north of Hill Road, East of Bogus Basin Road. Its neighborhood is mostly filled with homes constructed in the 1970s, as well as a golf course/country club known as Crane Creek.

Southwest Boise

Southwest Boise contains sparsely populated neighborhoods built from the 1960s to the early 1980s. Many include acre-sized plots and the occasional farmhouse and pasture. In the 1980s, growth in the area was stunted to prevent urban sprawl. Since this has been lifted, there has been widespread growth of new homes and neighborhoods. The area lies near Interstate 84, theaters, shopping, the airport, golf and the Boise Bench area.

Northwest Boise

Northwest Boise lies against the Boise Foothills to the north, State Street to the south, the city of Eagle to the west, and downtown Boise to the east. It contains a mix of old and new neighborhoods, including Lakeharbor, which features the private Silver Lake, a reclaimed quarry. Northwest Boise has some pockets of older homes with a similar aesthetic to the North End. Downtown is minutes away, as is Veteran's Memorial Park  and easy access to the Boise Greenbelt. Across the river sits the Boise Bench and to the west are the bedroom communities of Eagle, Star, and Middleton.

Warm Springs and East End

Warm Springs is centered on the tree-lined Warm Springs Avenue and contains some of Boise's largest and most expensive homes (many of which were erected by wealthy miners and businessmen around the turn of the 20th century; Victorian styles feature prominently). The area gets its name from the natural hot springs that flow from Boise's fault line and warm many of the homes in the area. The Natotorium public swim center is located here.

East Boise and Harris Ranch

The far-east end of Warm Springs was once known as Barber Town, featuring a hotel with hot springs nestled into the foothills. It now has some new residential developments, with easy access to Highway 21, which leads to the south-central Idaho mountains, the Boise River, the Boise Foothills, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival.

Southeast Boise

Southeast Boise spans from Boise State University to Micron Technology – all areas between Federal Way and the Boise River. The older area just south of the University can be described as a cross between the North End and the Boise bench. The rest of Southeast Boise was developed in the last thirty years with suburban-style homes.
Columbia Village subdivision and the older Oregon Trail Heights were the first major planned communities in Southeast Boise with an elementary and middle school all within walking distance from all homes. The subdivision is located at the intersections of Interstate 84, Idaho 21, and Federal Way (former U.S. Highway), which are all major arteries to get anywhere in Boise. The subdivision, a baseball complex, and swimming pools were developed around the Simplot Sports complex. The fields are built over an old landfill and dump, and the fields and gravel parking lot allow radon gases to escape through the ground.

On August 25, 2008 at about 7:00 pm, a fire started near Amity and Holcomb during a major windstorm. It destroyed 10 houses and damaged 9. One person died in the fire. 

Boise Bench

The Bench, generally bounded by Federal Way to the east, Cole Road to the west and Garden City to the north, sits on an elevation approximately 60 ft higher than downtown Boise to its northeast. Orchard Street is a major north-south thoroughfare in the neighborhood. The Bench is so named because this sudden rise, giving the appearance of a step, or bench. The Bench (or Benches, there are three actual benches in the Boise Valley) was created as an ancient shoreline to the old river channel. The Bench is home to the Boise Union Pacific Depot. Similar to the North End, the Bench also has older residential areas such as the Central Rim, Morris Hill, and Depot Bench neighborhoods. Due south of the Bench is the Boise Airport. 

West Boise

West Boise is home to Boise Towne Square Mall, the largest in the state, as well as numerous restaurants, strip malls, and residential developments ranging from new subdivisions to apartment complexes. The Ada County jail and Hewlett Packard's printing division are also located here. It is relatively the flattest section of Boise, with sweeping views of the Boise Front. West Boise also borders the city of Meridian, Idaho.

Cityscape

Climate

Boise has a semi-arid continental climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), with four distinct seasons. Boise experiences hot and dry summers with highs reaching 100 °F eight days in a typical year and 90 °F on 51 days. Yet because of the aridity, average diurnal temperature variation exceeds 30 F-change in summer. Winters are moderately cold, with a December average of , and lows falling to 0 °F or below on around three nights per year. Snowfall averages 19 in, but typically falls in bouts of 3 in or less.
 Spring and fall are mild. Autumn is brief; spring is gradual. Extremes have ranged from  on January 16, 1888 to 111 °F, as recently as July 19, 1960; temperatures have reached  and 110 °F as recently as December 22, 1990 and June 28, 2015, respectively. Precipitation is usually infrequent and light, especially so during the summer months. It averages approximately 11 inches annually.

Tornadoes are rare in Ada County and the Boise area.  Since 1950, only twelve (12) tornadoes have been documented within the county, and four of those were during the same storm on August 3, 2000, which is also the most recent date a tornado was documented in the area.  None of the tornadoes have been ranked higher than an "F1" on the Fujita scale, and no injuries or fatalities were ever documented. 

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census  of 2010, there were 205,671 people, 85,704 households, and 50,647 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 92,700 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.0% White, 1.5% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.1% of the population.

There were 85,704 households of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44% were married couples living together, 10% had a woman householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a man householder with no wife present, and 41% were non-families. 31% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.

The median age in the city was 35. 23% of residents were under the age of 18; 11% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 11% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49% men and 51% women.

Economy

Boise is the headquarters for several major companies, such as Boise Cascade LLC, Albertsons, J.R. Simplot Company, Idaho Pacific Lumber Company, Idaho Timber, WinCo Foods, Bodybuilding.com, and Clearwater Analytics. Other major industries are headquartered in Boise or have large manufacturing facilities present. The state government is also one of the city's largest employers.

The area's largest private, locally based, publicly traded employer is Micron Technology.  Others include IDACORP, Inc., the parent company of Idaho Power, Idaho Bancorp, Boise, Inc., American Ecology Corp., and PCS Edventures.com Inc.

Technology investment and the high-tech industry have become increasingly important to the city, with businesses including Hewlett Packard, Healthwise, Bodybuilding.com, CradlePoint, Crucial.com, ClickBank, MetaGeek, MobileDataForce, MarkMonitor, Sybase, Balihoo, Intracon NA,  Wire-stone.com and Microsoft. The call center industry is also a major source of employment; there are over 20 call centers in the city employing more than 7,000 people, including  WDSGlobal (a Xerox company), EDS, Teleperformance, DIRECTV, Taos and T-Mobile.

Varney Air Service, founded by Walter Varney, was formed in Boise, though headquartered at Pasco, Washington. The original airmail contract was from Pasco to Elko, Nevada with stops in Boise in both directions. The company is the root of present-day United Airlines, which still serves the city at the newly renovated and upgraded Boise Airport.

Inc.com rated Boise #9 on their list of hottest mid-size cities for entrepreneurs in 2007.

Top employers

According to Boise's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,  the top employers in the city are:

Culture

Boise is a regional hub for jazz, theater, and indie music. The Gene Harris Jazz Festival is hosted in Boise each spring. Several theater groups operate in the city, including the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Boise Little Theatre, Boise Contemporary Theater, and Prairie Dog Productions, among others. The Treefort Music Fest in early March features emerging bands.  The renovated Egyptian Theatre hosts national and regional music acts, comedians, and special film screening .

Idaho's ethnic Basque community is one of the largest in the United States, on the order of nearly 7,000 people in 2000, many of whom live in Boise.   A large Basque festival known as Jaialdi is held once every five years (next in 2020). Downtown Boise features a vibrant section known as the "Basque Block". Boise's mayor, David H. Bieter, is of Basque descent. Boise is also a sister region of the Basque communities.

Boise is home to several museums, including the Boise Art Museum,   Idaho Historical Museum, the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, Idaho Black History Museum, Boise WaterShed and the Discovery Center of Idaho. On the first Thursday of each month, a gallery stroll known as First Thursday is hosted in the city's core business district by the Downtown Boise Association.

Boise also has a thriving performing arts community. The Boise Philharmonic,  now in its 49th season, under the leadership of Music Director and Conductor Robert Franz continues to grow musically, and introduces excellent guest artists and composers year after year. The dance community is represented by the resurgent Ballet Idaho  under artistic director Peter Anastos, and the nationally known and critically acclaimed  Trey McIntyre Project  also make their home in Boise. All of these perform at the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts,  on the Boise State University campus. The Morrison Center also hosts local and national fine arts performances. Rounding out the classical performing arts is Opera Idaho,  under the direction of Mark Junkert, which brings grand Opera to various venues throughout the Treasure Valley.

The Boise City Department of Arts and History was created in 2008 with the goal of promoting the arts, culture, and history of the city among its residents and visitors.  Since 1978 Boise City had a public arts commission like many cities to promote public art and education. The Arts Commission provided expert advice on public art installations to the city and private groups, as well as to develop many educational programs within the city promoting the arts. In 2008 the City and the Arts Commission made the decision to introduce history into the scope of the art commission and rename this new commission the Boise City Department of Arts and History. 

The Boise City Department of Arts and History oversees several ongoing projects and programs related to art, culture, and history, and a number of short-term projects at any given time. Some ongoing projects include: Maintenance of a public art collection valued at over $3 million, Creation and maintenance of city historical and art walks and tours,  Maintenance of a city historical research collection,  Artists in Residence,  and the Fettuccine Forum. 

In 2013, Boise celebrated its sesquicentennial, the commemoration was also known as the Boise 150. The commemoration was led by the City of Boise's Department of Arts & History. The Department of Arts & History focused the commemoration around the themes of Enterprise, Community, and Environment. For the sesquicentennial year, the Department of Arts and History inhabited a storefront at 1008 Main St. This Boise 150 headquarters, also known as the Sesqui-Shop operated as a store, exhibit space, and event venue. Local merchants produced authentic local products as part of the sesquicentennial. Sesquicentennial events included, Thinking 150, Anniversary Weekend, Re-Art Children's Program, Sesqui-Speaks, and Walk 150. Legacy pieces of the sesquicentennial included the Share Your Story Program, a Commemorative book featuring local writers, and a commemorative CD featuring local musicians. As part of the sesquicentennial, the Department of Arts & History also awarded a Legacy Grant to the Shoshone-Bannock Culture Committee, as well as 36 smaller community grants.

According to a 2012 study performed by Americans for the Arts, arts, both public and private, in Boise is a forty-eight million dollar per year industry.  The same study also cited the arts in and around Boise as a supplier of jobs for about 1600 people and producer of roughly $4.4 million in revenue to state and local government.

The Boise Centre on the Grove is an 85000 sqft convention center that hosts a variety of events, including international, national, and regional conventions, conferences, banquets, and consumer shows. It is located in the heart of downtown Boise and borders the Grove Plaza, which hosts numerous outdoor functions throughout the year including the New Year's Eve celebration, the [http://www.idahonewyearscommission.com Idaho Potato Drop] hosted by the Idaho New Year's Commission.

The Morrison-Knudsen Nature Center offers water features and wildlife experiences just east of downtown. It is located adjacent to Municipal Park. It features live fish and wildlife exhibits, viewing areas into the water, bird and butterfly gardens, waterfalls and a free visitor's center.

Boise has diverse and vibrant religious communities. The Jewish community's Ahavath Beth Israel Temple, completed 1896, is the nation's oldest continually used temple west of the Mississippi. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated a temple there in 1984 and the Boise Hare Krishna Temple opened in August 1999. 

Boise (along with Valley and Boise Counties) hosted the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. More than 2,500 athletes from over 85 countries participated. 

In 1972, John Waters set the final scene of his low-budget film Pink Flamingos in Boise. 

Major attractions

A number of recreational opportunities are available in Boise, including extensive hiking and biking in the foothills to the immediate north of downtown. Much of this trail network is part of Hull's Gulch and can be accessed by 8th street. An extensive urban trail system called the Boise River Greenbelt runs along the river and through Pierce Park. The Boise River itself is a common destination for fishing, swimming and rafting.

In Julia Davis Park is Zoo Boise, which has over 200 animals representing over 80 species from around the world. An Africa exhibit, completed in 2008, is the most recent addition.  Boise is also home to the Idaho Aquarium.

The Bogus Basin ski area opened in 1942 and hosts multiple winter activities, primarily alpine skiing and snowboarding, but also cross-country skiing and snow tubing. "Bogus" is 16 mi from the city limits (less than an hour drive from downtown) on a twisty paved road which climbs 3400 vertical feet (1036 m) through sagebrush and forest.

Professional sports teams in Boise include the Boise Hawks of the short-season Class A Northwest League (minor league baseball), the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL (minor league hockey), the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League (minor league basketball), and the Treasure Valley Spartans (semi-pro football) of the (Rocky Mountain Football League). An arenafootball2 franchise, the Boise Burn, began play in 2007 but is now defunct.

On the sports entertainment front, Boise is home to an all-female, DIY, flat track roller derby league, the Treasure Valley Rollergirls, which beginning on Labor Day Weekend 2010 hosted an international, two-day, double elimination tournament, the first Spudtown Knockdown,   featuring eight teams from throughout the American West and Canada.  

The Boise State University campus is home to Albertsons Stadium, the 36,800 seat  football stadium known for its blue Field Turf field; and Taco Bell Arena, a 12,000 seat basketball and entertainment venue which opened in 1982 as the BSU Pavilion. Boise State University is known primarily for the recent successes of its football team.

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl football game (formerly known as the Humanitarian Bowl and the MPC Computers Bowl) is held in late December each year, and pairs a team from the Mountain West Conference with a Mid-American Conference team.

The World Center for Birds of Prey is located just outside city limits, and is a key part of the re-establishment of the peregrine falcon and the subsequent removal from the endangered species list. The center is currently breeding the very rare California condor, among many other rare and endangered species.

The city has been cited by publications like Forbes, Fortune and Sunset for its quality of life.

The cornerstone mall in Boise, Boise Towne Square Mall, is also a major shopping attraction for Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, and surrounding areas. The mall received upgrades and added several new retailers in 1998 and 2006.

The state's largest giant sequoia can be found near St. Luke's Hospital. 

Boise is home to many a great coffee community and many cafes, including both chains and local venues. 

Professional sports

Government

Boise frequently receives national recognition for its quality of life and business climate. Some recent national rankings:
* The Best and Worst Cities for Men 2013: #1 (Men's Health) 
* Best drivers in America: # 2 (Allstate Insurance, 2011) 
* Best Towns 2010: #1 Overall Town in Western U.S. (Outside Magazine)  
* Top Ten Cities to Live In: #10  
* One of the 10 best places to live: (U.S. News & World Report, 2009) 
* Best places for business and careers: # 2 (Forbes Magazine, 2008)

Crime

Overall, Boise is considered to be a safe city. Violent crimes dropped from 775 incidences in 2006 to 586 in 2007, but murders increased from one in 2004 to nine in 2007. In 2007, there were 3,211 crimes per 100,000 residents.  In 2006, Boise was ranked #1 on Farmer's Insurance list of the most secure places to live. Despite population growth, violent crime has remained much the same as of 2013, with 600 incidents of violent crime and three murders in that year. 

Education

The Boise School District includes 31 elementary schools, 8 junior high schools, 5 high schools and 2 specialty schools.  Part of the West Ada School District (now the largest in Idaho) is within the Boise city limits, and the city is therefore home to six public high schools: Boise, Borah, Capital, Timberline, the alternative Frank Church, and the Meridian district's Centennial. Boise's private schools include the Catholic Bishop Kelly, Foothills School of Arts and Sciences, and the International Baccalaureate-accredited Riverstone International School.

Post-secondary educational options in Boise include Boise State University (BSU) and a wide range of technical schools. The University of Idaho (UI) and Idaho State University (ISU) each maintain a satellite campus in Boise. As of 2014, the City has two law school programs. The Concordia University School of Law opened in 2012, and the University of Idaho College of Law now hosts second and third year students at its Boise Campus.  Boise is home to Boise Bible College, an undergraduate degree-granting college that exists to train leaders for churches as well as missionaries for the world.

Boiseko Ikastola  is the only Basque pre-school outside of the Basque Country.

Media

The greater-Boise area is served by two daily newspapers, The Idaho Statesman and the Idaho Press-Tribune; a free alternative newsweekly, Boise Weekly; a weekly business news publication, Idaho Business Review, and a quarterly lifestyle magazine, Boise Magazine. In addition to numerous radio stations, Boise has five major commercial television stations that serve the greater Boise area. There are four major news outlets, KTVB (NBC), KBOI-TV (CBS), KIVI-TV (American Broadcasting Company; sister Fox station KNIN-TV airs additional KIVI newscasts), and Idaho Public Television.

Transportation

The major Interstate serving Boise is I-84, which connects Boise with Portland, Oregon, and Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition, residents in the Boise area are served with Interstate 184 (locally known as "The Connector"), a nearly 5 mi stretch of freeway connecting I-84 with the downtown Boise area. Highway 55 branches outward northeast. There is a network of bike paths, such as the Boise River Greenbelt, throughout the city and surrounding region. Among US cites, Boise has the seventh highest amount of bicycle commuters per capita with 3.9% of commuters riding to work. 

Public transportation includes a series of bus lines operated by ValleyRide. In addition, the Downtown Circulator, a proposed streetcar system, is in its planning stage.  The construction of the underground public transportation hub (UPT Hub) in Boise in the parking lot site near the intersection of W Main Street and N 8th Street is scheduled for completion by mid-2016. 

Commercial air service is provided at the Boise Airport. The terminal was recently renovated to accommodate the growing number of passengers flying in and out of Boise. It is served by Allegiant Air, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. The east end of the airport is home to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Gowen Field Air National Guard Base occupies the south side of the field.

Amtrak passenger train service was previously available in Boise until May 10, 1997, when Amtrak discontinued the service.    Previously, since 1977,  the Pioneer had twice-daily service through Boise as the train made its way between Seattle and Salt Lake City.

Notable people

* Robert Adler, inventor
* William Agee, former business executive 
* Joe Albertson, the founder of the Albertsons chain of grocery stores and
* Kathryn Albertson, wife of Joe Albertson and notable philanthropist; born in Boise. 
* Cecil Andrus, Idaho's only 4-term governor, secretary of the interior
* James Jesus Angleton, former chief of the CIA counter-intelligence staff
* Steve Appleton, businessman and aviation enthusiast 
* Kristin Armstrong, cycling gold medalist 
* Matthew Barney, artist 
* Phyllis Brooks, actress
* Bill Buckner, former Major League Baseball player 
* Maggie Carey, director, writer 
* John P. Cassidy, Los Angeles City Council member, 1962–67, born in Boise
* James Charles Castle, deaf artist  
* Frank Church, U.S. senator, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
* Heather Cox, sportscaster
* Anthony Doerr, novelist
* Stephen Fife, Major League Baseball pitcher
* John M. Haines, mayor and governor 
* Mark Gregory Hambley, ambassador
* Gene Harris, jazz musician 
* Michael Hoffman, film director 
* Ernie Hughes, NFL player 
* Howard W. Hunter, religious leader 
* Morgan James, singer, songwriter, and actress
* Eilen Jewell, singer-songwriter and band leader. 
* Scott Jorgensen, mixed martial artist 
* Dirk Kempthorne, mayor, governor, senator, and secretary of the interior 
* George Kennedy, Oscar-winning actor
* Youth Lagoon, indie band, Trevor Powers
* Mark Levine, jazz musician and educator
* Doug Martsch, musician and songwriter
* Bonnie McCarroll, rodeo performer 
* Brett Nelson, musician and songwriter
* Maureen O'Hara, actress 
* Reginald Owen, character actor
* Thom Pace, musician and songwriter
* Aaron Paul, actor 
* Jeret Peterson, Olympic silver medalist, 2010 Winter Olympics, Freestyle Skiing 
* William Petersen, actor 
* Jake Plummer, football quarterback 
* Bridget Powers, actress 
* Paul Revere, musician 
* Brian Scott, auto racer 
* Johnny Sequoyah, child actress, best known for starring in Believe, born in Boise
* Jeremy Shada, voice actor (Adventure Time)
* Brandi Sherwood, Miss Teen USA 1989 and Miss USA 1997
* Frank Shrontz, businessman 
* J.R. Simplot, businessman
* Robert Smylie, governor 
* Michael J. Squier, United States Army Brigadier General and Deputy Director of the Army National Guard 
* Gary Stevens, Hall of Fame jockey and actor 
* Curtis Stigers, musician and songwriter
* Kristine Sutherland, television actress
* Billy Uhl, five-time gold medal winning motorcycle enduro competitor and founder of the Idaho State Parks Trail Ranger Program advocating for responsible off road vehicle usage 
* Wayne Walker, football linebacker and broadcaster 
* Viola S. Wendt, poet
* Torrie Wilson, model, entertainer and professional wrestler

Photo gallery

File:Zions Bank Building Before Dawn.JPG|Zions Bank Building, completed in early 2014, is the tallest building in Boise
File:Downtown Boise 2013.jpg|Foothills view of Boise, Fall 2013
File:North View from BODO.jpg|Looking north from 8th/Broad St intersection in August 2013
File:Downtown Boise Midnight Skyline 2013.jpg|Downtown Boise skyline at midnight
File:BoiseTrainDepot2.JPG|Old Boise Train Depot
File:Boisenight.jpg|Downtown in 2006
File:Boise_aerial_2007.jpg|Bird's-eye view in 2010
File:Boise City Horizon.jpg|Boise Metropolitan Area, as seen from foothills above city
File:BoiseCityTree.jpg|City Christmas tree in front of the Capitol Building in 2010
File:JUMP Construction.JPG|Jack's Urban Meeting Place

Notes Idaho is a state in the northwestern region of the United States.  Idaho is the 14th largest, the 39th most populous, and the 7th least densely populated of the 50 United States. The estimated population is 1,654,930 and the state has an area of 83569 sqmi.  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.

Idaho is a mountainous state with an area larger than that of all of New England. It borders the US states of Montana to the northeast, Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. To the north, it shares a 45 mi (72 km) international border with the Canadian province of British Columbia, the shortest such land border of any state. The network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River make the city of Lewiston the farthest inland seaport on the Pacific coast of the contiguous United States.

Idaho's nickname is the "Gem State", because nearly every known type of gemstone has been found there.  In addition, Idaho is one of only two places in the world where star garnets can be found in any significant quantities, the other being India.    Idaho is sometimes called the "Potato State" owing to its popular and widely distributed crop.  The state motto is Esto Perpetua (Latin for "Let it be forever" or "Let it endure forever").

Etymology

The exact origin of the name remains a mystery.  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 simply invented the name.   Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory when it was created in February 1861. Thinking they would get a jump on the name, locals named a community in Colorado "Idaho Springs".

However, the name "Idaho" did not fall into obscurity. 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".

The name "Idaho" may be derived from the Plains Apache word "ídaahę́", which means "enemy." The Comanches used this word to refer to the Idaho Territory. 

A 1956 Idaho history textbook says:"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 the same thing in Shoshoni 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. 
According to local knowledge, the name Idaho originated from the Nez Perce language and stands for "the Land of many Waters", a kidney-shaped drainage area in north central Idaho in which a multitude of rivers come together. These rivers include the Snake, the Salmon, the Clearwater, North Fork Clearwater River, the Selway, and more.  The famed steamboat was probably named 'Idaho' because it voyaged along the Columbia river to "the Land of many Waters".

Geography

Idaho borders six US 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 border with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north.  The landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States. For example, at 2.3 million acres (930,000 ha), the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area is the largest contiguous area of protected wilderness in the continental United States. Idaho 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 the Snake River rush through Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge 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 River, the Spokane River, the Boise River, and the Payette River.  The Salmon River empties into the Snake in Hells Canyon and forms the southern boundary of Nez Perce County on its north shore, of which Lewiston is the county seat. The Port of Lewiston, at the confluence of the Clearwater and the Snake Rivers is the farthest inland seaport on the West Coast at 465 river miles from the Pacific at Astoria, Oregon. 

Idaho's highest point is Borah Peak, 12662 ft, in the Lost River Range north of Mackay. Idaho's lowest point, 710 ft, is in Lewiston, where the Clearwater River joins the Snake River and continues into Washington.  The Sawtooth Range is often considered Idaho's most famous mountain range.  Other mountain ranges in Idaho include the Bitterroot Range, the White Cloud Mountains, the Lost River Range, the Clearwater Mountains, and the Salmon River Mountains.

Idaho has two time zones, with the dividing line approximately midway between Canada and Nevada.  Southern Idaho, including the Boise metropolitan area, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Twin Falls, are in the Mountain Time Zone.  A legislative error ( §264) theoretically placed this region in the Central Time Zone, but this was corrected with a 2007 amendment.   Areas north of the Salmon River, including Coeur d'Alene, Moscow, Lewiston, and Sandpoint, are in the Pacific Time Zone, which contains less than a quarter of the state's population and land area.

Climate

Idaho has much variation in its climate. Although the state's western border is located about  from the Pacific Ocean, the maritime influence is still felt in Idaho, especially in the winter when cloud cover, humidity, and precipitation are at their maximum extent. 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 predominantly high elevations.  The maritime influence is least prominent in the eastern 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 semi-arid continental climate.

Climate in Idaho can be hot, although extended periods over 98 °F for the maximum temperature are rare, except for the lowest point in elevation, Lewiston, which correspondingly sees very little snow.  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. This is what led the railroad tycoon Harriman family to develop the famous ski resort, Sun Valley. Idaho's all-time highest temperature of 118 F was recorded at Orofino on July 28, 1934; the all-time lowest temperature of  was recorded at Island Park Dam on January 18, 1943.

Lakes/rivers

* Alturas Lake
* Brush Lake
* Bear River
* Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)
* Boise River
* Clearwater River
* Dawson Lake
* Dierkes Lake
* Hayden Lake
* Henry's Lake
* Hidden Lake
* Kootenai River
* Lake Cascade
* Lake Cleveland
* Lake Coeur d'Alene
* Lake Lowell
* Lake Walcott
* Pend Oreille
* Little Redfish Lake
* Lucky Peak Lake
* Moyie River
* North Fork Clearwater River
* Pac River
* Payette Lake, (McCall)
* Pettit Lake
* Priest Lake
* Perkins Lake
* Portneuf River
* Redfish Lake
* River of No Return
* Sawtooth Lake
* Smith Lake
* Snake River
* Stanley Lake
* Warm Lake
* Williams Lake (Salmon)

History

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. American Indian peoples predominant in the area included the Nez Percé in the north and the Northern and Western Shoshone in the south.

An early presence of French-Canadian trappers is visible in names and toponyms that have survived to this day: Nez Percé, Cœur d'Alène, Boisé, Payette, some preexisting the Lewis and Clark and Astorian expeditions which themselves included significant numbers of French and Métis guides recruited for their familiarity with the terrain.

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. From 1843 to 1849, present-day Idaho was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon. 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.

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. The new territory included present-day Idaho, Montana, and most of Wyoming. 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. The first non-indigenous settlement was Kullyspell House, established on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille for fur trading in 1809 by David Thompson of the North West Company.   In 1812 Donald Mackenzie, working for the Pacific Fur Company at the time, established a post on the lower Clearwater River near present-day Lewiston.  This post, known as "MacKenzie's Post" or "Clearwater", operated until the Pacific Fur Company was bought out by the North West Company in 1813, after which it was abandoned.   The first attempts at organized communities, within the present borders of Idaho, were established in 1860.   The first permanent, substantial incorporated community was Lewiston in 1861.

After some tribulation as a territory, including the chaotic transfer of the territorial capital from Lewiston to Boise,  disenfranchisement of Mormon polygamists upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court 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. The economy of the state, which had been primarily supported by metal mining, shifted towards agriculture, forest products and tourism.

Idaho was one of the hardest hit of the Pacific Northwest states during the Great Depression.  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. 

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. 

The Idaho State Historical Society and numerous local historical societies and museums preserve and promote Idaho's cultural heritage.

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Idaho was 1,654,930 on July 1, 2015, a 5.57% increase since 2010. 

At the 2010 Census,
* 89.1% of the population was White American
* 0.6% Black or African American
* 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
* 1.2% Asian American
* 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
* 2.5% of two or more races.

11.2% of Idaho's population was of Hispanic or Latino (they may be of any race).  As of 2011, 27.2% of Idaho's children under the age of one belonged to racial or ethnic minority groups, meaning that they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white. 

Idaho had an estimated population of 1,654,930 in 2015, which was an increase of 20,466, from the prior year and an increase of 87,348, or 5.57%, since 2010.  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.  There are large numbers of Americans of English and German ancestry in Idaho. 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 made 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.

Nampa, about  west of downtown Boise, became the state's second largest city in the late 1990s, passing Pocatello and Idaho Falls.  Nampa's population was under 29, 000 in 1990 and grew to over 81, 000 by 2010. Located between Nampa and Boise, Meridian also experienced high growth, from under 10 000 residents in 1990 to over 75 000 in 2010 and is now Idaho's third largest city. Growth of 5% or more over the same period has also been observed in Caldwell, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, and Twin Falls. 

From 1990 to 2010, Idaho's population increased by over 560 000 (55%).

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. 

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

Religion

According to a report produced by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the self-identified religious affiliations of Idahoans over the age of 18 as of 2008 are: 

The largest denominations by number of members in 2010 were The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 409 265; the Catholic Church with 123 400; the non-denominational Evangelical Protestant with 62 637; and the Assemblies of God with 22 183. 

Economy

Gross state product for 2015 was $64.9 billion,  and the per capita income based on 2015 GDP and 2015 population estimates was $39,100. 

Idaho is an important agricultural state, producing nearly one-third of the potatoes grown in the United States. All three varieties of wheat, dark northern spring, hard red, and soft white are grown in the state. Nez Perce County is considered a premier soft white growing locale.

Important industries in Idaho are food processing, lumber and wood products, machinery, chemical products, paper products, electronics manufacturing, silver and other mining, and tourism. The world's largest factory for barrel cheese, the raw product for processed cheese is located in Gooding, Idaho. It has a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of barrel cheese and belongs to the Glanbia group.  The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the largest Department of Energy facility in the country, and one of the most contaminated from years of nuclear weapons related processing and haphazard storage of chemical and radioactive waste. It contains every known type of nuclear waste and receives nearly one billion dollars annually from the DOE budget for cleaning up previous contamination, and managing storage of remaining above ground nuclear waste.  INL is an important part of the eastern Idaho economy.  Idaho also is home to three facilities of Anheuser-Busch which provide a large part of the malt for breweries located across the nation.

Locally, 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. Other examples would be ATK Corporation, which operates three ammunition and ammunition components plants in Lewiston. Two are sporting and one is defense contract. The Lewis-Clark valley has an additional independent ammunition components manufacturer and the Chipmunk rifle factory until it was purchased in 2007 by Keystone Sporting Arms and production was moved to Milton, Pennsylvania. Four of the world's six welded aluminum jet boat (for running river rapids) manufacturers are in the Lewiston-Clarkston, WAvalley. Wine grapes were grown between Kendrick and Juliaetta in the Idaho Panhandle by the French Rothschilds until Prohibition.  In keeping with this, while there are no large wineries or breweries in Idaho, there are numerous and growing numbers of award winning boutique wineries and microbreweries in the northern part of the state.

Today, the largest industry in Idaho is the science and technology sector.  It accounts for over 25% of the state's total revenue and over 70% of the state's exports.  Idaho's industrial economy is growing, with high-tech products leading the way. Since the late 1970s, Boise has emerged as a center for semiconductor manufacturing. Boise is the home of Micron Technology, the only U.S. manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips. Micron at one time manufactured desktop computers, but with very limited success. Hewlett-Packard has operated a large plant in Boise since the 1970s, which is devoted primarily to LaserJet printers production.  Clearwater Analytics is another rapidly growing investment accounting and reporting software firm headquartered in Boise, reporting on over $1 trillion in assets.  ON Semiconductor, whose worldwide headquarters in Pocatello, is a widely recognized innovator in modern integrated mixed-signal semiconductor products, mixed-signal foundry services, and structured digital products. Coldwater Creek, a women's clothing retailer, is headquartered in Sandpoint. Sun Microsystems (now a part of Oracle Corporation) has two offices in Boise and a parts depot in Pocatello. Sun brings $4 million in annual salaries and over $300 million of revenue to the state each year.

A number of Fortune 500 companies started in or trace their roots to Idaho, including Safeway in American Falls, Albertsons in Boise, JR Simplot across southern Idaho, and Potlatch Corp. in Lewiston. Zimmerly Air Transport in Lewiston-Clarkston was one of the five companies in the merger centered around Varney Air Lines of Pasco, Washington, which became United Airlines and subsequently Varney Air Group that became Continental Airlines.

The state personal income tax ranges from 1.6% to 7.8% in eight income brackets. Idahoans may apply for state tax credits for taxes paid to other states, as well as for donations to Idaho state educational entities and some nonprofit youth and rehabilitation facilities.

The state sales tax is 6% with a very limited, selective local option up to 6.5%. Sales tax applies to the sale, rental or lease of tangible personal property and some services. Food is taxed, but prescription drugs are not. Hotel, motel, and campground accommodations are taxed at a higher rate (7% to 11%). Some jurisdictions impose local option sales tax.

The sales tax was introduced at 3% in 1965, easily approved by voters, where it remained until 1983.

In 2014, Idaho emerged as the second most small business friendly state, ranking behind Utah, based on a study drawing upon data from over 12,000 small business owners. 

Idaho has a state gambling lottery which contributed $333.5 million in payments to all Idaho public schools and Idaho higher education from 1990 to 2006. 

Energy 

The energy landscape of Idaho is favorable to the development of renewable energy systems. The state is rich in renewable energy resources but has limited fossil fuel resources. The Snake River Plain and smaller river basins provide Idaho with some of the best hydroelectric power resources in the nation and its geologically active mountain areas have significant geothermal power and wind power potential. These realities have shaped much of the state's current energy landscape.

Most of the energy consumed in Idaho is imported from other states. Imports account for more than 80% of total energy consumption, including all of Idaho's natural gas and petroleum supplies and more than half of its electricity.  Of the electricity consumed in Idaho in 2005, 48% came from hydroelectricity, 42% was generated by burning coal and 9% was generated by burning natural gas.  The remainder came from other renewable sources such as wind. 

The state's numerous river basins allow hydroelectric power plants to provide 556,000 MWh, which amounts to about three-fourths of Idaho's electricity generated in the state. Washington State provides most of the natural gas used in Idaho through one of the two major pipeline systems supplying the state. Although the state relies on out-of-state sources for its entire natural gas supply, it uses natural gas-fired plants to generate 127,000 MWh, or about ten percent of its output. Coal-fired generation and the state's small array of wind turbines supplies the remainder of the state's electricity output. The state produces 739,000 MWh but still needs to import half of its electricity from out-of-state to meet demand. 

While Idaho's 515 trillion BTU total energy consumption is low compared with other states and represents just 0.5% of United States consumption, the state also has the nation's 11th smallest population, 1.5 million, so its per capita energy consumption of 352 million Btu is currently just above the national average of 333 million Btu. As the 13th‑largest state in terms of land area (83,570 sq. mi
53,485,000ac), distance creates the additional problem of "line loss".  When the length of an electrical transmission line is doubled, the resistance to an electric current passing through it is also doubled.

In addition, Idaho also has the 6th fastest growing population in the United States with the population expected to increase by 31% from 2008 to 2030.   This projected increase in population will contribute to a 42% increase in demand by 2030, further straining Idaho's finite hydroelectric resources. 

Idaho has an upper-boundary estimate of development potential to generate 44,320 GWh/year from 18,076 MW of wind power, and 7,467,000 GWh/year from solar power using 2,061,000 MW of photovoltaics (PV), including 3,224 MW of rooftop photovoltaics, and 1,267,000 MW of concentrated solar power. 

Transportation

The Idaho Transportation Department 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.

Highways

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. U.S. Route 95 (US-95) links the two ends of the state, but like many other highways in Idaho, it is badly in need of repair and upgrade. In 2007, the Idaho Transportation Department stated that the state's highway infrastructure faces a $200 million per year shortfall in maintenance and upgrades. I-84 is the main highway linking the southeast and southwest portions of the state, along with I-86 and I-15.

Major federal aid highways in Idaho:

Airports

Major airports include the Boise Airport serving the southwest region of Idaho, and the Spokane International Airport (located in Spokane, Washington), which serves northern Idaho. Other airports with scheduled service are the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport serving the Palouse; the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport, serving the Lewis-Clark Valley and north central and west central Idaho; The Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls; the Idaho Falls Regional Airport; and the Pocatello Regional Airport.

Railroads

Idaho is served by three transcontinental railroads. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) connects the Idaho Panhandle with Seattle, Portland, and Spokane to the west, and Minneapolis and Chicago to the east. The BNSF travels through Kootenai, Bonner, and Boundary counties.  The Union Pacific Railroad crosses North Idaho entering from Canada through Boundary and Bonner, and proceeding to Spokane. Canadian Pacific Railway uses Union Pacific Railroad tracks in North Idaho carrying products from Alberta to Spokane and Portland, Oregon. Amtrak's Empire Builder crosses northern Idaho, with its only stop being in Sandpoint. Montana Rail Link also operates between Billings, Montana and Sandpoint, Idaho.

The Union Pacific Railroad also crosses southern Idaho traveling between Portland, Oregon, Green River, Wyoming, and Ogden, Utah and serves Boise, Nampa, Twin Falls, and Pocatello.  There has been a recent call to return Amtrak service to southern Idaho.

Ports

The Port of Lewiston 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, where goods are loaded on ocean-going vessels.

Law and government

State constitution

The constitution of Idaho is roughly modeled on the national constitution with several additions. The constitution defines the form and functions of the state government, and may be amended through plebiscite. Notably, the state constitution presently requires the state government to maintain a balanced budget. As result, Idaho has limited debt (construction bonds, etc.).

Idaho Code

All of Idaho's state laws are contained in the Idaho Code. The code is amended through the Legislature with the approval of the governor. Idaho still operates under its original (1889) state constitution.

State government

The constitution of Idaho provides for three branches of government: the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Idaho has a bicameral legislature, elected from 35 legislative districts, each represented by one senator and two representatives.

Since 1946, statewide elected constitutional officers have been elected to four-year terms. They include: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller (Auditor before 1994), Treasurer, Attorney General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Last contested in 1966, Inspector of Mines was an original elected constitutional office. Afterward it was an appointed position and ultimately done away with entirely in 1974.

Idaho's government has an alcohol monopoly.

Executive branch

The governor of Idaho serves a four-year term, and is elected during what is nationally referred to as midterm elections. As such, the governor is not elected in the same election year as the president of the United States. The current governor is Republican CL "Butch" Otter, who was elected in 2006, and re-elected in 2010 and 2014.

Legislative branch

Idaho's legislature is part-time. However, the session may be extended if necessary, and often is. Because of this, Idaho's legislators are considered "citizen legislators", meaning that their position as a legislator is not their main occupation.

Terms for both the Senate and House of Representatives are two years. Legislative elections occur every even numbered year.

The Idaho Legislature has been continuously controlled by the Republican Party since the late 1950s, although Democratic legislators are routinely elected from Boise, Pocatello, Blaine County and the northern Panhandle.

See also List of Idaho senators and representatives

Judicial branch

The highest court in Idaho is the Idaho Supreme Court.  There is also an intermediate appellate court, the Idaho Court of Appeals, which hears cases assigned to it from the Supreme Court.  The state's District Courts serve seven judicial districts. 

Counties

Idaho is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties.  Since 1919 there are 44 counties in the state, ranging in size from 410 to 8 502 square miles (1 062 to 22 020 square kilometers).

Total Counties: 44. Total 2008 Population Est.: 1 523 816. Total Area: .

Three counties were first designated as such by the Washington Territorial Legislature in 1861;  they were subsequently redesignated as Idaho counties in 1864. The 1861 Nez Percé county has since been broken up into Nez Percé, Lewis, Boundary, Benewah, Latah, Kootenai, and Clearwater counties.

Idaho license plates begin with a county designation based on the first letter of the county's name. Where a letter is at the beginning of more than one name, a number accompanies precedingly in alphabetical order. This reflects an anomalous coincidental situation wherein 10 counties begin with B, seven with C and four with L, which is 21 of the 44 counties.

Politics

After the Civil War, many Midwestern and Southern Democrats moved to the Idaho Territory. As a result, the early territorial legislatures were solidly Democrat-controlled. In contrast, most of the territorial governors were appointed by Republican presidents and were Republicans themselves. This led to sometimes-bitter clashes between the two parties, including a range war with the Democrats backing the sheepherders and the Republicans the cattlemen. That ended with the "Diamondfield" Jack Davis murder trial. In the 1880s, Republicans became more prominent in local politics.

In 1864, Clinton DeWitt Smith removed the territorial seal and the state constitution from a locked safe, and took them to Boise.  This effectively moved the capital from where they were stored (Lewiston, Idaho) to the current capital Boise, Idaho. 

Since statehood, the Republican Party has usually been the dominant party in Idaho, as there was a polar shift in social and political stance between the two parties, when the Democrats became more liberal and the Republicans more conservative. At one time, Idaho had two Democratic parties, one being the mainstream and the other called the Anti-Mormon Democrats, lasting into the early 20th century. In the 1890s and early 1900s, the Populist Party enjoyed prominence while the Democratic Party maintained a brief dominance in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Since World War II, most statewide elected officials have been Republicans. The last time the Democratic Party held a majority in either house of the state legislature was the House of Representatives in 1958 by one seat. However, Democrats did hold the governorship from 1971 to 1995, despite the state's Republican tilt.

Idaho Congressional delegations have also been generally Republican since statehood. Several Idaho Democrats have had electoral success in the House over the years, but the Senate delegation has been a Republican stronghold for decades. Several Idaho Republicans, including current Senator Mike Crapo, have won reelection to the Senate, but only Frank Church has won reelection as a Democrat. Church was the last Idaho Democrat to win a U.S. Senate race, in 1974. Walt Minnick's 2008 win in the First Congressional District was the state's first Democratic Congressional victory in 16 years.

In modern times, Idaho has been a reliably Republican state in presidential politics as well.  It has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964. Even in that election, Lyndon Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater in the state by fewer than two percentage points, compared to a landslide nationally.  In 2004, Republican George W. Bush carried Idaho by a margin of 38 percentage points and with 68.4% of the vote, winning in 43 of 44 counties. Only Blaine County, which contains the Sun Valley ski resort, supported John Kerry, who owns a home in the area. In 2008 Barack Obama's 36.1 percent  showing was the best for a Democratic presidential candidate in Idaho since 1976. However, Republican margins were narrower in 1992 and 1976.

In the 2006 elections, Republicans, led by gubernatorial candidate CL "Butch" Otter, won all the state's constitutional offices and retained both of the state's seats in the United States House of Representatives. However, Democrats picked up several seats in the Idaho Legislature, notably in the Boise area. 

Republicans lost one of the House seats in 2008 to Minnick, but Republican Jim Risch retained Larry Craig's Senate seat for the GOP by a comfortable margin.  Minnick lost his seat in the 2010 election to Republican State Rep. Raul Labrador.

Important cities and towns

; Population > 100,000 (urbanized area)

* Boise – state capital

; Population > 50,000 (urbanized area)

* Idaho Falls – location of the main offices of the Idaho National Laboratory
* Nampa – home of Northwest Nazarene University
* Pocatello – home of Idaho State University
* Meridian – suburb of Boise, fastest growing city in Idaho

; Population > 30,000 (urbanized 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, inland port
* Twin Falls – home of College of Southern Idaho, BASE jumping

; Population > 10,000 (urbanized area)

; Smaller towns and cities

National parks, reserves, monuments and historic sites

*California National Historic Trail
*City of Rocks National Reserve
*Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
*Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
*Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
*Minidoka National Historic Site
*Nez Perce National Historical Park
*Oregon National Historic Trail
*Yellowstone National Park
*Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

National recreation areas

*Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
*Sawtooth National Recreation Area

National wildlife refuges and Wilderness Areas

*Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge
*Camas National Wildlife Refuge
*Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge
*Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness Area
*Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge
*Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge
*Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge

National conservation areas

*Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area

State parks

Education

Colleges and universities

The Idaho State Board of Education oversees three comprehensive universities. The University of Idaho in Moscow was the first university in the state (founded in 1889). It opened its doors in 1892 and is the land-grant institution and primary research university of the state. Idaho State University in Pocatello opened in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, attained four-year status in 1947 and university status in 1963. Boise State University is the most recent school to attain university status in Idaho. The school opened in 1932 as Boise Junior College and became Boise State University in 1974. Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston is the only public, non-university 4-year college in Idaho. It opened as a normal school in 1893.

Idaho has three regional community colleges: North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene; College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls; and College of Western Idaho in Nampa, which opened in 2009.  A public technical college, Eastern Idaho Technical College, operates in Idaho Falls.

Private institutions in Idaho are Boise Bible College, affiliated with congregations of the Christian churches and churches of Christ; Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg, which is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a sister college to Brigham Young University; The College of Idaho in Caldwell, which still maintains a loose affiliation with the Presbyterian Church; Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa; and New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, of reformed Christian theological background. McCall College is a non-affiliated 2-year private college in McCall, which was founded in 2011 and later opened in 2013. 

Sports

Central Idaho is home to one of North America's oldest ski resorts, Sun Valley, where the world's first chairlift was installed in 1936.  Other noted outdoor sites include Hells Canyon, the Salmon River, and its embarkation point of Riggins.

Boise is the host to the largest 5 km run for women, the St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration.

High school sports are overseen by the Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA).

In 2016, Meridian's Michael Slagowski ran 800 meters in 1:48.70. That is one of the 35 fastest 800 meter times ever run by a high school boy in the United States.  Weeks later, he would become only the ninth high school boy to complete a mile in under 4 minutes, running 3:59.53.

Official state emblems

*State amphibian: Idaho Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon aterrimus)  
*State bird: mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) 
*State dance: square dance
*State fish: cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii)
*State flower: syringa (Philadelphus lewisii)
*State fossil: Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens)
*State fruit: huckleberry
*State gem: star garnet
*State horse: Appaloosa
*State motto: Esto perpetua ("Let it be perpetual") 
*State insect: monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
*State raptor: peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)
*State song: "Here We Have Idaho"
*State tree: western white pine (Pinus monticola)
*State vegetable: potato

Idahoans

Idaho in popular culture

The North America localization of the Yo-Kai Watch franchise takes place in a fictionalized version of Springdale, Idaho.

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves starred in the movie My Own Private Idaho, portions of which take place in Idaho.

Judy Garland performed the elaborate song-and-dance routine "Born in a Trunk in the Princess Theater in Pocatello, Idaho" in the 1954 version of the film A Star is Born. The Idaho State Capitol in Boise is the home of the government of the state of Idaho. Although Lewiston, Idaho, briefly served as Idaho's capital from the formation of Idaho Territory in 1863, the territorial Legislature moved the capital to Boise on December 24, 1864. 

Construction of the first portion of the capitol building began in the summer of 1905, 15 years after Idaho gained statehood. Architects were John E. Tourtellotte and Charles Hummel. Tourtellotte was a Connecticut native whose career began in Massachusetts and skyrocketed further when he moved to Boise. Hummel was a German immigrant who partnered with Tourtellotte in 1903. The final cost of the building was just over $2 million; it was completed in 1920. The architects used varied materials to construct the building and their design was inspired by Classical examples. 

Construction of the original building

Tourtellotte and Hummel used four types of marble: red marble from Georgia, gray marble from Alaska, green marble from Vermont, and black marble from Italy. Architectural inspirations included St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, St Paul's Cathedral in London and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The most prominent feature of the capitol is its dome. Surmounting this dome is a bronze eagle, 5 ft tall. The capitol building is 208 ft high, occupies an area of 201720 sqft, and contains over 50000 sqft of artistically carved marble. 

There are 219 pillars in the original building – Doric, Corinthian, or Ionic – and each pillar is made up of marble dust, plaster and scagliola. Scagliola is a mixture of granite, marble dust, gypsum and glue dyed to look like marble. This artificial marble was created by a family of artisans in Italy.

On the first floor of the capitol building, when looking upward to the dome, 13 large stars and 43 smaller stars can be seen. The 13 large stars represent the thirteen original colonies and the 43 smaller stars indicate that Idaho was the forty-third state to enter the union. The floor contains a compass rose. In its center is a sundial that has minerals found in Idaho. The first floor also houses a statue called the Patriot by Kenneth Lonn,  for those who worked in the mining industry.

The second floor may be accessed via three entrances; from the east, the south and the west. The lieutenant governor’s office is located in the west wing, just opposite the governor’s office. On the north side of the second floor rotunda is a sculpture of George Washington astride a horse. And to the rear of the George Washington statue is the attorney general’s suite of offices. The space was home of the Idaho Supreme Court until it moved to the new Supreme Court Building in 1970. The east wing houses the office of the secretary of state offices in whose reception area is the official copy of the Great Seal of the State of Idaho.

The third floor contains the Senate in the west wing and the House of Representatives in the east wing. The two chambers were remodeled in 1968. Also on this floor is the old Idaho Supreme Court room, now used for hearings and committee meetings of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee.  On the fourth floor are balcony entrances to the senate and house galleries. The galleries enable members of the public to watch the Legislature while it is in session. The northeast, northwest and southwest corners of this floor contain many historic paintings as well as three murals by Dana Boussard. 

Restoration of the Capitol

In 1998, Idaho officials drafted a master plan to restore the Capitol. Though it has many impressive features, the "Statehouse" it had begun to fade with age. The interior restoration work would include restoration and refinishing of windows, repairs to marble flooring and decorative plaster, restoration of wood floors, refinishing wood doors and restoring hardware, upgrading electrical, smoke and fire-detection systems, improving exterior lighting, adding an emergency power generator, and installation of an elevator accessible to disabled persons. 

The Legislature initially provided a mere $120,000 for the project. In 2000, The master plan was completed and its total cost estimate put at $64 million. In 2001, the Legislature granted a one-time appropriation of $32 million; bonds were issued to cover the other half of the project. In 2002-03, crews completed Phase II of the project, which involved exterior repairs financed with a supplementary $1.5 million appropriation. In 2005, an increase in the state cigarette tax helped pay for interior restoration expenses totaling $20 million. 

In 2006, the legislature voted to finance two two-story underground legislative office wings at a cost about $130 million. However, in view of the U.S. economic downturn in 2008, Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter proposed single-story underground wings. After legislators agreed to this modification, construction began and continued until 2010, when both interior and exterior renovations were finished.

Scagliola

Plasterers were tasked with restoring scagliola, a composite of selenite, glue and natural pigments, imitating marble and other hard stones. Making scagliola is a laborious 15-step process which has to be restarted if a single mistake is made. During its construction, the Idaho state capitol’s architects used a combination of white marble and matching scagliola to create a "Capitol of Light," so called because the materials would glow in natural light in the rotunda.

Capitol art

The Winged Victory statue is a plaster replica of the original marble statue of Nike of Samothrace. The original statue was found on the island of Samothrace, Greece, in 1863 by a French explorer. The statue has characteristic features of Hellenistic art. The people of France gave the replica the United States as part of a gift after U.S. forces helped liberate France from Nazi occupation at the end of World War II.  After it arrived in February 1949, state officials placed the gift in the Boise capitol.

The sculpture Statue head of Terry Shadduck honors the dedication of Idaho author, historian, civil servant and political activist who died in 2008, at age 92. In 1958, Shadduck was elected secretary of Commerce and Development – the first women to hold that office. The statue is made of bronze and black stone.

The capitol also houses a display of 20 portraits of Idaho territorial and state Governors completed by artist Herbert A. Collins in 1911.

Attractions

Attractions in the restored and expanded building include a gilded equestrian statue of George Washington and information about the historic trees that surrounded the capitol building before the grounds were cleared for underground construction. (Presidents Benjamin Harrison, Teddy Roosevelt and William Taft planted trees on the property; Harrison planted a Water Oak, Roosevelt planted a Sugar Maple in 1903, and Taft planted the Ohio Buckeye in 1911.) The Golden Statue was carved by Charles Osner in 1869 from white pine, the state tree of Idaho. Osner worked by candlelight and took four years to finish the work. 

Details of the Capitol

Underground tunnels connect the Capitol Building to the Supreme Court building and other government buildings on Capitol Mall to the east. Used daily by government employees, these tunnels are not accessible to the public, and could serve as bomb shelters to protect the governor and other public officials.

A large bell directly in front of the Capitol is a scale replica of the Liberty Bell (uncracked). Pedestrians can ring the bell.
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 What is a yeast that capital of a hotel? 

 A classic classic question.