Idaho, United-States - étude en anglais

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Idaho

Idaho is a state in the northwestern region of the United States. Idaho is the 14th most expansive, the 39th most populous, and the 7th least densely populated of the 50 United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state. The capital and the largest city is Boise, and the inhabitans are called Idahoan.

Idaho is a mountainous state with an area larger than that of all of New England. It is landlocked, surrounded by the states of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and the Canadian province of British Columbia. However, the network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River make the city of Lewiston the farthest inland seaport on the Pacific coast of the contiguous United States.

Idaho's nickname is the "Gem State", because nearly every known type of gemstone has been found here.[5] In addition, Idaho is one of only two places in the world where star garnets can be found in any significant quantities, the other being India, though they may be found elsewhere in extremely limited quantities.[6][7] Additionally Idaho is sometimes called the "Potato State" owing to its popular crop. The state motto is Esto Perpetua (Latin for "Let it be forever").

1) Etymology

The exact origin of the name remains a mystery. In the early 1860s, when the United State Congress was considering organizing a new territory in the Rocky Mountains, eccentric lobbyist George M. Willings suggested the name "Idaho," which he claimed was derived from a Shoshone language term meaning "the sun comes from the mountains" or "gem of the mountains". Willing later claimed that he had made up the name himself. Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory when it was created in February 1861. Thinking they would get a jump on the name, locals named a community in Colorado "Idaho Springs".

However, the name "Idaho" did not go away. The same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County was created in eastern Washington Territory. The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. It is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after Willing's claim was revealed. Regardless, a portion of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863.

Despite this lack of evidence for the origin of the name, many textbooks well into the 20th century repeated as fact Willing's account that the name "Idaho" derived from the Shoshone term "ee-da-how".

The name "Idaho" may be derived from the Plains Apache word "ídaahę́" which means "enemy." The Comanches used this word to refer to the Idaho Territory.

An excerpt from a 1956 Idaho history textbook:

"Idaho" is a Shoshoni Indian exclamation. The word consists of three parts. The first is "Ee", which in English conveys the idea of "coming down". The second is "dah" which is the Shoshoni stem or root for both "sun" and "mountain". The third syllable, "how", denotes the exclamation and stands for the same thing in Shoshoni that the exclamation mark (!) does in the English language. The Shoshoni word is "Ee-dah-how", and the Indian thought thus conveyed when translated into English means, "Behold! the sun coming down the mountain".

2) Geography

Idaho borders six states and one Canadian province. The states of Washington and Oregon are to the west, Nevada and Utah are to the south, and Montana and Wyoming are to the east. Idaho also shares a short border with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north.

3) Climate

Idaho has much variation in its climate. Although the state's western border is located about 350 miles (560 Km) from the Pacific Ocean, the maritime influence is still felt in Idaho, especially in the winter when cloud cover, humidity, and precipitation are at their maximum extent. This influence has a moderating effect in the winter where temperatures are not as low as would otherwise be expected for a northern state with a predominantly elevated altitude.[18] The maritime influence is least prominent in the eastern part of the state where the precipitation patterns are often reversed, with wetter summers and drier winters, and seasonal temperature differences more extreme, showing a more semi-arid continental climate.

Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Idaho cities. (°F)

City

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Boise

38/24

45/27

55/33

62/38

72/46

81/53

91/59

90/59

79/50

65/40

48/31

38/23

Lewiston

42/30

47/31

55/36

62/41

71/47

79/54

89/60

89/60

78/51

63/41

48/34

40/28

Pocatello

33/16

38/19

49/27

...