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.

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)

SYMBOLS

ELEVATIONS Highest point-. Borah Peak, Custer 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.

Among states, Idaho ranks high in the generation of energy from renewable resources -mainly hydropower and woodburning. The Columbia and Snake River system, which passes through the state, is one of the most endangered in the nation, in part due to Idaho's heavy use of irrigation. In fact, Idahoans use more water per capita than the inhabitants of any other state. Among the species threatened by declining river levels is the sockeye salmon, which is nearly extinct in Idaho.

RELIGIONS, ETHNICITIES, AND LANGUAGES

MAJOR MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Boise Gallery of Art Idaho State Historical Museum, Boise

MAJOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS

Boise Opera Boise Philharmonic Association

Idaho has the only state seal designed by a woman-Emma Sarah Edwards. The seal was officially adopted on March 14, 1891.

Democrat Moses Alexander, Idaho governor from 1915 to 1919, was the nation's first full-term Jewish governor.

MAJOR MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Boise Gallery of Art Idaho State Historical Museum, Boise

MAJOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS Boise Opera Boise Philharmonic Association.

The famed Sunshine Mince, a long and largest lode producer of silver in the United States? Is there. In May 1972. A fire in the Sunshine sent lethal carbon monoxide and smoke wafting through 100 miles of workings. The death toll of miners was a staggering 91 people.

Of all commercial activities in the state, Idaho leans most heavily on agriculture for its economic well-being. It is the tenth largest producer of wheat in the nation and the leader in potatoes.

There are more than 25 established ski areas in Idaho, including that dowager of winter resorts, Sun Valley.

Celebrated in song and film, Sun Valley has worn its fame well down through the years.