The 43rd state admitted to the United States, perhaps best known as the source for an easy crude joke.note
Idaho is a state in the Mountain West region of the United States, easily identified by its distinctive "pointed" shape. To the west, it borders Washington and Oregon; to the south, Nevada and Utah; and to the east, Montana and Wyoming. It also shares a short border with British Columbia in Canada to the north. The etymology of the state's name is uncertain, but it's most likely completely made up. Attempts have been made to link it with an Apache word idaahe meaning "enemy territory" (in reference to the Comanche) — slightly undercut by the fact that neither nation ever lived anywhere near the area. Its capital and largest city is Boise (which is pronounced "boy see," not "boy zee", and definitely not "boys"), and three of the next four largest are the Boise suburbs/satellite cities of Meridian (2), Nampa (3), and Caldwell (5). Other significant cities include Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Coeur d'Alene (pronounced "core-de-lane"), and Twin Falls.
The area now known as Idaho has traditionally formed part of the homelands of the Nez Perce, Coeur d'Alene, and Shoshone nations. It was one of the last areas in the continental United States to be explored by Europeans or European Americans, which only happened between 1811 and 1812. The first ethnically European inhabitants were fur traders; both the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company competed for control of the fur trade along the rivers. Later, Americans started entering the area, the first being Mormons migrating north from Utah Territory. Settlement increased as many migrants heading for Oregon decided to stop along the way; the Oregon Trail cut right through southern Idaho. Idaho Territory was established in 1863, and it was admitted to the Union in 1890.
Today, Idaho's population is around 1.8 million, making it the 13th-least populated and 7th-least densely populated state. However, it's growing fast; it's averaged around 20% growth each census since 1990, and between 2010 and 2020 was the second-fastest growing state after Utah. It can be broken down broadly into five regions:
- Central Idaho: Straddling the other regions in the state is a mountainous, sparsely-populated five county area that contain sites like Sun Valley, the Sawtooth Mountains, Mount Borah - the highest summit in the state - and Craters of the Moon. The largest city in the region is Hailey. Other notable towns include Ketchum, famous for being the final home of Ernest Hemingway, and Arco, the first ever city to be powered by nuclear power (and the first lethal nuclear reactor accident).
- East Idaho: This region, consisting of thirteen counties, borders Utah and Wyoming. Due to its proximity to Utah, this region has a substantial Mormon influence, with the state containing the third highest Mormon population after Utah and California. The potatoes the state is famed for are mostly grown in this region, especially in communities adjacent to the state's biggest city outside of the Boise metro, Idaho Falls. It also hosts the Idaho National Laboratory, one of the nations top nuclear research facilities. Other cities include Blackfoot, Pocatello (home to Idaho State University), Rexburg (home of BYU-Idaho), and Rigby (famous as the home of Philo Farnsworth, credited as the inventor of television).
- Magic Valley: This southern region is around the path of the Snake River, and includes the Snake River Canyon - famously the site of Evel Knievel's attempt to make a motorcycle jump - as well as Shoshone Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the United States behind Niagara and Yosemite. Cities include Burley, its twin town of Heyburn, Jerome, and Twin Falls.
- The Panhandle: Consists of the ten northernmost counties. While the rest of Idaho observes Mountain Time, almost all of this region has commercial and media ties to Spokane, Washington and observes Pacific Time.note Most of the population lives around US Highway 95 and within half an hour from the Washington state border. Landscapes to the west are influenced by Eastern Washington, with the Columbia Basin, Palouse Hills, and an assortment of forests, mountains, and lakes to the north. The area also gets more forested, mountainous, and sparsely populated further east. It also has the highest proportion of Native Americans in the state, with three of the state's five reservationsnote . Cities include Coeur d'Alene, its suburb/satellite city of Post Falls, Lewiston (the original territorial capital of Idaho), Moscow (home to the University of Idaho), and Sandpoint.
- Southwestern Idaho: Around half the state population lives in this ten-county region, especially in the counties making up the Boise metropolitan area. The south of the region — especially along the Snake — is more arid while there are mountains further north. Cities that are within the Boise metro area include Caldwell, Eagle, Emmett, Meridian and Nampa, while other cities found in the region include Mountain Home (with a nearby Air Force base), McCall, Payette, and Weiser (pronounced like Weezer). Arguably the region's best-known landmark, however, is a blue football field.
Unlike the other Western states, there isn't a national park entirely within state boundaries, although it contains a small piece of Yellowstone and East Idaho also has easy access to Grand Teton. There are also plenty of state parks throughout the state, as well as some national monuments and historic parks, like Craters of the Moon, the Sawtooth Mountains, the City of Rocks, and some Nez Perce heritage sites dotting the American northwest. Bogus Basin, Sun Valley and Brundage Mountain to the south and Schweitzer Mountain and the Silver Valley to the north are famous for their ski resorts. Within the US, it's also well known as a source of potatoes. Other major industries include mining, chemical manufacturing, and lumber. The federal government also has a strong presence in the state, including the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory.
In politics, Idaho is generally considered one of the safest Republican states. Republicans have a lock on the governorship, state legislature, and Congressional delegation, and have had this since 2011.note This seems unlikely to change without major demographic shifts; the state has seen an influx of Californians over the last 10-15 years, much to the locals' annoyance, but since these are generally the most conservative Californians leaving because of the Golden State's sapphire blue hue, they've just served to further entrench GOP control in Idaho. However, Boise, like most American cities, is much more pro-Democratic party and generally elects Democratic mayors. The few other pockets of Democratic support include Blaine County (home to the Sun Valley ski resort), Latah County (which is home to the University of Idaho), and Teton County (gateway to Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, and neighboring Wyoming's Democrat hub in Laramie).
The state's long term red tint has had a major effect on its laws and culture, making it one of the most socially conservative areas in the country. It has instilled some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the nation in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and has sought to overturn many transgender rights, such as outlawing puberty blockers and sexual reassignment surgery on minors and banning teachers from using pronouns with students not on their birth certificate. Idaho is also (in)famous for having some of the harshest weed laws in the modern USA, with both recreational and medical use being completely banned and possessing even small amounts is considered a misdemeanor and three ounces being a felony. This is notable because Idaho is surrounded by many rather weed-friendly states, which makes it not an uncommon sight to see dispensaries in these states near the border cram-packed with Idaho license plates. This, among other reasons, has resulted in some calls for a "Greater Idaho
" via the state annexing some or all of Oregon's eastern counties, though for various legal and political reasons this is unlikely to bear any actual fruit.
Works set or shot in Idaho:
- Dante's Peak - The titular resort town was set somewhere in the American Northwest, but filmed in the North Idaho town of Wallace.
- The short lived The Grinder was set in Boise
- A Minecraft Movie - The portal to the Minecraft world is in the fictional town of Chuglass, somewhere in the southeast. The children characters move to the state at the start of the film, just like director Jared Hess (below) did in his youth.
- My Own Private Idaho
- Napoleon Dynamite - Shot at and took place in the town of Preston in the southeast.
- Pale Rider - set in California but mostly shot in the Boulder Mountains and Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
- The River Wild
- Toys (1992) - Set in Moscow
- Wayward Pines
- The Whale - Set in Idaho, and generally understood to take place in Moscow.
Famous Idahoans:
- Ronee Blakley (Caldwell)
- Built to Spill (Boise)
- Lillian Disney, the wife of Walt Disney (Spalding, a Nez Perce Mission town just to the east of Lewiston)
- Bill Fagerbakke (born in California, raised in Rupert)
- Bryan Fuller (Lewiston)
- Ernest Hemingway (moved to Sun Valley later in his life)
- Margaux Hemingway (born in Oregon, moved to Sun Valley)
- Mariel Hemingway (born in California, moved to Sun Valley)
- Jared Hess (born in Arizona, went to high school in Idaho, set many of his films in Idaho)
- Carole King (from New York, moved to Sun Valley)
- Patrick McManus (often wrote about his childhood in Blight, Idaho, a No Communities Were Harmed version of his hometown of Sandpoint)
- Maureen O'Hara (lived in Boise in her final years)
- Genevieve Padalecki (born in California, later moved to Sun Valley)
- Sarah Palin (born in Sandpoint)
- Aaron Paul (Emmett)
- Ezra Pound (born in Hailey)
- Paul Revere and the Raiders (formed in Caldwell, then initially based in Boise)
- William Petersen (born in Illinois, moved to Boise)
- E. E. "Doc" Smith (moved to the Panhandle as a teen, University of Idaho graduate)
- Sydney Sweeney (born in Washington, raised in the Panhandle)
- Lana Turner (born in Wallace)
- Torrie Wilson (born and raised in Boise, moved to California)