Idaho ( /ˈaɪdəhoʊ/ (help·info)) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state. Idaho is a mostly mountainous state larger than the whole of New England. It is landlocked, surrounded by the states of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and the Canadian Province of British Columbia. However, the network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River make Lewiston, Idaho the farthest inland seaport on the west coast of the continental United States. To residents of the state and regular visitors, Idaho is regarded as a highly outdoors-oriented community. Central Idaho is home to one of North America's oldest ski resorts, Sun Valley, where the world's first chairlift was installed. Snow sports are important keystones of Idaho's identity, with a ski resort adjacent to nearly every urban area. Whitewater rafting and kayaking are among the state's major pastimes. Hell's Canyon and the Salmon River boast some of North America's finest whitewater, with the nearby town of Riggins, ID serving as the state's informal whitewater capital. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2008 the population for Idaho was estimated to be 1,523,816.[1] The state's postal abbreviation is ID. Idaho's nickname is the Gem State because nearly every known gem has been found there.[3] In addition, Idaho is one of only two places in the world where star garnets can be found (the other is the Himalaya Mountains, in India), and is the only place six pointed star garnets have been found. The state motto is Esto Perpetua (Latin for "Let it be forever"). Idaho borders six states and one Canadian province. The states of Washington and Oregon are to the west, Nevada and Utah are to the south, and Montana and Wyoming are to the east. Idaho also shares a short border (48 miles (77 km)) with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. The landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States. It 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 Snake River rush through Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in the United States. Shoshone Falls plunges down rugged cliffs from a height greater than that of Niagara Falls. The major rivers in Idaho are the Snake River, the Clark Fork/Pend Oreille River, the Clearwater River and the Salmon River. Other significant rivers include the Coeur d'Alene River, the Spokane River, the Boise River and the Payette River. The Port of Lewiston, at the confluence of the Clearwater and the Snake Rivers is the farthest inland seaport on the West Coast.[6] Idaho's highest point is Borah Peak, 12,662 ft (3,859 m), in the Lost River Range north of Mackay. Idaho's lowest point, 710 ft (216 m), is in Lewiston, where the Clearwater River joins the Snake River and continues into Washington. The Sawtooth Range is often considered Idaho's most famous mountain range.[7] Southern Idaho, including the Boise metropolitan area, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Twin Falls are in the Mountain Time Zone. (A legislative oddity (15 U.S.C. ch.6 § 264) theoretically placed this region in the Central Time Zone, but this error was corrected with a 2007 Amendment.)[8] Areas north of the Salmon River, including Coeur d'Alene, Moscow, Lewiston, and Sandpoint are in the Pacific Time Zone and revolve commercially and culturally around Spokane, Washington. Idaho has much variation in its climate. Although the state's western border is located about 350 miles (560 km) from the Pacific Ocean, the maritime influence is still felt in Idaho, especially in the winter when cloud cover, humidity, and precipitation are at their highest points. This influence has a moderating effect in the winter where temperatures are not as low as would otherwise be expected for a northern state with a mostly elevated altitude.[9] The maritime influence is lowest in the southeastern part of the state where the precipitation patterns are often reversed, with wetter summers and drier winters, and seasonal temperature differences more extreme, showing a more continental climate. Climate in Idaho can be hot, although extended periods over 100 °F (38 °C) for the maximum temperature are rare. Hot summer days are tempered by the low relative humidity and cooler evenings during summer months since, for most of the state, the highest diurnal difference in temperature is often in the summer. Winters can be cold, although extended periods of bitter cold weather below zero are unusual. Humans may have been present in the Idaho area as long as 14,500 years ago. Excavations at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls in 1959 revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. Native American tribes predominant in the area included the Nez Perce in the north and the Northern and Western Shoshone in the south. Idaho, as part of the Oregon Country, was claimed by both the United States and Great Britain until the United States gained undisputed jurisdiction in 1846. From 1843 to 1849 present-day Idaho was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon. Between then and the creation of the Idaho Territory in 1863, parts of the present-day state were included in the Oregon, Washington, and Dakota Territories. The new territory included most of present-day Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The first organized communities, within the present borders of Idaho, were established in 1860.[10][11] After some tribulation as a territory, including the chaotic transfer of the territorial capital from Lewiston to Boise, disenfranchisement of Mormon polygamists,[12] and a federal attempt to split the territory between Washington Territory and the state of Nevada, Idaho achieved statehood in 1890. The economy of the state, which had been primarily supported by metal mining, shifted towards agriculture and tourism. In recent years, Idaho has expanded its commercial base as a tourism and agricultural state to include science and technology industries. Science and technology have become the largest single economic center (over 25% of the state's total revenue) within the state and are greater than agriculture, forestry and mining combined.[13] The Idaho State Historical Society preserves and promotes Idaho’s cultural heritage. Idaho was possibly named as the result of a hoax (the so-called "Idahoax") although this is disputed. The exact origin of the name remains a mystery.[14] In the early 1860s, when the United States Congress was considering organizing a new territory in the Rocky Mountains, eccentric lobbyist George M. Willing suggested the name "Idaho," which he claimed was derived from a Shoshone language term meaning "the sun comes from the mountains" or "gem of the mountains." Willing later claimed that he had made up the name himself.[15][16] Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory when it was created in February 1861. However, the name "Idaho" did not go away. The same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County was created in eastern Washington Territory. The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. It is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after Willing's claim was revealed. Regardless, a portion of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863. Despite this lack of evidence for the origin of the name, many textbooks well into the 20th century repeated as fact Willing's account that the name "Idaho" derived from the Shoshone term "ee-da-how". An excerpt from an Idaho History Textbook: Chief Joseph Seltice, of the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Nation, posits another possible origin of the name. In his history of the tribe, Saga of the Coeur d'Alene Indians, he writes: As of 2005, Idaho has an estimated population of 1,429,096, which is an increase of 33,956, or 2.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 135,140, or 10.4%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 58,884 people (that is 111,131 births minus 52,247 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 75,795 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 14,522 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 61,273 people. This made Idaho the sixth fastest-growing state after Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, and Utah. From 2004 to 2005, Idaho grew the third-fastest, surpassed only by Nevada and Arizona. Nampa, the state's second largest city, has experienced particularly strong growth in recent years. According to census estimates Nampa has grown 22.1% to nearly 65,000 residents between 2000 and 2003. As of 2007, the population in Nampa was estimated at 84,000. Growth of 5% or more over the same period has also been observed in Caldwell, Coeur d'Alene, Meridian, Post Falls and Twin Falls.[5] Since 1990, Idaho's population has increased by 386,000 (38%). The Boise Metropolitan Area (officially known as the Boise City-Nampa, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area) is Idaho's largest metropolitan area. Other metropolitan areas in order of size are Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Lewiston. As of 2006, six official micropolitan statistical areas are based in Idaho. Twin Falls is the largest of these. The center of population of Idaho is located in Custer County, in the town of Stanley.[18] The largest reported ancestries in the state are: German (18.9%), English (18.1%), Irish (10%), American (8.4%), Norwegian (3.6%), Swedish (3.5%). According to the 15th annual Idaho Public Policy study ([6], 2004) by the Social Science Research Center at BSU, the ambiguous religious affiliations of Idahoans break down roughly as follows. The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 311,425; (2007: 399,427) the Roman Catholic Church with 130,847; the Assemblies of God with 18,745; and the United Methodist Church with 17,683.[19]