Nickname: The Gem State

Capitol: Boise

There’s a large population of Basque people in Idaho. These Spaniards originally came to the area to be sheep herders on local ranches.

Ernest Hemingway was born in Idaho; he’s also buried here. His final resting place is in a cemetery in Ketchum; he committed suicide.

There are long, dirt-covered buildings out on some Idaho farms. They excavated the earth and use the ground as insulated walls while the pitched roof is covered in hay and dirt. This is how farmers used to store their potato crop.

Idahoans are proud of their state vegetable: the most common Idaho license plate says “World Famous Potatoes” along the top.