The state of Idaho has 16 official emblems, as designated by the state legislature. These symbols, which reflect the history and culture of the state, are often opportunities for politicians to "tie themselves to popular symbols", for teachers to highlight the legislative process to their students, and for lobbyists to "have their products given official designation". [1]
Idaho's first official symbol was its seal, adopted in 1863 when the Idaho Territory became an organized incorporated territory of the United States. The state's second symbol was its motto, which was chosen shortly after Idaho was admitted to the Union in 1890. Five additional symbols were added between 1900 and 1950, including three in 1931 alone. Six symbols were designated between 1950 and 2000, and three additional symbols have been added since 2000. Two symbols have been adopted that were proposed by students; the Appaloosa became the state horse in 1992 following a proposal from sixth-graders from Eagle, Idaho, and in 1992 elementary school students in Boise introduced the monarch butterfly as the state insect. Idaho's most recent symbol is the Idaho giant salamander, adopted as the state amphibian in 2015.
While some of the symbols are unique to Idaho, others are used by multiple states. For example, the mountain bluebird, Idaho's state bird, is also an official symbol for Nevada. [2] Idaho's state fish, cutthroat trout, is also an official symbol for Wyoming, [3] while specific subspecies of cutthroat are the state fish of Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The square dance and monarch are commonly used state dances and state insects (or in some cases state butterflies), respectively.
Type | Symbol | Description | Adopted | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|
Amphibian | Idaho giant salamander | The Idaho giant salamander (Dicamptodon aterrimus) is the largest salamander found in the state of Idaho, where it lives almost exclusively. Over their lifetime, these salamanders will metamorphose from a larva to a terrestrial adult, or will mature into an adult but retain the larval form, such as keeping gills, growing to lengths of 33 cm (~13 in). Idaho giant salamanders are generally found in moist coniferous forests and can change colors. The transformed adults are secretive and seldom found in the open, but can be found in moist areas. [9] | 2015 | |
Bird | Mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) [10] | Adopted as the state bird by the Idaho Legislature in 1931, the mountain bluebird is one of two bluebird species found in the state. Known for their bright blue plumage, these migratory birds often arrive in Idaho in late February or early March, nest, then migrate south in September or early October. [11] | 1931 | |
Dance | Square dance | 1989 | ||
Dinosaur | Oryctodromeus cubicularis | Oryctodromeus, a burrowing dinosaur that lived 98 million years ago, has been found in the Wayan Formation in Southeast Idaho, as well as Montana. [12] It was proposed by students at Ucon Elementary and officially adopted on July 6, 2023 [13] | 2023 | |
Fish | Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) | Native to Idaho, the cutthroat trout's name comes from the "distinctive red to orange slash" on the underside of its jaw. During an attempt to designate a state fish in 1988, critics of the cutthroat pointed out that the species was not found throughout the entire state. When the Legislature adopted the species in 1990, bill sponsor Mary Lou Reed called the cutthroat a "good symbol" of the state's "quality of life". [14] | 1990 | |
Flag | Flag of Idaho | 1957 | ||
Flower | Syringa ( Philadelphus lewisii ) | Documented and collected by Meriwether Lewis in 1806, the syringa was designated the Idaho State Flower in 1931.[ citation needed ] | 1931 | |
Fossil | Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens) | The Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens originally described as Plesippus shoshonensis) was declared the official state fossil of Idaho by the 1988 Legislature. A 3.5 million year old fossil bed near Hagerman, discovered in the 1920s, has yielded more than 30 complete horse skeletons and is said to be the "best known Pleistocene-epoch fossil site in the world". [15] Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, specifically the Hagerman Horse Quarry, [16] contains the largest concentration of these fossils. [15] | 1988 | |
Fruit | Huckleberry | Several huckleberry species are native to Idaho (all belonging to genus Vaccinium ), the most popular of which are black or thin-leaved huckleberry ( Vaccinium membranaceum ). The berries are difficult to grow commercially, as they can take up to 15 years to reach maturity, grow at specific elevations, and attempts to transplant often end in failure. [17] [18] However, attempts are underway to domesticate the berry. Students from Southside Elementary School proposed the huckleberry as the state fruit in 2000. [19] | 2000 | |
Gem | Star garnet | Star garnet, found only in Idaho and India, was designated as the state gem in 1967. [20] [21] | 1967 | |
Horse | Appaloosa | The Appaloosa breed became the state horse in 1975 following an introduction to the Legislature by sixth grade students from Eagle, Idaho. [19] | 1975 | |
Insect | Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) | The monarch became designated as the state insect after a bill proposed by fourth grade students at Cole Elementary in Boise was passed unanimously by State Senators. [22] | 1992 | |
Motto | Esto perpetua | Translating to "Let it be perpetual" or "It shall be perpetual", Idaho's official motto was designated soon after the state was admitted to the Union in 1890. The phrase Esto perpetua is attributed to the Venetian theologian Pietro Sarpi. [23] The motto appears on the state's seal and on its quarter as part of the 50 State Quarters program, which lasted 1999–2008. | 1890 | |
Raptor | Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) | Adopted as the state raptor by the Legislature in 2004, the peregrine falcon has a global distribution and can be found on each continent apart from Antarctica. Boise is home to the World Center for Birds of Prey, the headquarters for The Peregrine Fund, a non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves threatened and endangered birds of prey. [24] The peregrine falcon appears on the Idaho state quarter. | 2004 | |
Seal | Seal of Idaho | The Idaho Territory seal was adopted in 1863 and redrawn several times before statehood in 1890. The Great Seal was designed by Emma Edwards Green, the only woman to design a state seal. The seal depicts a woman, signifying justice, and a miner along with cornucopias, a pine tree, sheaf of grain, syringa, an elk's head, wheat and other imagery associated with the state. | 1863 | |
Song | "Here We Have Idaho" | Music for the state song of Idaho was composed by Sallie Hume Douglas and copyrighted on November 4, 1915 under the name "Garden of Paradise". In 1917, University of Idaho student McKinley Helm wrote the verse which became the chorus, and Alice Bessee set the words to Douglas' music. The song, then known as "Our Idaho", became the university's alma mater. Albert J. Tompkins, director of music in the Boise Public Schools, wrote additional verses for the song, and in 1931 the Legislature designated "Here We Have Idaho" as the state song. | 1931 | — |
Tree | Western white pine (Pinus monticola) | Adopted as a state symbol by the Legislature in 1935, western white pine is known for its "straight grain and soft even texture". [17] In the United States, the largest remaining volume of this timber grows in Northern Idaho. | 1935 | |
Vegetable | Potato | The nation's leader in production, Idaho has become synonymous with potatoes [25] Fourth grade students from Grand View Elementary school led the effort for the symbol in 2002, writing to all 105 lawmakers pushing for the bill. [26] | 2002 | |
Several symbols have been proposed for addition to the list of official state symbols but were not adopted. Prior to the designation of the cutthroat trout as the state fish, fourth grade students at Indian Creek Elementary School campaigned for the rainbow trout and the sturgeon. [27] Another unsuccessful symbol included the silver tipped sagebrush as the state bush. [28] In the 2010s, a student proposal for the rattlesnake as the state reptile was unsuccessful since farmer-legislators considered the snake a "pest". [19]
Sanders County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,400. Its county seat is Thompson Falls. The county was founded in 1905.
Pyramid Lake is the geographic sink of the basin of the Truckee River, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Reno, Nevada, United States.
Priest Lake is a lake in Idaho, United States, in the northernmost portion of the Idaho Panhandle, 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Spokane, Washington. The northern end of the lake extends to within 15 miles (24 km) of the Canada–United States border. The primary lake, lower Priest, is 19 miles (31 km) long and over 300 feet (91 m) deep. Upper Priest is connected by a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) thoroughfare to lower Priest.
The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The Bonneville cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native to tributaries of the Great Salt Lake and Sevier Lake. Most of the fish's current and historic range is in Utah, but they are also found in Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada. This is one of 14 or so recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States.
Lake Pend Oreille in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of 148 square miles (380 km2). It is 69 kilometres (43 mi) long, and 1,152 feet (351 m) deep in some regions, making it the fifth-deepest in the nation and having a volume of 43,939,940 acre feet = 54 km3. The lake is fed by the Clark Fork River and the Pack River, and drains into the Pend Oreille River, as well as subsurfacely into the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. It is surrounded by national forests and a few small towns, with the largest population on the lake at Sandpoint. The majority of the shoreline is non-populated and all but the southern tip of the lake is in Bonner County. The southern tip is in Kootenai County and is home to Farragut State Park, formerly the Farragut Naval Training Station during World War II, of which a small part is still active and conducts U.S. Navy acoustic underwater submarine research.
Lahontan cutthroat trout is the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout, and the state fish of Nevada. It is one of three subspecies of cutthroat trout that are listed as federally threatened.
Pullman High School is a public secondary school in the city of Pullman, Washington, the home of Washington State University.
The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout. It is a freshwater fish in the salmon family. Native only to a few U.S. states, their original range was upstream of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River and tributaries in Wyoming, also across the Continental Divide in Yellowstone Lake and in the Yellowstone River as well as its tributaries downstream to the Tongue River in Montana. The species is also found in Idaho, Utah and Nevada.
The westslope cutthroat trout, also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish. This subspecies is a species of concern in its Montana and British Columbia ranges and is considered threatened in its native range in Alberta.
The Trout Creek Mountains are a remote, semi-arid Great Basin mountain range mostly in southeastern Oregon and partially in northern Nevada in the United States. The range's highest point is Orevada View Benchmark, 8,506 feet (2,593 m) above sea level, in Nevada. Disaster Peak, elevation 7,781 feet (2,372 m), is another prominent summit in the Nevada portion of the mountains.
The ecology of the Rocky Mountains is diverse due to the effects of a variety of environmental factors. The Rocky Mountains are the major mountain range in western North America, running from the far north of British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico in the southwestern United States, climbing from the Great Plains at or below 1,800 feet (550 m) to peaks of over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). Temperature and rainfall varies greatly also and thus the Rockies are home to a mixture of habitats including the alpine, subalpine and boreal habitats of the Northern Rocky Mountains in British Columbia and Alberta, the coniferous forests of Montana and Idaho, the wetlands and prairie where the Rockies meet the plains, a different mix of conifers on the Yellowstone Plateau in Wyoming, the montane forests of Utah, and in the high Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico, and finally the alpine tundra of the highest elevations.
The fauna of the U.S. State of Nevada is mostly species adapted to desert, temperature extremes and to lack of moisture. With an average annual rainfall of only about 7 inches (180 mm), Nevada is the driest – and has the largest percentage of its total area classified as desert – of all states in the United States. Two-thirds of the state is located within the largest desert on the North American continent, the Great Basin Desert, while the lower one-third is the Mojave Desert.
Dr. Robert J. Behnke was an American fisheries biologist and conservationist who was recognized as a world authority on the classification of salmonid fishes. He was popularly known as "Dr. Trout" or "The Trout Doctor". His seminal work, Trout and Salmon of North America, was published in 2002. He wrote a regular column for Trout Magazine, the quarterly publication of Trout Unlimited. He was a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and a professor at Colorado State University in the 1970s. He became a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology at Colorado State University.
Linda Jayne Copple Trout is an American lawyer and retired judge from Idaho. She is a former chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, the only female to hold that position. Appointed by Governor Cecil Andrus as an associate justice in 1992, she was the first of four women to serve on the court.