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I've been having a heated debate with a friend and want some outside input on a debate that is as old as Idaho itself: is Idaho part of the Northwest or the Rocky Mountain states? It lies in a convergence of 3 major regions; the extreme northern tip of the desert southwest (since Nevada is a mere hour drive away from some cities), the Boise foothills slowly give way to the Rocky Mountains in the not too distant border with Montana, however touching Washington and Oregon kinda puts it in the eastern reaches of the Pacific Northwest. I hear Intermountain mentioned a lot, but that's not technically a true region of North America. So what's your opinion?
Imagine there were no state boundaries.
We are definitely not part of the Pacific NW, even if we get some of the weather that originates from there.
Our Entire Eastern Border and nontrivial parts of the state are in the Rocky Mountains
Also, considering the Cascades, we are Intermountain.
My answer: We are the part of the Inland Northwest bordered by the Rocky Mountains.
I grew up in the Seattle metro area and in School we were taught that the PNW included WA/OR/ID and sometimes AK, but AK is kinda it's own thing. But the best definition would be intermountain west, which means everything that is between the Cascades/Sierras and the Rockies. and I know some people only consider the PNW to be Western WA and Western OR.
I think the challenge is the natural geographic regions are not aligned with the state boundaries.
Dave
You're right, Dave.
Our geography does define almost all the state boundaries. The Great Divide defines the entire eastern boundary of the state, and passes, canyons, and rivers define most of the western boundary. The southern boundary is artificially straight, but it, too, was defined by passes and rivers.
Basically, all of the straight lines in our boundary were arbitrary to some degree. But our geography was the reason why, even though the Idaho Territory was created before the Montana Territory or most of our neighbors, we weren't made a state until 1890, when Montana and Wyoming were made states, and Utah first petitioned for statehood.
At one time, the Idaho Territory encompassed almost all of Montana & Wyoming, and parts of Oregon and Washington. But as the territory was populated, financial and political interests, much coming from the east coast and from abroad, took over, and the powerful began to carve up the territory to suit their own interests.
So, at various times, parts of what's now Idaho, especially in the panhandle, the Idaho Territory became part of Montana, Washington, Oregon and Nevada. As those in power rose and fell, so did our boundaries.
That's why our state has such an odd shape. Essentially, most of Idaho became what none of the neighbors wanted for various reasons. Idaho is the only state that is bounded by 6 other states and a foreign country.
Our geography, climate, and all the internal difficulties of traveling inside our state are major reasons why Idaho was the least populated state in our region for quite some time.
About 1/2 of our internal territory is uninhabitable wilderness and/or impassible. Essentially, all of us live in the half that is habitable, and it's still relatively difficult to get around in that half.
That's the reason why so many folks in one part of Idaho have never seen the rest of the state. Our amazing geology and all its extremes were seen only as being obstacles for most of our history.
A north-south interstate could change all that, and back in the 1990s, building a full 4-lane was a big issue in the state. Then Governor Dirk Kempthorne pushed hard for a state/federal bill to fund such a road, but once Kempthorne went to the Capitol as Bush's Secretary of the Interior, the effort died and was never revived.
The road was going to be super-expensive; overcoming the geological obstacles was going to be a challenge that was similar to building the Panama Canal or greater, and once the economy ran into trouble, it was all dropped, but the early surveys and tentative first plans still exist, somewhere in Boise.
It's only been very recently that our geography has become to be viewed as great advantages to living here.
I believe that Idaho will never truly fit into any easy socially defined boundaries very well. Like a few other regions, like the Appalachians, the Adirondacks, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Idahoans have always been a unique culture of their own.
It has never been a state that is easy to live in, and will never be. Most of those who move here throughout our history have not stayed for their lifetimes by choice.
But those who stayed have responded the best to all the challenges Old Mother Idaho throws at us, and have come to love the life here.
Even those who leave never forget her. For good or bad, she puts her stamp on everyone who arrives and sticks around for a while in ways few other states possess.
Last edited by banjomike; 09-30-2017 at 02:56 PM..
.... what I did mean was, the teams you root for could be a clue to how you identify the region.
If you're an Idaho native and you root for the Seahawks, maybe it's because you think of Idaho as 'Seahawk territory,' i.e. Northwestern. On the other hand, if you're a Broncos fan, it could be because you see Idaho as part of the Rocky Mountain region, therefore 'Bronco territory.'
.... what I did mean was, the teams you root for could be a clue to how you identify the region.
If you're an Idaho native and you root for the Seahawks, maybe it's because you think of Idaho as 'Seahawk territory,' i.e. Northwestern. On the other hand, if you're a Broncos fan, it could be because you see Idaho as part of the Rocky Mountain region, therefore 'Bronco territory.'
Since we have never had any big professional teams, any out of state favorite won't say much about Idaho. If anything, I would think there are more Boise State Broncho fans than the other Bronchos, because Boise State is our biggest college competitor.
But when it comes to the professional teams. the Utah Jazz basketball team is mighty popular here, in part because several of its past and present stars have homes here and/or family associations.
Idaho Falls and some other of our cities also have minor league pro baseball teams, and each has its own fans.
But, like Texas, for much of the state, it's the local high school's teams that are often the most supported. I don't think there are all that many folks who live here who have ever gone to see any major league game of any kind in their lives.
I would say this--I never really think about it unless asked by someone from the outside! Also, with the kids, regional competitions will use Inland NW more often than not.
I would say this--I never really think about it unless asked by someone from the outside! Also, with the kids, regional competitions will use Inland NW more often than not.
I think that's a pretty good term.
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not what I meant
