Idaho |
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| Entered the Union: July 3, 1890 (43) | Capital: Boise |
| State Motto: Esto perpetua (It is forever) | State Nickname: Gem State |
| Origin of Name: An invented name of unknown meaning | |
| State Bird: Mountain Bluebird | State Fish: Cutthroat Trout |
| State Tree: White Pine | State Vegetable: Potato |
| State Flower : Syringa | State Fruit: Huckleberry |
| State Horse : Appaloosa | State Raptor: Peregrine Falcon |
| State Song :“Here We Have Idaho” | State Insect: Monarch Butterfly |
| National Forests: 13 • State Parks: 30 | |
| Famous for: Sun Valley Ski Resort, Craters of the Moon National Monument, Nation's largest Elk herds, Potatoes | |
| Famous Idahoans: Joe Albertson (grocery chain founder), Ezra Taft Benson (secty of agriculture), Gutzon Borglum (Mt. Rushmore sculptor), Ernest Hemingway (author), Chief Joseph (Nez Perce), Harmon Killebrew (baseball), Sacagawea (Shoshone guide), Henry Spalding (missionary), Picabo Street (skier) | |
| Animals and Birds: Click on photos of the animals and birds on this page to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make. | |
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| Idaho was acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. In 1805 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the Oregon Country, which included parts of Idaho. In 1809, the British opened the first trading post in Idaho. In 1846, the United States signed an agreement with Great Britain for part of the Oregon Country. This land included all of Idaho. | ||||||||||||||||
| In 1860, farmers began to irrigate the land and plant potatoes. Mormons founded Idaho's first permanent settlement, Franklin. That same year miners found gold, and mining towns such as Boise and Idaho City were established. | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho is the leading producer of potatoes in the nation, growing approximately 14 billion pounds each year. | ||||||||||||||||
| Seven Devils’ Peaks has Heaven’s Gate Lookout where you can see into four states. | ||||||||||||||||
| Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in the United States, has a maximum depth of about 7900 ft. | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho has 80 mountain ranges, and at 5,000 feet above sea level, is the sixth highest state in the nation. Forests cover 41% of the state. There are 16,000 miles of rivers and streams. | ||||||||||||||||
| The town of Arco became the first community in the world electrified by nuclear power, in 1955. | ||||||||||||||||
| Anderson Dam is known for its blue-ribbon fly-fishing. | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho's Nez Perce Indians first bred the Appaloosa horse primarily for use as a war animal. | ||||||||||||||||
| The deepest river gorge in the North American Continent is Idaho's Hells Canyon - 7,900 feet deep. Yes, it's deeper than the Grand Canyon. | ||||||||||||||||
| Five of history's pioneer trails, including the Oregon Trail and the California Trail, cross Southern Idaho. Wagon ruts are still visible all along the rugged terrain. | ||||||||||||||||
| The world's first alpine skiing chairlift was (and still is) located in Sun Valley. Built by Union Pacific Railroad engineers, it was designed after a banana-boat loading device. The 1936 fee: 25 cents per ride. | ||||||||||||||||
| Sun Valley is recognized as the home of America's first destination ski resort. | ||||||||||||||||
| The world's first nuclear power plant was built at what is now the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), near Arco, Idaho in 1951. | ||||||||||||||||
| Roughly 70 percent of all the commercial trout sold in the United States is produced in the Hagerman Valley near Twin Falls. | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho produces 72 types of precious and semi-precious stones, some of which can be found nowhere else in the world. | ||||||||||||||||
| The Silver Valley in northern Idaho has produced more than $6 billion in precious metals since 1884, making the area one of the top 10 mining districts in the world. | ||||||||||||||||
| One of the largest diamonds ever found in the United States, nearly 20 carats, was discovered near McCall, Idaho. | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho is well sprinkled with public and private hot springs. | ||||||||||||||||
| The Cataldo Mission of the Sacred Heart is the oldest building in the state, established in the 1840s by Jesuit Priests. | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho's Champion Western Red Cedar Tree, the largest tree in the state, (in Elk River) is estimated to be over 3000 years old. It is more than 18 feet in diameter and stands 177 feet tall. | ||||||||||||||||
| Butch Cassidy (George Leroy Parker) robbed the bank in Montpelier, Idaho, on August 13, 1896. He got away with $7,165, allegedly to hire a lawyer for his partner Matt Warner, who was awaiting trial for murder in Ogden, Utah. | ||||||||||||||||
| Shoshone Falls is among the most spectacular of natural beauties along the Snake River. At 212 feet, the falls are higher than Niagara Falls. | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho's Ethnic Roots: 18.9% German, 18.1% English, 10% Irish, 8.4% American, 3.6% Norwegian, 3.5% Swedish. | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion in Idaho: 61.2% Christian (46.2% Protestant, 15% Catholic), 20% LDS, 17.8% No Religion, 1% Other Religions | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho's highest point is Mt. Borah (12,662ft). The lowest Point is Lewiston (710 ft) | ||||||||||||||||
| Idaho is the 14th largest state. | ||||||||||||||||
At a Glance
Idaho Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | July 3, 1890 (43) |
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| Capital | Boise |
| Nickname | Gem State |
| State Bird | Mountain Bluebird |
| State Flower | Syringa |
| State Tree | White Pine |
New for 2026
More Idaho Facts & Photos
The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness covers 2.3 million acres of central Idaho, the largest contiguous federally managed wilderness in the lower 48. Congress protected it in 1980 and renamed it for Senator Frank Church in 1984.
Idaho's state fossil is the Hagerman horse, the oldest known member of the modern horse genus Equus. About 200 skeletons of the zebra-like animal have been unearthed at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.
Bruneau Dunes State Park holds the tallest single-structured sand dune in North America, about 470 feet high. The park's observatory houses the largest public telescopes in Idaho.
Lake Pend Oreille in the Panhandle is about 1,150 feet deep, the fifth-deepest lake in the nation. Its deep, quiet water is why the U.S. Navy tests scale-model submarines at an acoustic research station near Bayview.
On September 8, 1974, Evel Knievel tried to rocket over the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls in his steam-powered Skycycle X-2. A parachute opened at launch, and he drifted to the canyon floor with minor injuries.
Boise has one of the largest Basque communities in the United States. Every five years the downtown Basque Block hosts Jaialdi, a Basque festival that draws tens of thousands of visitors.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
Grover Cleveland
“I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid.”
President
William T. Sali
"No amount of reform will help unless we remember and adhere to the principles that started our country and made it great. Those principles - human dignity, justice and liberty - are rooted in Judeo-Christian teaching. To disregard that teaching is to undermine the very foundations of our liberty, which we only do to our great peril."
Idaho - U.S. Congressman
John F. Kennedy
“Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”
President
Thomas Jefferson
“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
President
Patrick Henry
“The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.”
Patriot
John Adams
“The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations.”
President
Last updated: July 2026