Idaho Notebook

By Dennis Sonius

Idaho Notebook was originally written and extensively used as a workbook for use by Idaho students in grades four and eight. The Smashwords Edition has been totally rewritten and aligned with the Idaho Core Standards for Social Studies in grade four. This book contains fifty short articles and a few illustrations. Most of the stories are followed by comprehension questions or an activity. A Lexile score is listed for each article.
The articles begin with the formation of Idaho. Articles discuss the prehistoric animals and populations of Idaho. The various native tribes are discussed. There are articles about discovery and exploration, early missionaries and the interaction with native people. Settlement, economic growth and the current economy are all discussed. The final articles review state government, state symbols and the population as it is today.
This book is designed to provide a resource to meet the Idaho social studies standards in an economical way. Idaho Notebook may be downloaded fifteen times for the cost of one current hardback Idaho history text last published seven years ago.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dennis Sonius
• Release date: Feb 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310308963

Dennis Sonius

Dennis is a graduate of the University of Idaho and Idaho State University. He taught and served as a principal in Idaho for 39 years. He originally wrote the Idaho Notebook in 1977 as a consumable workbook for 4th grade students. The fifth edition was published in 1994.Dennis is currently retired and lives in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Book preview

IDAHO NOTEBOOK

Dennis Sonius

The sixth edition of the Idaho Notebook is available only in electronic format.

This edition is completely revised and aligned with the Idaho Content Standards

Grade 4 Social Studies.

Dennis Sonius, Publisher

Twin Falls, Idaho

First Edition 1977

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Dennis Sonius

All Rights Reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Where in the U.S.A?

Shaping Idaho

Idaho’s Rivers

Llamas, Tigers, Zebras

Archaeology

The Ancients

Early Tools

They Lived Here

Shoshoni

The Desert People

Friend or Foe

Sarah Winnemucca

Nez Perce

Joseph

Coeur d’Alene

Kutenai

Tipi

Buffalo

Bannock War

Reservations

Lewis and Clark

Sacajawea

The Fur Companies

Exploring Idaho

Mountain Men

Lapwai Mission

Black Robes

Old Mission Church

Oregon Trail

Prairie Schooners

Wagon Train Journey

Mullan Road

Gold!

Silver and Gold Mining

The Chinese

The Mormons

Cowboys and Cattle

Changes in Shape

Idaho Territory

Statehood

Famous Idahoans

Place Names

Agriculture

Population Facts

Idaho’s Government

State Symbols

Today’s People

WHERE IN THE U.S.A.?

North of Idaho is Canada. Canada is a country as is the United States. Idaho also shares its borders with six states. Can you name them?

Is Idaho wider near the border on the north or the border on the south?

Is Idaho closer to the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean?

Is Idaho more in the north or the south of the United States?

Alaska and Hawaii are not on this map. The other states are shown with dotted borders. The states larger than Idaho are shown with an ‘L’. Do you think Idaho is a large state or a small state?

Twelve states are larger than Idaho. Thirty-seven states are not as large as Idaho. Idaho is larger than the nine smallest states added together. The top part of Idaho is called a panhandle. Idaho is 44 miles wide at the panhandle. Idaho is 303 miles wide at the southern border. It is 483 miles from Canada to Nevada.

Idaho Content Standard 2: Geography Goal 2.1 Obj.4.SS.2.1.1. Lexile 640

SHAPING IDAHO

Idaho is a land of up and down. It has the deepest canyons in North America. Idaho has mountain peaks over 12,000 feet high. Idaho has rolling hills and meadows. More than 2,000 lakes dot Idaho. Several important rivers carry water from Idaho’s mountains toward the Pacific Ocean.

Scientists believe millions and millions of years were needed to make Idaho look like it does today. Vast seas covered the land again and again. Volcanoes erupted. Huge areas of land settled or pushed upward forming mountains.

A huge sea covered Idaho millions of years ago. Soil, sand and gravel washed into the sea from higher lands. The gold, silver and other minerals found in northern Idaho were washed into the sea. The heat and pressure within the earth caused the gold and silver to melt. It ran together forming veins. Later, the sea bottom pushed upward and formed mountains. The solid mountain rocks held the gold and silver veins.

The mountains of central Idaho pushed upward hundreds of millions of years ago. Glaciers filled many mountain valleys. A large glacier covered Idaho’s panhandle. The glaciers spread the gold nuggets and other minerals. Glaciers caused many of our lakes and valleys. Wind and water have worn the mountains to help them look as they do today.

Seven times seas filled and drained southern Idaho over 450 million years. The ground moved or shifted upward and downward causing the seas to empty and cut great valleys. The last great sea left Idaho 150 million years ago.

The earth’s crust rests on several plates. One hundred and fifty million years ago the plate holding North America rubbed the Pacific Ocean plate. The pressure caused layers of rock to move upward. This created many of our mountains including the Rocky Mountains which cover much of Idaho.

Volcanoes began erupting about two million years ago. Lava flowed into the valley covering southern Idaho. The lava in the Snake River valley became one mile deep in places. The last of the lava flows happened less than 1,000 years ago. That lava can be seen at the Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Less than one million years ago, Lake Bonneville overflowed its shores where the Utah-Idaho border is today. The lake water rushed over southern Idaho for weeks. The water moved soil and rocks. It changed the way the land along the Snake River looks.

Scientists believe Idaho was formed by the action of the seas, land shifts, volcanoes and weather. Sea shells and other fossils found on the mountain peaks show us the mountains were once the floor of a sea.

The land in Idaho is still changing. Wind, rain, frost, fire and sunshine cause the soil to wear away. Farming, mining, logging and dams have changed the land. Idaho may have a different appearance many years from now.

1. What state has the deepest canyon in North America?

2. What caused many of the lakes and valleys in Idaho’s panhandle?

3. How many times was Idaho cover by a sea?

4. How deep did the lava flows in southern Idaho become?

5. Where can you still see the last lava flows in Idaho?

6. What lake flooded Idaho nearly one million years ago?

7. How high are Idaho’s tallest mountain peaks?

8. What can we find on mountain peaks that were once on the sea floor?

9. Look at a map of Idaho. Locate the following features:

A. Two large lakes in Idaho’s panhandle.

B. Craters of the Moon National Monument.

C. Mount Borah, Idaho’s tallest peak.

D. The Snake River.

E. Find the Salmon River. See how it winds as it flows between the mountains.

Idaho Content Standard 2: Geography Goal 2.1 Obj. 4.SS.2.1.1. Lexile 780 top

IDAHO’S RIVERS

Idaho has over 16,000 miles of rivers. Most of the water in those rivers drains to the west where it joins the Columbia River and flows to the Pacific Ocean. Five river systems cross Idaho taking water from the mountains in the eastern part of Idaho to the west.

The Snake River starts in Wyoming, crosses Idaho and flows into the Columbia River in Washington. It is 1,036 miles long. The Snake River has many tributaries. Tributaries are rivers or streams that flow into larger rivers.

The Snake River provides water for farms in southern Idaho. Rain and melting snow in the mountains flow into the rivers. The Snake River and its tributaries have many dams that store water until farmers need it. Without the dams, the water would leave Idaho and go to the Pacific Ocean. The farms would be desert land without the water from the Snake River system. Without the farms, there would not be any towns or cities along the Snake River.

The dams on the Snake River also make electricity. The Snake River is the largest maker of electricity in Idaho.

The Salmon River is the longest river in the United States to begin and end all in one state. The Salmon River is 420 miles long. It rushes through canyons and mountain valleys on its way to join the Snake River. It is important for fishing and recreation. It is not used much for creating electricity or watering farmland.

The Clearwater River also begins and ends in Idaho. It is not as long as the Salmon River. But, it carries more water to the Snake River than the Salmon River carries. The Clearwater River makes some electricity. It is used mostly for boating, fishing and recreation. For many years, it was a working river. Loggers used the river to float the logs to sawmills.

The St. Joe, St. Maries and Coeur d’Alene rivers flow into Coeur d’Alene Lake. The Spokane River is the outlet. It flows to the Columbia River in Washington. This river system was once used for travel. Now the rivers are used mostly for recreation.

The Pend Orielle River is the outlet for Lake Pend Orielle. Only the Snake River carries more water than the Pend Orielle River in Idaho.

The Kootenai River crosses the panhandle and flows into Canada where it also joins the Columbia River. It begins in Montana. The main use of the Kootenai River is recreation.

The Bear River is the only Idaho river not draining toward the Pacific Ocean. It starts in Utah, flows through the corners of Wyoming and Idaho and returns to Utah. The water from the Bear River flows into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The water from the Bear River is heavily used for farming and creating electricity.

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