Eastern Idaho is the area of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

lying east of the

Magic Valley The Magic Valley is a region in south-central Idaho constituting Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls counties. It is particularly associated with the agricultural region in the Snake River Plain located ...

region. It is generally understood to include:

Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...

, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville,

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, Fremont,

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

and Teton Counties. Much of the region is in the Mormon Corridor, and

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

plays a major role in the lives of the region's residents.

Demographics

According to the 2010 census the counties of the Eastern Idaho region had a combined population of 365,847.

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...

and

Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the P ...

are the region's largest cities and only metropolitan areas, accounting for the majority of the region's population. Other important cities include

Rexburg Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statist ...

, Chubbuck and

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

. Americans who are of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ancestry form a large plurality in every county in eastern Idaho.

Politics

Eastern Idaho is a solidly Republican region, even more so than the rest of the state. Besides Teton County voting for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and Joe Biden in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, no county in the region has voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since the landslide election of

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, which was also the last time the region as well as the state of Idaho as a whole voted for the candidate of the Democratic Party. The region has also shown a strong affinity for third-party candidates, such as for the candidacies of

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

in 1968, John G. Schmitz in 1972,

Bo Gritz James Gordon "Bo" Gritz (; born January 18, 1939) is an American former United States Army Special Forces officer and presidential candidate. After serving in the Vietnam War and retiring from the military, Gritz has worked on attempted POW res ...

in 1992, and

Evan McMullin David Evan McMullin (born April 2, 1976) is an American politician and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. McMullin ran as an independent in the 2016 United States presidential election and in the 2022 United States Senate electio ...

in 2016, all four of whom besides Wallace performed exceptionally well there proportionate to the share of the national vote.

Education

Eastern Idaho is home to several of the state's colleges and universities, including

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

in Pocatello,

College of Eastern Idaho College of Eastern Idaho is a public community college in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It was founded in 1969 as Eastern Idaho Vocational Technical School and later became a technical college called Eastern Idaho Technical College. In May 2017, Bonnevill ...

in Idaho Falls and

Brigham Young University-Idaho Brigham may refer to: Places * Brigham, Cumbria, England * Brigham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England * Brigham City, Utah, USA * Brigham, Wisconsin, USA * Brigham, Quebec, Canada People * Brigham (surname), including a list of people with t ...

in Rexburg. The Center for Higher Education provides outreach degree programs for Idaho State University and the University of Idaho at University Place in Idaho Falls. Most of the region's cities and towns support separate public school districts.

Culture

Eastern Idaho is generally thought of as an all-season outdoor mecca above all else, with ski resorts

Kelly Canyon Kelly Canyon is an alpine ski area in eastern Idaho, in the Targhee National Forest. Northeast of Idaho Falls, it straddles the county line in the southeastern corner of Jefferson County and also in southern Madison County. The ski area opened ...

and Pebble Creek, and extreme proximity to

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, the

Tetons The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park and ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, and Grand Targhee in Wyoming, each of which lie near the Idaho border. The area is also renowned in the fly fishing world as well, with travelers coming from afar to fish the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

and its branches and tributaries. Island Park, Bear Lake, Heise Hot Springs, and

Lava Hot Springs Lava Hot Springs is a city along the Portneuf River in eastern Bannock County, Idaho, United States. It is part of the Pocatello, Idaho metropolitan area. The population was 407 at the 2010 census, down from 521 in 2000. Located in the mount ...

are also regional tourist hotspots. Cultural events are routinely held at Idaho State University and Brigham Young University-Idaho, and at various venues throughout downtown Idaho Falls. Idaho State University's L.E. and Thelma E Stephens Performing Arts Center contains state-of-the-art performance space. The facility's Jensen Grand Concert Hall contains more than 500 fiberglass-reinforced gypsum panels which allow the concert hall to be computer-tuned. Two ceiling canopies allow the acoustics of the hall to be computer-adjusted, making the center a hit with both performers and their audiences. Idaho Falls's Museum of Idaho brings in major national exhibitions each year, including Da Vinci inventions and the famous Bodies exhibit. The Eastern Idaho State Fair is held every September in Blackfoot. The 2004 independent film

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high- ...

was set in and filmed on location in Preston in

Cache Valley Cache Valley is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The name, Cache Valley i ...

. Since

is the largest religion in the region,

Mormon culture #REDIRECT Culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints #REDIRECT Culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints {{R from other capitalisation ...

{{R from other capitalisation ...

Demographics

Politics

Education

Culture

Agriculture

Technology

See also

References