|
|
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. |
|
