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full name State of Idaho
POSTAL ABBREVIATION ID inhabitant Idahoan
ADMITTED TO THE UNION July 3, 1890.
Rank 43rd

capital city Boise, the largest city in the state, located on the Boise
River in southwestern Idaho; population 125,738. Originally an army camp, it was founded as a settlement in 1863 and was incorporated as a city the following year, when it also became the territorial capital.

state name and nicknames The name "Idaho" is an artificial Indian word invented by George M. Willing. Also known as the Gem State and the Gem of the Mountains (the putative meaning of "Idaho").

state seal In the center is a shield showing a landscape, with the Snake
River, mountains, a fir tree, and a farmer at the plow. Above the shield is an elk's head and the state motto on a scroll; below it is a sheaf of wheat; to the right is a miner; to the left a woman holding symbols of justice and liberty. Along the bottom are agricultural symbols, including two cornucopias, the state flower, and ripened wheat. The yellow border reads "Great Seal of the State of Idaho."

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The western state of Idaho belongs to the Mountain states. It is bordered on the north by Canada, on the east by Montana and Wyoming, on the south by
Nevada and Utah, and on the west by Oregon, Washington, and the Snake
River. It ranks 42nd in population and 14th in area among the states.

motto Esto Perpetua (It Is Forever)

song "Here We Have Idaho," lyrics by McKinley Helm and Albert J. Tompkins, music by Sallie Hume Douglas.

SYMBOLS
Flower syringa Tree white pine Bird mountain bluebird Gem star garnet Horse
Appaloosa flag A blue field with the state seal in the center and below it a red band bearing the legend "State of Idaho."

As a Rocky Mountain state, Idaho is dominated by mountain terrain, with the
Continental Divide forming Idaho's eastern border. The state contains some of the largest stretches of unspoiled wilderness in the continental U.S., with a wide diversity of flora and game. Idaho also boasts more than 2,000 lakes and ten major rivers. Heavily irrigated farmland lines the Snake
River valley, the state's major drainage; Hell's Canyon, along the western
Snake River, is the deepest gorge—about one mile in depth—in North America. elevations Highest point-. Borah Peak, Cus- ter County, 12,662 feet. Lowest point. Snake River, Nez Perce County, 710 feet. Mean elevation: 5,000 feet major rivers Snake, Salmon, Clearwater

major lakes Pend Oreille, Coeur d'Alene, Priest, Bear, American Falls,
Cascade, and Dworshak

temperatures (1990) The highest recorded temperature was 118°F on July 28,
1934, at Orotino. The lowest was —60°F on January 18, 1943, at Island Park
Dam.

IDAHO IN HISTORY

1805 A U.S. expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark crosses what is now the Idaho panhandle en route to the Pacific coast.
1809 David Thompson of the North West Company establishes a trading post on the eastern shore

of Lake Pend Oreille.
1810 Andrew Henry of the Missouri Fur Company establishes a camp on the fork of the Snake River but abandons it the following year.
1818 The United States and Great Britain agree on joint occupancy of the Pacific Northwest, including what is now Idaho.
1834 Fort Hall and Fort Boise are constructed to aid fur traders; these posts become stops on the Oregon Trail, which by 1845 is a well-traveled road.
1836 Henry Spalding establishes a mission to the Nez Perce Indians at

Lapwai.
1846 June 15. A treaty with Great Britain establishes the Pacific

Northwest below the 49th parallel as U.S. territory.
1848 August 14. Oregon Territory is created, including present-day

Idaho.
1855 A treaty with the Koutenai, Pend Oreille, and Flathead Indians creates reservations for them in what is now Idaho and Montana. A treaty with the Nez Perce establishes for them a reserve in what is now Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
I860 June 15. First permanent settlement in Idaho, at Franklin, by

Mormons from Utah. In 1911 this day is proclaimed Pioneer Day.
1862 The Golden Age is Idaho's first newspaper and is published in

Lewiston.
1863 March 4. Creation of Idaho Territory.
Some Nez Perce accept a smaller reservation replacing the 1855 area, overrun by

gold prospectors. Chinese violence in 1866-1867 that leaves over a hundred dead. 1874 The Utah Northern Railroad reaches Franklin from Ogden, Utah.
1877 Nontreaty Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph, expelled from northeastern Oregon, are pursued

through Idaho by federal troops before surrendering in

Montana
1878 Forty whites and 78 Indians die in an uprising by Paiutes and

Bannocks. Indian warfare in Idaho ends the following year. 1880 Silver is found in the