ABOUT BOISE IDAHO

Boise Idaho

Boise (pronounced boy-see), the capital and largest city in the State of Idaho, is the hub of commerce, banking and government for Idaho.

Located along the Boise River and nestled against Boise foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Boise offers many outdoor activities to local residents, from skiing at Bogus Basin Ski Resort to biking on the Boise River Greenbelt to boating at nearby reservoirs. The Boise area has it all - desert, rivers, mountains and lakes for hiking, camping, kayaking, river rafting, hunting and fishing.

Many large regional, national and international companies are headquartered here, including Simplot Corporation, Boise Cascade, Washington Group, Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard.

Boise ID is home to Boise State University, the state's largest university with an enrollment of over 18,600 students, as well as 34 grade schools, 9 junior high schools, and 5 high schools.

Boise's climate is characterized as semi-arid with four distinct seasons. Boise experiences hot and dry summers where temperatures can often exceed 100 °F (38 °C), as well as cold winters with fair amounts of snowfall. Rainfall is usually infrequent and light, averaging 1 inch (25 mm) per month. March is the wettest month with an average of 1.41 inches (36 mm). August is the driest month in Boise with 0.30 inches (7.6 mm) of rain. Spring and fall are generally temperate in Boise, ID.

the name "Boise" may actually derive from earlier mountain man usage, which contributed their naming of the river that flows through it. In the 1820s, French Canadian fur trappers set trap lines in the vicinity where Boise now lies. In a high desert area, the tree-lined valley of the Boise River became a prominent landmark. They called this "La Rivière Boisée", which means "the wooded river."

The original Fort Boise was 40 miles (64 km) west, down the Boise River, near the confluence with the Snake River at the Oregon border. This fort was erected by the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1830s. It was abandoned in the 1850s, but massacres along the Oregon Trail prompted the U.S. Army to re-establish a fort in the area in 1863, during the U.S. Civil War. The new location was selected because it was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail and a major road connecting the Boise Basin (Idaho City) and the Owyhee mining areas. Both areas were booming at the time. Idaho City was the largest city in the area, and as a staging area to Idaho City, Fort Boise grew rapidly. Boise was incorporated as a city in 1864. The first capital of the Idaho Territory was Lewiston, but Boise replaced it in 1865. Source

Boise has grown considerably in recent years and is now comparable in size to other mid-size cities at the center of their own metropolitan areas in the United States. Boise frequently receives national recognition for its quality of life and business climate. Search Boise Idaho Real Estate Listings and Homes for Sale.

Boise Schools & Education

The Boise School District includes 30 elementary schools, 8 junior high schools, 5 high schools and 2 specialty schools. Part of the Meridian School District (the largest district in Idaho) overlaps into Boise city limits.

Post-secondary educational options in Boise include Boise State University and George Fox University, as well as a wide range of technical schools. University of Idaho and Idaho State University each maintain a satellite campus in Boise. Boise is home to Boise Bible College, an undergraduate degree-granting college that exists to train leaders for churches as well as missionaries for the world. Nearby Meridian is home to a campus of the University of Phoenix and neighboring towns Nampa and Caldwell boast Northwest Nazarene University and The College of Idaho respectively. As of May 2007 a community college special district was formed, with the intention of starting a community college in , Nampa, Idaho. Learn more about Boise Idaho Schools