Idaho : An Overview

Idaho is the smallest of the eight Rocky Mountain states and 13th among the 50 states in the US with a total area of 83,564 sq mi (216,431 sq km). Shaped like a hatchet, Idaho extends a maximum of 305 mi (491 km) E-W and 479 mi (771 km) N-S. Situated in the northwestern US, Idaho is surrounded by the Canadian province of British Columbia to the North, Montana to the North-East, Wyoming to the East, on the  South by Utah and Nevada; and on the West by Oregon and Washington. The state's geographic center is in Custer County, SW of Challis. Idaho was named George M. Willing, who claimed the word came from an Indian term meaning "gem of the mountains."