26 Interesting Idaho Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published October 26, 2021

The name "Idaho" is derived from a Native American word that means "the land of many waters."_[2]
Idaho grows an estimated 1/3 of America's potatoes._[3]
The longest gondola ride in the world is located at Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho._[3]
Emma Edwards Green designed Idaho's state seal. It is the only state seal designed by a woman._[2]

Idaho's favorite spud drop

Instead of a New Year's Eve apple drop, Idaho has a potato drop._[2]
Idaho's capitol building is the only state capitol in the United States that is heated using geothermal water._[4]
A person standing on Heaven's Gate Lookout in Idaho can see Washington, Montana, and Oregon._[4]
Idaho is larger than all of New England combined (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.)_[4]
Eruptions at Idaho's Craters of the Moon National Monument occur every 2,000 years. The last eruptions happened 2,000 years ago._[4]
Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls, Idaho, plummets 212 feet (65 meters). Its nickname is the "Niagara of the West."_[3]
The state horse of Idaho is the Appaloosa, and Idaho was the first state to offer a license plate featuring a state horse._[2]
Idaho has 9,322,000 acres of roadless wilderness, more than any other state except Alaska._[3]
Sun Valley was the first ski resort in the world to use chairlifts._[4]
Boise is the capital and largest city in Idaho. The name "Boise" is a French word meaning "wooded."_[3]
Hells Canyon in Idaho is 7,900 feet (2,400 meters) deep, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon._[3]

Hell's Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon by almost 2,000 feet

The Cataldo Mission is the oldest building in Idaho. It was built entirely without nails._[3]
Between 1861 and 1866, it is believed that gold seekers found $20 million in gold dust and nuggets during the Idaho gold rush._[3]
The largest population of Basque people in the United States lives near Boise._[3]
The United States Forest Service owns about 38% of Idaho's land, which is the highest proportion of any U.S. state._[3]
Idaho relocated beavers into the wilderness by dropping them out of airplanes with parachutes in the 1940s._[7]
In 1914, the United States Postal Service banned sending people through the mail after a four-year-old was mailed across the state of Idaho._[6]
After a child was decapitated in a fender-bender in Idaho, the U.S. government revised airbag laws to be more child-friendly._[1]
The largest sand dune in America is in Idaho's Bruneau Dunes State Park._[3]
Because there are over 72 different types of gemstones found in Idaho, its nickname is the "Gem State."_[2]

Officially, Idaho is known as the "Gem State"

Idaho is one of only two places to find garnet gems._[4]
Philo Taylor Farnsworth is one of Idaho's most famous citizens. While in a chemistry class in Rigby, Idaho, he thought of an idea for a vacuum tube that would revolutionize television._[5][7]