About Idaho

The State of Idaho is in the northwest portion of the United States.  It has a population of about 1.4 million and covers a land area of 84,000 square miles.  Its nickname is “The Gem State” because of all of its natural resources.

Idaho borders Washington and Oregon to the west, Nevada and Utah to the South, Montana and Wyoming to the east, and Canada to the North, though the border with Canada is less than 50 miles long.  Hells Canyon, carved by the Sanek River, is actually deeper than Arizona’s famed Grand Canyon.

Evidence uncovered in 1959 reveals that humans may have been present in Idaho 14,500 years ago.  The state was part of Oregon Country, and was claimed by both the United States and Britain until 1846, when the U.S. got undisputed control.  In 1863, Idaho territory was created, and then achieved statehood in 1890.

The state’s economy was originally based on mining and then agriculture, but has recently shifted toward technology, with science and technology contributing a quarter of the state’s total revenue.  Still, Idaho is famous for its potatoes, of which it produces about a third of the United States’ crop.  The state’s GDP in 2004 was $43.6 billion.

State income tax is between 1.6 and 7.8 percent, while the sales tax is 5%.