 Idaho
Information
Capital
City: Boise
Economy: Agriculture,
manufacturing, lumber, tourism.
Passport/Visa U.S.:
Citizens of Canada need to show proof of citizenship accompanied
by photo I.D. (a passport is recommended) to enter the U.S. and
to re-enter Canada. Reconfirm travel document requirements with
your carrier prior to departure.
Population: 1,293,953
Time Zone: 7-8 hours
behind Greenwich Mean Time (-7 and -8 GMT). Daylight Saving Time
is observed from the first Sunday of April to the last Sunday of
October
Idaho's Flag:
A silk flag, blue field, five feet six inches fly, and four feet
four inches on pike, bordered with gilt fringe two and one-half
inches in width, with state seal of Idaho twenty-one inches in diameter,
in colors, in the center of a blue field. The words "State
of Idaho" are embroidered in with block letters, two inches
in height on a red band three inches in width by twenty-nine inches
in length, the band being in gold and placed about eight and one-half
inches from the lower border of fringe and parallel with the same.
History
of Idaho: After its acquisition by the U.S. as part
of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the region was explored by Meriwether
Lewis and William Clark in 1805–06. Northwest boundary disputes
with Great Britain were settled by the Oregon Treaty in 1846 and
the first permanent U.S. settlement in Idaho was established by
the Mormons at Franklin in 1860. After gold was discovered on Orofino
Creek in 1860, prospectors swarmed into the territory, but left
little more than a number of ghost towns. In the 1870s, growing
white occupation of Indian lands led to a series of battles between
U.S. forces and the Nez Perc?, Bannock, and Sheepeater tribes. Mining,
lumbering, and irrigation farming have been important for years.
Idaho produces more than one fifth of all the silver mined in the
U.S. It also ranks high among the states in antimony, lead, cobalt,
garnet, phosphate rock, vanadium, zinc, mercury, and gold. Idaho's
most impressive growth began when World War II military needs made
processing agricultural products a big industry, particularly the
dehydrating and freezing of potatoes. The state produces about one
fourth of the nation's potato crop, as well as wheat, apples, corn,
barley, sugar beets, and hops. With the growth of winter sports,
tourism now outranks mining in dollar revenue. Idaho's many streams
and lakes provide fishing, camping, and boating sites. The nation's
largest elk herds draw hunters from all over the world and the famed
Sun Valley resort attracts thousands of visitors to its swimming
and skiing facilities. Other points of interest are the Craters
of the Moon National Monument; Nez Perc? National Historic Park,
which includes many sites visited by Lewis and Clark; and the State
Historical Museum in Boise.
Other Idaho Links:
Idaho Association of Commerce and
Industry
Idaho Department of Education
Idaho Division of Tourism Development |
