Idaho, till 1890 a territory, now a state of the American Union, lies between 42° and 49° N. lat., and mainly between 111° and 114° W. long. Its greatest length is 490 miles; the breadth varies from 42 miles at the 'pan-handle' which forms the northern part, to 300 miles along the southern boundary. Its area is 84,800 sq. in. One of the main ranges of the Rocky Mountains separates Idaho from Montana, and in the south is part of the continental divide between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. About 70,000 sq. in. of the area is situated in the drainage basin of the Columbia River, the rest in the Great Basin. Except a small area in the south, the entire surface is rugged and mountainous, traversed by spurs of the high range in the northeast, of which Salmon River Mountains separate northern Idaho from the plateau-region in the centre and south. Most of these ranges reach elevations of 10,000 feet and upwards; the average height of the state is about 5000 feet. The lowest level is the valley of Snake River, which at Boise City (the capital) is 2000 feet above the sea-level. Snake River, Shoshone, or Lewis River drains by far the largest part of the state. In its course (about 850 miles in length), open valleys alternate with narrow canons through which the river flows in ' dalles' and cataracts. Shoshone Falls almost rival those of Niagara. Salmon River, a tributary, drains the central part. There are two lake-regions : one in the pan-handle, the other in the south-east. The former includes Pend d'Oreille, Cœ;ur d'Alene and Kaniksu lakes; the latter, John Day and Bear lakes. These lake-regions abound in game. Vegetation is abundant in the northern and central parts, but not in the arid lands of the south, where irrigation is necessary. Forests of conifers cover the western slopes of the Bitter Root and Cœur d'Alene mountains. In the central and southern part the forests give place to extensive mesas overgrown with sage brush, and rolling lands covered with bunch grass. The mineral wealth consists chiefly in silver, lead, gold, copper, and coal. In the basin-region of the south-east soda, gypsum, sulphur, etc. abound. Mineral springs are numerous. The climate is exceedingly healthy. Grain-farming is of necessity confined to the narrow river-valleys, and, as a whole, Idaho is best adapted to stock-raising. Pop. (1870) 14,999: (1880) 32,610; (1890) 84,385, nearly a fifth being Mor-mons ; (1900) 161,772, including 2297 Indians.