National Idaho Day Was The 17th And These Are The Fun Facts

What things do you know about the state of Idaho?

Did you know that Idaho has more than 2,000 lakes? Here are more Idaho facts for National Idaho day.

The largest lake in Idaho is Lake Pend Oreille and is 180 square miles.
The “center” of the state is the Settlement of Custer on the Yankee Fork River in Custer County.
The population in 2010 was 1,567,582.
You can navigate the Snake, Coeur d’Alene, St. Joe, St. Maries and Kootenai rivers.
The state entered the union on July 3rd, 1890, as the 43rd state to enter.
Idaho is 305 miles wide, at its widest point.
state motto is “Esto Perpetua” or let it be perpetual.
Idaho was discovered in 1805.
Idaho was organized as a territory by President Lincoln on March 4th, 1863.
Idaho is known as the gem state.
Idaho is the number one producer in the nation of potatoes, trout, Austrian Winter Peas and lentils. This is a fun food fact for National Idaho Day!
The hottest day was 118 degrees at Orofino on July 28, 1934. The coldest day was a bone chilling -60 degrees at Island Park Dam on January 18, 1943.
Famous people from Idaho are Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Gretchen Fraser, Christin Cooper, Lana Turner, Harmon Killebrew, Barbara Morgan, Jerry Kramer, and Gutzon Borglum.
The state horse is the Appaloosa, a fast, smart and hard working breed. These horses are known as being easy going and strong, which lead to their rise in popularity. The Appaloosa is a great race horse, parade horse, on the ranch and when working with youth programs. The horses have distinct blanketed hips from white to full leopard.
The state fish of the state is Cutthroat Trout and is native to Idaho. They can be steel grey to olive green in color, although the sides could be yellow brown and red or pink on the underbelly.
The state bird of Idaho is the Mountain Bluebird. The Bluebird has an azure blue coat with white under feathers and is about 7 inches long. Did you celebrate the Mountain Bluebird for National Idaho Day?
The Monarch Butterfly, also called the Danaus plexippus, is the state insect of Idaho. It’s unique in that they are a migrator and travel many miles throughout their lives. The butterflies live anywhere from a few weeks up to a year and complete their metamorphosis in three to six weeks.
Syringa also known as Philadelphus Lewisii, was designated the state flower of Idaho in 1931. This branching shrub has clusters of white and flagrant flowers with four petals and flowers at the end of short and leafy branches.
The state gemstone of Idaho, treasured by collectors all over the world, is called the Idaho Star Garnet. The stone is more precious than Star Rubies and Star Sapphires. They are dark plum or purple in color and typically have four rays, but can have up to 6 rays, similar to a sapphire.