Did
Idaho Get Its Name?
Originally suggested
for Colorado, the name "Idaho" was used for a steamship which traveled
the Columbia River. With the discovery of gold on the Clearwater River in 1860,
the diggings began to be called the Idaho mines. "Idaho" is a coined
or invented word and, despite popular folklore, is not a derivation of
an Indian phrase "E Dah Hoe (How)" supposedly meaning "gem of the
mountains."