Idaho Trivia & Tidbits - Page 18

Looking for Idaho trivia? Try our list Idaho little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Idaho was settled west to east after gold was discovered in 1860 near the Washington border. Within six months, 1,600 claims were staked along Canal Gulch on the Nez Perce Reservation, and within three years the Idaho Territory was created with the tent city of Lewiston as its capital.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

Borah Peak (12,662 feet), the highest point in Idaho near Mackay (pop. 574), is named for a former U.S. senator from Idaho, William Borah.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

Mount Borah, at 12,662 feet, is Idaho’s highest snowcapped mountain. At the base of the mountain, near Mackay (pop. 574), is the Challis earthquake fault line, site of a 1983 quake that shook the area.

first appeared: 6/10/2001

The town of Lava Hot Springs (pop. 420) is the site of a resort today, but in centuries past the natural hot springs were considered healing waters. Geologists believe the water at Lava Hot Springs has consistently been 110 degrees for at least 50 million years.

first appeared: 6/3/2001

Idaho has 3,100 miles of rivers—more than any other state.

first appeared: 6/3/2001

In 1878, Elvina Moulton, a former slave, became a charter member of the Boise Presbyterian Church.

first appeared: 5/27/2001

The Idaho Museum of Natural History, founded in 1934, is located in Pocatello and houses more than 400,000 specimens and artifacts.

first appeared: 5/27/2001

It may look as desolate as a moonscape, but Craters of the Moon National Monument, near Arco (pop. 1,016), is teeming with wildlife. The National Park Service has recorded more than 370 species of plants, 160 types of birds, and 48 kinds of mammals in the area—a 618-square-mile lava field that includes lava flows dating back 2,000-15,000 years.

first appeared: 5/20/2001

Harriman State Park, near Island Park (pop. 159), originally was a recreational area for Union Pacific Railroad owners Averell and Roland Harriman. Averell Harriman created the Sun Valley resort.

first appeared: 5/20/2001

During the gold-mining heyday in the 1800s, Idaho City (pop. 332) was the largest town in the Pacific Northwest. Some hints to the city’s past are visible today on Main Street, where some original buildings are still in use. Idaho City also is home to the state’s oldest newspaper, the Idaho World.

first appeared: 5/13/2001

Just north of St. Anthony (pop. 3,010) is a 10,600-acre sandy playground called St. Anthony Sand Dunes, an area known for its shifting white-quartz sand—perfect for all-terrain vehicle, dune buggy, and motorcycle riding.

first appeared: 5/6/2001

The Great Rift Backcountry Area, 45 miles east of Idaho Falls, is believed to be one of the largest ruptures in the earth’s surface in the United States. Thousands of acres of lava, along with buttes and “kipukas”—islands of vegetation—surround the 65-mile-long chasm that reaches depths of 800 feet.

first appeared: 5/6/2001

The largest lake in Idaho is Lake Pend Oreille (French for “hanging from ear,” pronounced Pond Oray), known for its excellent fishing. It got its name from early French trappers who took note of the ornaments the native people wore in their earlobes.

first appeared: 4/29/2001

The earliest printing press in the Pacific Northwest began its service in 1839, when Henry Spalding published the Bible in Lapwai (pop. 932).

first appeared: 4/22/2001

A company led by Capt. B.L.E. Bonneville recorded the first crossing of the Rocky Mountains in covered wagons upon reaching the Lemhi River in 1832.

first appeared: 4/22/2001

The capitol building in Boise is the only one in the country heated with geothermal water. The hot water is pumped from a source 3,000 feet underground.

first appeared: 4/15/2001

In 1994, crews working to remove built-up silt in Tolo Lake near Grangeville (pop. 3,226) turned up a large bone. Further digging revealed several mammoth fossils in the lakebed.

first appeared: 4/15/2001

An 80-mile stretch of the Snake River is home to many birds of prey because the area’s ledges, cracks, crevices, and pinnacles offer ideal nesting places. The raptors catch the updrafts created by winds blowing against the canyon walls as they hunt in the rangelands beyond the rim.

first appeared: 4/8/2001

Idaho is the only state to have a great seal designed by a woman. Emma Edwards arrived in Idaho in 1890 for what was supposed to be a short visit with relatives, but it turned into a lifelong stay. When the new state’s first legislature offered a $100 prize for the best design submitted for a seal, Edwards was the unanimous winner. The seal officially was adopted March 14, 1891.

first appeared: 4/1/2001

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