43 Fun Facts About Idaho

Depending on who you ask, people say that Idaho is shaped like a boot or a gun, with its skinny northern tip (the Idaho Panhandle).

Idaho has a land area of 83,557 mi² (216,443 km²), making it the 14th largest state in the nation, putting it between Utah and Kansas in size. In terms of size, Idaho is twice as large as Guatemala or three times as large as Ireland.

With a population of 1.9(2020 Census) million, Idaho is the 13th least populous (between Nebraska and West Virginia) and 7th least densely populated state in the country. For the last decade, it has been one of the fastest growing states.

Boise is the most populous city and as the state capital of Idaho. The Boise Metropolitan Area, which includes the state’s 2nd and 3rd largest cities (Nampa and Meridian), has a population of 800,000, making it the 75th largest city in the US. 

Native American tribes traditionally inhabiting the area include the Shoshone-Bannock, Nez Perce, Coeur d’Alene, Shoshone-Paiute and Kootenai. 

Boise has one of the largest Basque communities (a people from Basque Country in Spain and Southwest France) in the country.

The motto of Idaho is Esto Perpetua, which is Latin for “let it be perpetual” or “it is forever”.

People from Idaho are called Idahoans or Idahoers. 

“The Gem State” is another one of Idaho’s nicknames- as nearly every known type of gemstone has been found there, with over 70 of them being actively mined.

The official state gem is the Star Garnet, which can only be found in two places in the world: Idaho and India. The gems got their name because their stone causes a reflection that gives them the appearance of a 4- or 6-pointed star.

Another state nickname is “The Potato State”. One-third of the nation’s potatoes are grown there, more than any other state, adding up to approximately 27 billion potatoes each year.

The state bird of Idaho is the mountain bluebird, which can be spotted on many of the famous hiking trails in the state.

The appaloosa horse is the state animal of Idaho.

The state tree is the Western White Pine.

The Syringa is the state flower.

Idaho’s flag features the state seal on a blue background. The seal has a woman and a miner, and several of the state’s natural resources, including the Shoshone River. The state seal of Idaho is the only one in the country to be designed by a woman, Emma Edwards Green.

The Idaho State Capitol Building is the only one in the US to be heated by geothermal energy, which comes from underground hot springs.

Around 1% of Yellowstone National Park is located in Idaho. Another 3% is in Montana and 96% is in Wyoming. There are no other national parks in Idaho, but there are 27 state parks. The Idaho part of Yellowstone has been called the “Zone of Death”. Due to a loophole in the constitution, a person could avoid been convicted of murder there.

Hells Canyon, formed by the Snake River on the border between Idaho and Oregon, is North America’s deepest canyon, at 7993 ft (2436 m), deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

The state is home to several volcanoes, lava fields, and other volcanic features, including Cerro Grande, Craters of the Moon, North and South Robbers, Hell’s Half Acre, Kings Bowl, Shoshone Lava Fields, and Wapi Lava Field.

The youngest volcano and the only one that’s still lying dormant is the Crater of the Moon, which means it could erupt at any point.

Wallace, a town in Idaho, was declared the “Center of the Universe” by the mayor of Wallace. A manhole cover stating this declaration was created in 2004.

Idaho’s Shoshone Falls has been called the “Niagara Falls of the West”. It is 45 ft taller than the actual Niagara Falls in New York State and Ontario.

Idaho’s highest point is located in the eastern Custer County, at the Lost River Range. Borah Peak has an elevation of 12,662 ft (3859 m), while the lowest point is where the Snake River joins the Clearwater River, near Lewiston. This point has an elevation of 710 ft (216 m).

118°F (47.8°C) is the state’s all-time highest temperature, recorded in Orofino in 1934. -60°F (-51.1°C) was the lowest, recorded in Island Park in 1943.

Besides potatoes, Idaho is also the country’s top lentil producer, making 90% of the country’s lentils, and sometimes called the “Lentil Capital of the World. The majority of the country’s trout is also supplied by Idaho.

Idaho is home to over a hundred ghost towns, the most popular ones being Burke and Silver City.

The 2004 comedy classic Napoleon Dynamite was filmed in Preston, Idaho. Other movies that were filmed in Idaho include Dante’s Peak, Breakfast of Champions, Town & Country, Magic Valley, and Dark Horse.

Ernest Hemingway wrote part of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls in Sun Valley, Idaho. He was hoping that the mountain life and open air would help inspire him; apparently it did! He wrote other parts in Havana, Cuba and Key West, Florida.

Harmon Killebrew of Payette, Idaho was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played for the Minnesota Twins.

Model, WWE wrestler, and winner of Miss Galaxy 1999 Torrie Wilson was born in Boise, Idaho.

 J. R. Simplot became one of richest people in the US after his Idaho-based company invented ways to dry potatoes and other vegetables and sell them to the US Army.

There’s a whole museum dedicated to potatoes in Blackfoot, Idaho.

The Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-1) in the desert of Idaho was the world’s first nuclear power plant. A sign in nearby Arco marks the first time a city was powered by atomic energy. There is also an Atomic City in the area, current population: 41.

Some interesting foods associated with Idaho include finger steaks, Idaho ice cream potatoes, and Idahoan, a brand of mashed potatoes.

Legend has it that a monster inhabits Bear Lake, Idaho, called the Bear Lake Monster.

According to one bizarre Idaho law, only dogs can live in dog kennels.

Don’t even dare riding a merry-go-round on a Sunday; it’s technically against the law in Idaho.

Idaho limits public displays of affection to under 18 minutes.

From 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, multiple volcanic eruptions on the Columbia Plateau in the southern region of Idaho explain why the area is so flat today.

Tools dating to 14,500 years ago were recently found at Wilson Butte Cave, some of the oldest evidence of human settlement in the country.

Early French fur trappers in the area left their mark with many place names, like Cœur d’Alène, Boisé, Payette, and the tribe Nez Percé, which means “pierced nose”.

In 1805, Lewis and Clarke passed through the state as they explored the newly acquired Louisiana Territory.