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The region was explored by Meriwether
Lewis and William Clark in 1805–1806. It was then a
part of the Oregon country, held jointly by the
United States and Great Britain. Boundary disputes
with Great Britain were settled by the Oregon Treaty
in 1846, and the first permanent U.S. settlement in
Idaho was established by the Mormons at Franklin in
1860. After gold was
discovered at Orofino Creek in 1860, prospectors
swarmed into the territory, but they left little
more than a number of ghost towns.
In the 1870s, growing white
occupation of Indian lands led to a series of
battles between U.S. forces and the Nez Percé,
Bannock, and Sheepeater tribes.
Mining and lumbering have been
important for years. Idaho ranks high among the
states in silver, antimony, lead, cobalt, garnet,
phosphate rock, vanadium, zinc, and mercury.
Agriculture is a major industry:
The state produces about one fourth of the nation's
potato crop, as well as wheat, apples, corn, barley,
sugar beets, and hops.
The 1990s saw a remarkable growth
in the high technology industries, concentrated in
the metropolitan Boise area.
With the growth of winter sports,
tourism now outranks other industries in revenue.
Idaho's many streams and lakes provide fishing,
camping, and boating sites. The nation's largest elk
herds draw hunters from all over the world, and the
famed Sun Valley resort attracts thousands of
visitors to its swimming, golfing, and skiing
facilities.
Points of interest are the Craters
of the Moon National Monument; Nez Percé National
Historic Park, which includes many sites visited by
Lewis and Clark; and the State Historical Museum in
Boise. Other attractions are the Snake River Birds
of Prey National Conservation Area south of Boise,
Hells Canyon on the Idaho-Oregon border, and the
Sawtooth National Recreation Area in south-central
Idaho. |
