Idaho

Idaho is a landlocked <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">state</a> in the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Northwest/EjJhETXc">Pacific Northwest</a> and <a href="/facts/Mountain_states/gpUhI8m7">Mountain West</a> subregions of the <a href="/facts/Western_United_States/uY9UGAus">Western United States</a>. It borders <a href="/facts/Montana/SHSnTNuG">Montana</a> and <a href="/facts/Wyoming/kuKmWryL">Wyoming</a> to the east, <a href="/facts/Nevada/HNWhCrQv">Nevada</a> and <a href="/facts/Utah/te7zUyBX">Utah</a> to the south, and <a href="/facts/Washington_(state)/7tCrTFnN">Washington</a> and <a href="/facts/Oregon/4Uq446Ko">Oregon</a> to the west; the state shares a small portion of the <a href="/facts/Canada%25E2%2580%2593United_States_border/Q7TTKItn">Canada–United States border</a> to the north with the Canadian province of <a href="/facts/British_Columbia/Ty3e3g1Q">British Columbia</a>. Idaho's <a href="/facts/State_capital_(United_States)/RMAd1LFl">state capital</a> and largest city is <a href="/facts/Boise%2c_Idaho/27UTaYKm">Boise</a>. With an area of 83,569 square miles (216,440 km2), Idaho is the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_area/q3nFXQlt">14th-largest</a> state by land area. The state has a population of approximately two million people; it ranks as the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population/ytDJqMaH">13th-least populous</a> and the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states_by_population_density/KyIUGAlc">seventh-least densely populated</a> of the <a href="/facts/List_of_US_states/mWmHJNWv">50 U.S. states</a>.
For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho had been inhabited by <a href="/facts/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States/lr8Qmd6N">natives</a>. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the <a href="/facts/Oregon_Country/WloDqcDy">Oregon Country</a>, an area which was disputed between the U.S. and the <a href="/facts/British_Empire/hrsz0j7A">British Empire</a>. Idaho officially became <a href="/facts/Territories_of_the_United_States/NYfp1J30">a U.S. territory</a> with the signing of the <a href="/facts/Oregon_Treaty/k15wUh0d">Oregon Treaty of 1846</a>, but a separate <a href="/facts/Idaho_Territory/LFt1CDXQ">Idaho Territory</a> was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in <a href="/facts/Oregon_Territory/ao5lN9RE">Oregon Territory</a> and <a href="/facts/Washington_Territory/9ByNRjyv">Washington Territory</a>. The state was eventually <a href="/facts/Admission_to_the_Union/puyGUkAG">admitted to the Union</a> on July 3, 1890, becoming the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states_by_date_of_admission_to_the_Union/RCcIFsJI">43rd state</a>.
Forming part of the Pacific Northwest (and the associated <a href="/facts/Cascadia_(bioregion)/BnXWxU1X">Cascadia bioregion</a>), Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. The state's north, the relatively isolated <a href="/facts/Idaho_Panhandle/Kan77XUm">Idaho Panhandle</a>, is closely linked with <a href="/facts/Eastern_Washington/X19L3M3L">Eastern Washington</a>, with which it shares the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Time_Zone/v04MPIjz">Pacific Time Zone</a>—the rest of the state uses the <a href="/facts/Mountain_Time_Zone/vA0CFQKG">Mountain Time Zone</a>. The state's south includes the <a href="/facts/Snake_River_Plain/LngYQ1aa">Snake River Plain</a> (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the <a href="/facts/Great_Basin/w135lKBN">Great Basin</a>. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the <a href="/facts/Rocky_Mountains/rDc3cU0E">Rocky Mountains</a>. The <a href="/facts/United_States_Forest_Service/NRzYYHhc">United States Forest Service</a> holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state.
Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, science and technology, and tourism. Idaho has been a predominantly Republican state since statehood, with the <a href="/facts/Republican_Party_(United_States)/XXM1EVPr">Republican Party</a> dominating in both state and national elections; <a href="/facts/Abortion/ro0RjIBT">abortion</a> is severely restricted and the state retains the <a href="/facts/Death_penalty/4pbmeUIb">death penalty</a>, including methods like the <a href="/facts/Firing_squad/toYkANJp">firing squad</a>. The state contains the <a href="/facts/Idaho_National_Laboratory/HGyEyBxn">Idaho National Laboratory</a>. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for <a href="/facts/Idaho_potato/F8jRVExs">its potato crop</a>, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. Its <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._state_nicknames/lkt7tGEK">official state nickname</a> is the "Gem State".

Idaho open-in-new

Idaho