Travel Nursing Jobs in Idaho

Wilderness is plentiful in Idaho. Six federally designated wilderness areas encompass 4 million acres of the state. One of these, the 2.3-million-acre Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, is the largest such preserve in the lower 48 states.

Ancient Artists

Idaho’s indigenous peoples, the Nez Perc in the north and the Shoshone and Bannock in the southern desert, had a flourishing culture for thousands of years, with the first people arriving between 11,000 and 15,000 years ago.

Dimples in the earth along Idaho’s major rivers mark where pit houses once sheltered the hearths of these early inhabitants. More impressive are the pictographs, or rock paintings, and petroglyphs, or rock carvings, scattered across the state. Some images recount hunting expeditions, showing buffalo, bighorn sheep, or other prey, and others depict unique beings.

One of the most impressive displays of rock art is at Buffalo Eddy along the Idaho shoreline of the Snake River, south of Lewiston. Pittsburg Landing in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area also has wonderful petroglyphs. Another group of drawings adorns the Bruneau River Canyon near Hot Creek, and hundreds of other sites with drawings exist along the Salmon and Snake rivers.

Peaks, Plains, and Potatoes

The northern two-thirds of Idaho has some of the most rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountain system. Relatively few people live in the northern Idaho wilderness, which means quiet traveling for those who venture into wildlife territory. Back in town, you may find wildlife visiting human habitat as well. Even some of the state’s larger towns occasionally receive a visit from moose and bear.

South of Boise, the Snake River Plain sways in a graceful arc through southern Idaho. Fields of potatoes grow in the rich soil of the plain, as well as great patches of sagebrush desert. In both the southeastern and southwestern corners of the state, the land rises again out of the plain and the sagebrush shares the landscape with greasewood and saltbrush. Anglers come to the Snake River to reel in huge native sturgeon.