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State of northwestern USA, bordered to the east by
Montana and
Wyoming, to the south by
Utah and
Nevada, to the west by
Oregon and
Washington, and to the north by
British Columbia, Canada; area 214,314 sq km/82,747 sq mi; population (2000) 1,294,000; capital Boise. It is largely mountainous, and its many ranges include the
Rocky Mountains and the Bitterroot Range. The Columbia Plateau in the south has fertile agricultural regions, and crops include wheat and peas. There are large forests, and the state is famous for its waterfalls, such as the 65 m-/212 ft-high Shoshone Falls on the Snake River. The chief industries are tourism, mining, beef, and agriculture: Idaho is the leading producer of potatoes in the USA. Cities include Nampa, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, Caldwell, and Moscow. In 1951, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (1949) was the first nuclear installation to produce a usable supply of electricity. Idaho was admitted to the Union in 1890 as the 43rd US state.
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