The Idaho panhandle—locally known as North Idaho, Northern Idaho, or simply the Panhandle—is a
salient region of the
U.S. state of
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
encompassing the state's 10 northernmost
counties:
Benewah,
Bonner,
Boundary,
Clearwater,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
,
Kootenai,
Latah,
Lewis,
Nez Perce, and
Shoshone (though the southern part of the region is sometimes referred to as
North Central Idaho). The panhandle is bordered by the state of
Washington to the west,
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
to the east, and the Canadian province of
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
to the north. The Idaho panhandle, along with
Eastern Washington, makes up the region known as the
Inland Northwest, headed by its largest city,
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
.
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city within the Idaho panhandle. Spokane is around west of Coeur d'Alene, and its
Spokane International Airport is the region's main air hub. Other important cities in the region include
Lewiston,
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Post Falls,
Hayden,
Sandpoint, and the smaller towns of
St. Maries and
Bonners Ferry. East of Coeur d'Alene is the
Silver Valley, which follows
Interstate 90 to the Montana border at
Lookout Pass.
The region has a land area of , around 25.4% of the state's total land area; there is also of water area. As of the
2020 Census, the population of the Idaho panhandle was 363,642, around 19.8% of the state's total population of 1,839,106.
The town of Bonners Ferry has two
Canada–US border crossings:
Porthill-Rykerts Border Crossing connects with
Creston, British Columbia;
Eastport–Kingsgate Border Crossing connects with
Yahk, British Columbia.
History
The eastern border of Idaho follows the
Bitterroot Range, producing the narrow northern border.
Politics
No resident of North Idaho has been elected
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
since the re-election of
Cecil Andrus (D) in
1974. An
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
native raised in
Eugene, Andrus had lived at
Orofino and was a resident of Lewiston when first elected in
1970. (
Boise was his residence during his later campaigns of
1986 and
1990). The most recent member of the
U.S. Congress from the panhandle is
Compton I. White Jr. (D) of
Clark Fork, last elected in
1964.
North Idaho leans
Republican, as does the
state as a whole.
Latah County, home of the
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963.
The un ...
in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, is the only one of the region's 10 counties that does not. While Bonner County is also strongly Republican, the tourist town of
Sandpoint located in the county is somewhat more centrist.
The panhandle has traditionally been one of the strongest areas for Democrats in statewide elections, largely because of its unionized miners and a smaller
Mormon population than Southern Idaho. However, it largely changed in the 1980s with the drop in silver prices, slump of metal markets, mine closures and passage of a
right-to-work law. Additionally, the influx of conservatives from Southern California beginning in the 1970s, many of whom were retired
LAPD officers who chose to move to Coeur d'Alene, also shifted the politics of the region.
In the
1990 gubernatorial election, all counties were won by the incumbent Andrus, a popular moderate who easily won a fourth term. The Democratic nominee for Governor outperformed their statewide result in Northern Idaho in all elections from
1982 through
2006; Keith Allred received 30.9% in Northern Idaho vs. 32.9% statewide in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, A.J. Balukoff received 36.5% in Northern Idaho vs. 38.6% statewide in
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
,
Paulette Jordan received 34.6% in Northern Idaho vs. 38.2% statewide in
2018, and Stephen Heidt received 16.8% in Northern Idaho vs. 20.3% statewide in
2022. Notably, anti-government activist
Ammon Bundy came in second place with 20% of the vote in 2022.
Attractions
*
Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center
*
Clearwater River
*
Idaho Panhandle National Forest
*
Kootenai River
*
Lake Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene Lake ( ), is a natural dam-controlled lake in North Idaho, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. At its northern end is the city of Coeur d'Alene. It spans in length and ranges from 1 to wide with over ...
*
Lake Pend Oreille
*
Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area
*
North Idaho College
*
Priest Lake
*
Schweitzer Mountain
*
Snake River
*
Silver Mountain
*
Silverwood Theme Park
*
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963.
The un ...
Geography and climate
The Idaho panhandle observes
Pacific Time north of the western-flowing
Salmon River in the southern part of
Idaho County. The rest of the state to the south observes
Mountain Time, which begins at
Riggins. Though the Idaho panhandle is at the same longitude as
southwestern Idaho, they have different time zones because (1) Spokane is the commercial and transportation center for the region, and (2) there are many cross-border towns and cities that are connected, including Spokane with Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls;
Pullman (home of
Washington State University) with Moscow (home of the
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963.
The un ...
); and
Clarkston with Lewiston.
The panhandle is isolated from southern Idaho by distance and the east–west mountain ranges that divide the state. The passage by vehicle was arduous until significant highway improvements were made on
U.S. Route 95 in North Central Idaho, specifically at Lapwai Canyon (1960),
White Bird Hill (1975), the Lewiston grade (1977), and Lawyer's Canyon (1991).
Regional agriculture
The North Idaho region is most noted for
silvaculture, the growing of trees and the production of lumber through the region's 12 lumber mills. The production of grass seeds and
hops
Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...
for
beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
production are also significant in the region. Nine
microbreweries have operations in the area, making North Idaho highly characteristic of the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
. There are also many cattle ranches.
Notable crops from the
Palouse
The Palouse ( ) is a geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of North Central Idaho, north central Idaho, southeastern Washington (part of eastern Washington), and by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. ...
region include wheat, lentils, peas, and
canola
file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms
file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower
Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...
.
Native American reservations
*
Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation
*
Kootenai Indian Reservation
*
Nez Perce Indian Reservation
Major communities
*
Bonners Ferry
*
Coeur d'Alene
*
Dalton Gardens
*
Grangeville
*
Hayden
*
Kellogg
*
Lewiston
*
Lenore
*
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
*
Orofino
*
Post Falls
*
Rathdrum
*
Sandpoint
*
St. Maries
*
Wallace
References
External links
Visit Idaho.org- official state site - North Idaho
U.S. Forest Service- official site - Panhandle National Forests
- Washington State Historical Society
{{coord, 47, N, 116, W, format=dms, display=title, type:country_region:US-ID
Regions of Idaho