Explore America and discover people, places, art, and history that connect to Idaho in the Smithsonian’s collections, held in trust for the American people. Idaho’s landscape offers some of the most dramatic scenery in the American West. The Snake River carves through Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in the U.S. at 7,993 feet—deeper than the Grand Canyon. Just east of Montpelier lies Big Hill, the longest and steepest climb on the Oregon Trail. Its dangerous descent challenged pioneers, and tracks from their journey remain visible today. In 1974, daredevil Evel Knievel attempted—but failed—to jump Idaho's Snake River Canyon in his Skycycle X-2 rocket. Visitors can still see the dirt ramp built for the stunt.
Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman (c. 1787–1812), became one of the most well-known figures of the American West through her partnership with Lewis and Clark. In his journal, Clark attributed much of the expedition’s success to her. Decades later, Ernest Hemingway lived in Sun Valley for about 22 years, where he wrote portions of For Whom the Bell Tolls, Islands in the Stream, The Garden of Eden, and A Moveable Feast.
In innovation and technology, Philo Farnsworth was just 14 years old and working on his family’s farm in Idaho when he first conceived the idea of television.
