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IDAHO , a western See also:state of the See also:United States of See also:America, situated between 42° and 49° N. See also:lat. and 111° and 117° W. See also:long . It is bounded N. by See also:British See also:Columbia and See also:Montana, E. by Montana and See also:Wyoming, S. by See also:Utah and See also:Nevada, and W. by See also:Oregon and See also:Washington . Its See also:total See also:area is 83,888 sq. m., of which 83,354 sq. m. are See also:land See also:surface, and of this 41,851.55 sq. m. were in See also:July 1908 unappropriated and unreserved public lands of the United States, and 31,775.7 sq. m. were See also:forest reserves, of which 15,153.5 sq. m. were reserved between the 1st of July 1906 and the 1st of July 1907 . See also:Physical Features.—Idaho's See also:elevation above See also:sea-level varies from 738 ft . (at See also:Lewiston, Nez Perce See also:county) to 12,078 ft . (Hyndman See also:Peak, on the boundary between See also:Custer and See also:Blaine counties), and its mean elevation is about 4500 ft . The S.E. corner of the See also:wedge-shaped surface of the state is a See also:part of the See also:Great See also:Basin region of the United States . The See also:remainder of the state is divided by a See also:line See also:running S.E. and N.W., the smaller See also:section, to the N. and E., belonging to the Rocky See also:Mountain region, and the larger, S. and W. of this imaginary line, being a part of the Columbia See also:Plateau region . The See also:topography of the Great Basin region in Idaho is similar to that of the same region in other states (see NEVADA); in Idaho it forms a very small part of the state; its mountains are practically a part of the Wasatch Range of Utah; and the southward drainage of the region (into Great See also:Salt See also:Lake, by See also:Bear See also:river) also separates it from the other parts of the state . The Rocky Mountain region of Idaho is bounded by most of the state's irregular E. boundary—the See also:Bitter See also:Root, the Cceur d'Alene and the See also:Cabinet ranges being parts of the Rocky Mountain See also:System . The Rocky Mountain region reaches across the N. part of the state (the Panhandle), and well into the See also:middle of the state farther S., where the region is widest and where the See also:Salmon River range is the See also:principal one . The region is made up in See also:general of high ranges deeply glaciated, preserving some remnants of See also:ancient glaciers, and having See also:fine " Alpine " scenery, with many See also:sharp peaks and ridges, U-shaped valleys, cirques, lakes and waterfalls . In the third physiographic region, the Columbia plateau, are the Saw Tooth, See also:Boise, Owyhee and other rugged ranges, especially on the S. and W. See also:borders of the region . The most prominent features of this part of the state are the arid Snake river plains and three mountain-like elevations—Big, Middle and See also:East Buttes—that rise from their midst . The plains extend from near the S.E. corner of the state in a curved course to the W. and N.W. for about 350 M. over a See also:belt 5o to 75 M. wide, and See also:cover about 30,000 sq. m . Where they See also:cross the W. border at Lewiston is the lowest elevation in the state, 738 ft. above the sea . Instead of being one See also:plain formed by erosion, this region is rather a See also:series of plains built up with sheets of See also:lava, several thousand feet deep, varying considerably in elevation and in smoothness of surface according to the nature of the lava, aad being greater in area than any other lava beds in See also:North America except those of the Columbia river, which are of similar formation and, with the Snake river plains, See also:form the Columbia plateau . Many volcanic cones See also:mark the surface, but by far the most prominent among them are Big See also:Butte, which rises precipitously 2350 ft. above the plain (7659 ft. above the sea) in the E. part of Blaine county, and East Butte, 700 ft. above the plain, in the N.W. part of See also:Bingham county . Middle Butte (400 ft. above the plain, also in Bingham county) is an upraised See also:block of stratified See also:basalt . The Snake river (which receives all the drainage of Idaho except small amounts taken by the See also:Spokane, the Pend Oreille and the Kootenai in the N., all emptying directly into the Columbia, and by some See also:minor streams of the S.E. that empty into Great Salt Lake, Utah) rises in Yellowstone See also:National See also:Park a few See also:miles from the heads of the See also:Madison See also:fork of the See also:Missouri, which flows to the Gulf of See also:Mexico, and the See also:Green fork of the See also:Colorado, which flows to the Gulf of See also:California . It flows S.W. and then W. for about 800 m. in a tremendous See also:canon.across See also:southern Idaho; turns N. and runs for 200 M. as the boundary between Idaho and Oregon (and for a See also:short distance between Idaho and Washington) ; turns again at Lewiston (where it ceases to be the boundary, and where the Clearwater empties into it) to the W. into a deep narrow valley, and joins the Columbia in S.E . Washington . Practically all the valley of the Snake from Idaho Falls in S.E . Idaho (Bingham county) to the mouth is of canon See also:character, with walls from a few See also:hundred to 6000 ft. in height (about 65o m. in Idaho) .
The finest parts are among the most magnificent in the See also:west; among its falls are the See also:American (See also:Oneida and Blaine counties), and the Shoshone and the Salmon (See also:Lincoln county)
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At the Shoshone Falls the river makes a sudden plunge of nearly 200 ft., and the Falls have been compared with the See also:Niagara and See also:Zambezi; a short distance back of the See also:main fall is a See also:cataract of 125 ft., the Bridal See also:Veil
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Between See also:
See also:Climate.—The mean See also:annual temperature of Idaho from 1898 to 1903 was 45.5° F
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There are several distinct climate zones within the state
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North of Clearwater river the climate is comparatively mild, the maximum in 1902 (96° F.) being See also:lower than the highest temperature in the state and the minimum (– 16°) higher than the lowest temperature registered
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The mildest region of the state is the Snake river basin between Twin Falls' and Lewiston, and the valley of the Boise, Payette and Weiser rivers; here the mean annual temperature in 1902 was 52° F., the maximum was 1o6° F., and the minimum was – 13° F
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In the Upper Snake basin, in the Camas See also:prairie and Lost river regions, the climate is much colder, the highest temperature in 1902 being 1o1 ° and the lowest – 35° F
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The mean annual rainfall for the entire state in 1903 was 16.6o in.; the highest amount recorded was at See also:
See also:Timothy was grown in the northern, and See also:alfalfa in the southern region as a See also:forage See also:crop
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Even at this earliest See also:period, See also:irrigation, See also:simple and individual, had begun in the southern section, the See also:head waters of the few streams in this See also:district being soon surrounded by farms
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Co-operation and colonization followed, and more ditching was clone, co-operative irrigation canals were constructed with some elaborate and large dams and head See also:gates
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The See also:Carey See also:Act (1894) and the Federal Reclamation Act (19o2)introduced the most important period of irrigation
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Under the Carey Act the Twin Falls project, deriving water from the Snake river near Twin Falls, and irrigating more than 200,000 acres, was completed in 1903–1905
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The great projects undertaken with Federal aid were: the Minidoka, in Lincoln and Cassia counties, of which survey began in See also:
Cultivation by owners is the prevailin form of See also:tenure, 91.3% of the farms being so operated in 1900 (2.3 % by See also:cash tenants and 6.4% by See also:share tenants)
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As illustrative of agricultural conditions the contrast of the products of farms operated by See also:Indians, See also:Chinese and whites is of considerable See also:interest, the value of products (not fed to live-stock) per See also:acre of the 563 Indian farms being in 1899 $1.40, that of the 16,876 See also: In See also:January 1908, according to the Year-book of the Department of Agriculture, the number and farm values of live-stock were: milch cows, 69,000, valued at $2,208,000, and other neat See also:cattle, 344,000, valued at $5,848,000; horses, 150,000, $11,250,000; sheep, 3,575,000, $12,691,000; and See also:swine, 130,000, $910,000 . According to state reports for 1906, most of the neat cattle were then on ranges in Lemhi, Idaho, Washington, Cassia and Owyhee counties; Nez Perce, Canyon, Fremont, Idaho, and Washington counties had the largest number of horses; Owyhee, Blaine and Canyon counties had the largest See also:numbers of sheep, and Idaho and Nez Perce counties were the principal swine-raising regions . The pasture lands of the state have been greatly decreased by the increase of forest reserves, especially by the large reservations made in r906—1907 . Mining .. —The mineral resource: of Idaho are second only to the agricultural; indeed it was priularilythe See also:discovery of the immense See also:settlement of Idaho Territory . In Idaho, as elsewhere, the first form of mining was a very lucrative working of placer deposits; this gave way to vein mining and a greatly reduced production of gold and silver after 1878, on See also:account of the exhaustion of the placers . Then came an See also:adjustment to new conditions and a See also:gradual increase of the product . The total mineral product in 1906, according to the State Mine Inspector, was valued at $24,138,317 . The total gold production of Idaho from 186o to 1906 has been estimated at $250,000,000, of which a large part was produced in the Idaho Basin, the region lying between the N. fork of the Boise and the S. fork of the Payette rivers . In 1901—1902 rich gold deposits were discovered in the See also:Thunder Mountain district in Idaho county . The counties with the largest production of gold in 1907 (state report) were Owyhee ($362,742), Boise ($282,444), Custer ($210,900) and Idaho; the total for the state was $1,075,618 in 1905; in 1906 it was $1,149,100; and in 1907, according to state reports, $1,373,031 . The total of the state for silver in 1905 was $5,242,172; in 1906 it was $6,042,606; in 1907, according to state reports, it was $5,546,554 .
The richest deposits of silver are those of Wood river and of the Coeur d'Alene district in Shoshone county (opened up in 1886) ; the county's product in 1906 was valued at $5,322,706, an increase of $917,743 over the preceding year; in 1907 it was $4,780,093, according to state reports
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T'he production of the next richest county, Owyhee, in 1907, was less than one tenth that of Shoshone county, which yields, besides, about one half of the See also:lead See also:mined in the United States, its product of lead being valued at $9,851,076 in 1904, at $14,365,265 in 1906, and at $12,232,233 (state report) in 1907
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Idaho was the first of the states in its output of lead from 1896, when it first passed Colorado in See also:rank, to 1906, excepting the year 1899, when Colorado again was first; the value of the lead mined in 1906 was $14,535,823, and of that mined in 1907 (state report), $12,470,375
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High grade See also:copper ores have been produced in the Seven Devils and Washington districts of Washington county; there are deposits, little developed up to 1906, in Lemhi county (which was almost in-accessible by railway) and in Bannock county; the copper mined in 1905 was valued at $1,134,846, and in 1907, according to state reports, at $2,241,177, of which about two-thirds was the output of the Cceur d'Alene district in Shoshone county
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See also:Zinc occurs in the Coeur d'Alene district, at Hailey, Blaine county and elsewhere; according to the state reports, the state's output in Igo6 was valued at $91,426 and in 1907 at $534,087
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Other minerals of economic value are See also:sandstone, quarried at Boise, Ada county, at See also:Preston, Oneida county, and at See also:Goshen, Prospect and Idaho Falls, Bingham county, valued at $22,265 in 1905, and at $11,969 in 1906; See also:limestone, valued at $14,105 in 1905 and at $12,600 in 1906, used entirely for the See also:local manufacture of See also:lime, part of which was used in the manufacture of sugar; and See also:coal, in the Horseshoe See also:Bend and See also:Jerusalem districts in Boise county, in Lemhi county near Salmon See also:City, and in E
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Bingham and Fremont counties, with an output in 1906 of 5365 tons, valued at $18,538 as compared with 20 and lo tons respectively in 1899 and 1900
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Minerals developed slightly, or not at all, are See also:granite, valued at $1500 in 1905; surface salt, in the arid and semi-arid regions; See also:nickel and See also:cobalt, in Lemhi county; See also:tungsten, near Murray, Shoshone county; See also:monazite and See also:zircon, in certain sands; and some See also:pumice
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Manufactures.--The manufactures of Idaho in 1900 were relatively unimportant, the value of all products of establishments under the " factory system " being $3,001,442; in 1905 the value of such manufactured products had increased 192.2%, to $8,768,743
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The manufacturing establishments were limited to the See also:supply of local demands
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The principal See also:industries were devoted to See also:lumber and See also:timber products, valued at $908,670 in 1900, and in 1905 at $2,834,506, 211.9% more
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In 1906 the Weyerhauser See also:Syndicate built at See also:Potlatch, a See also:town built by the syndicate in Latah county, a lumber See also: In Bonner county there are great See also:mills at Sand Point and at Bonner's See also:Ferry . In these and the other 93 saw-mills in the state in 1905 See also:steam generated by the See also:waste wood was the See also:common power . The raw material for these products was secured from the 35,000 sq. m. of timber land in the state (6164 sq. m. having been reserved up to 1905, and 31,775.7 sq. m. up to See also:April 1907 by the United States See also:government) ; four-fifths of the cut in 1900 was yellow See also:pine . See also:Flour and grist mill products ranked second among the manufactures, being valued at $1,584,473 in 1905, an increase of nearly 116% over the product in 1900; and steam-See also:car construction and See also:repairs ranked third, with a value of $913,670 in 1905 and $523,631 in 1900 . In 1903—1904 the cultivation of sugar beets and the manufacture of See also:beet sugar were undertaken, and manufacturing establishments for that purpose were installed at Idaho Falls and See also:Blackfoot (Bingham county), at Sugar, or Sugar City (Fremont county), a See also:place built up about the sugar refineries, and at Nampa, Canyon county . In 1906 between 57,000,000 and 64,000,000 lb of beet sugar were refined in the state . See also:Brick-making was of little more than local importance in 1906, the largest kilns being at Boise, Sand Point and Cceur d'Alene City . Lime is made at Orofino, Shoshone county, and at See also:Hope, Bonner county . Communications.—The total railway mileage in January 1909 was 2,022.0.1 m., an increase from 206 m. in 188o and 946 M. in 18o0, The Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and the OregonRailway & See also:Navigation lines cross the N. part of the state; the Oregon Short Line crosses the S., and the See also:Union Pacific, which owns the Oregon Railway & Navigation and the Oregon Short Line roads, crosses the eastern part . The constitution declares that See also:railways are public highways, that the legislature has authority to regulate rates, and that discrimination in tolls shall not be allowed . See also:Population.—The population of Idaho in 2870 was 14,999; in r88o it was 32,610, an increase of 117.4%; in t890 it was 88,548, an increase of 158.8%; in 1900 161,772 (82.7% increase); and in 1910 325,J94 (101.3% increase) . Of the inhabitants 15.2% were in 1900 See also:foreign-See also:born and 4.5% were coloured, the coloured population consisting of 293 negroes, 1291 See also:Japanese, 1467 Chinese and 4226 Indians .
The Indians lived principally in three reservations, the Fort See also: |