Idaho Travel Guide
State in the Pacific Northwest with the official state nickname of "Gem State", which references Idaho's natural beauty
Idaho Map
Places to See in Idaho
Supercarwaar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
National Monuments, Reserves, and Recreational Areas
City of Rocks National Reserve · Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve · Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Landmarks and Landscapes
Big Southern Butte · Borah Peak · Galena Summit · Lehmi Pass · Menan Buttes · Perrine Memorial Bridge · Stanley Lake · Shoshone Falls
Chloé François from Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Ketchum, ID
City in Idaho known for its world-famous skiing, fishing, hiking, trail riding, tennis, shopping, art galleries, and more
Rickmouser45, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Sun Valley, ID
Resort city and alpine ski area, which consists of Bald Mountain, the main ski mountain adjacent to Ketchum
Idaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. The official state nickname is the "Gem State", which references Idaho's natural beauty.
The landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States. At 2.3 million acres, the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area is the largest contiguous area of protected wilderness in the continental United States. Idaho is a Rocky Mountain state with abundant natural resources and scenic areas. The state has snow-capped mountain ranges, rapids, vast lakes and steep canyons. The waters of the Snake River run through Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in the United States. Shoshone Falls falls down cliffs from a height greater than Niagara Falls.
By far, the most important river in Idaho is the Snake River, a major tributary of the Columbia River. The Snake River flows out from Yellowstone in northwestern Wyoming through the Snake River Plain in southern Idaho before turning north, leaving the state at Lewiston before joining the Columbia in Kennewick.
The vast majority of Idaho's population lives in the Snake River Plain, a valley running from across the entirety of southern Idaho from east to west. The valley contains the major cities of Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, and Pocatello. The plain served as an easy pass through the Rocky Mountains for westward-bound settlers on the Oregon Trail, and many settlers chose to settle the area rather than risking the treacherous route through the Blue Mountains and the Cascade Range to the west.
Idaho's highest point is Borah Peak, 12,662 ft, in the Lost River Range north of Mackay. The Sawtooth Range is often considered Idaho's most famous mountain range. Other mountain ranges in Idaho include the Bitterroot Range, the White Cloud Mountains, the Lost River Range, the Clearwater Mountains, and the Salmon River Mountains.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Idaho", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0