Welcome to Boise!
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the State of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of
the Boise metropolitan area.
As of the 2000 census, Boise's population was 185,787 (2006 estimate: 216,540).
In order to distinguish the city from a neighboring locale Boise County, government officials, government publications, maps and some other media
often refer to the city as "Boise City." While the city's charter does indeed refer to the city as "Boise City", it is most often referred to
locally as "Boise."
Boise is located at 43°36?49?N, 116°14?16?W (43.613739, -116.237651).
Downtown Boise is at an elevation of 2,704 feet (824 m) above sea level.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 165.8 km² (64.0 mi²). 165.2 km² (63.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km²
(0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.33% water.
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 booming at the
time. Idaho City was the largest city in the area, but the new Fort Boise grew rapidly (as a staging area to Idaho City) and Boise was
incorporated as a city in 1864. The first capital of Idaho was Lewiston, but Boise replaced it in 1865.
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