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Welcome to the Treasure
Valley!
Dreaming
of a place where incredible skiing is just minutes away? Where you’re
a short drive from wilderness where the deer and the antelope really do
play? (Not to mention elk, moose, bighorn sheep and river otters.) Where
you can see opera or live theater without searching for parking or fighting
traffic? Stop dreaming and pack your bags for a virtual visit to the Treasure
Valley! |
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No longer just for the outdoor
lover, Southwest Idaho has become a haven for those seeking a better
life. With mountains at your front door and rivers pulsing through
the heart of vibrant communities, the Treasure Valley has everything
you’re looking for.
The Treasure Valley
spans the Snake River plain from Mountain Home, Idaho, in the east to
Ontario, Oregon at the west. Its varied terrain includes high deserts,
mountains, forests, lush farmland and river valleys. Within it you’ll
find tiny communities that have changed little in the last hundred years
and the vibrant capital city of Idaho, Boise, a growing, thriving commercial
and business center that retains the charm of a small town. |
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Boise’s trees in the high
desert setting inspired French Canadian fur trappers to name the river
and valley after them (boise translates to wooded in English). The Boise
valley remained merely a corridor through which emigrants passed until
gold was discovered in 1862. Enterprising developers established the
town to supply the many nearby mining camps, and to serve as a governmental
center. A fort was built in 1863, and in 1864 Boise was made the territorial
capital. Railroads arrived in the 1880’s, an irrigation system
in the early 1900’s, and the rest is history.
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The
Treasure Valley is composed of the major community of Boise with outlying
communities in Ada, Canyon and Elmore counties. These include Mountain
Home, home of one of the largest Air Force bases in the United States;
Nampa, site of the Snake River Stampede, one of America’s top 25
rodeos; Caldwell, home to Albertson College; and the communities of Meridian,
Kuna, Eagle, Star, Emmett, Weiser, Parma, Wilder, and Marsing, Idaho and
Ontario and Payette, Oregon. The Boise Metropolitan Statistical area of
Ada and Canyon counties has a population of 465,000. |
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The economic base
for the Treasure Valley is diverse, including manufacturing, agriculture/food
processing, medical, high tech, services, government and education. The
valley is headquarters to several large employers: Albertson’s,
Micron Technology, Morrison Knudsen Corporation (renamed Washington Group
International). Boise Cascade Corporation (now named Boise) and the J.R.
Simplot Company. Boise is the location for the Hewlett-Packard Company’s
largest and most profitable division of its 60 worldwide facilities. The
Treasure Valley is also hospitable to entrepreneurs, with self-employment
the fourth fastest growing industry in Idaho.
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One reason for Idaho’s
economic success is its strong educational system. The Treasure Valley
is the home of Boise State University, with an enrollment of 18,000.
Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa provides undergraduate and graduate
degrees to its 1500 students. In Caldwell, Albertson College of Idaho
is a small, prestigious private college boasting several Rhodes scholars
as graduates. Treasure Valley Community College has campuses in Ontario
and Nampa. Idaho State University and the University of Idaho also maintain
active satellite campuses in the valley.
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| Boise,
Idaho’s capital city and the economic engine of the Treasure Valley,
has grown from a small town with a population of only 35,000 in 1960 to
a major metropolitan area with a city population of 190,000 today. Boise
combines incredible outdoor assets with a growing number of cultural activities.
The city boasts 90 parks, several of the larger ones on the Boise River,
which runs through the heart of the city. One of the newest parks is Kathryn
Albertson Park, designed as a walking park and nature preserve and home
to thousands of migratory and resident wildlife. About a mile east is
Julia Davis Park, a cultural, historic and artistic gateway into the heart
of the city. Within the park are the Rose Garden, Zoo Boise, Boise Art
Museum, Idaho State Historical Museum, the Black History Museum and the
Discovery Center. Near it is the new Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial,
the Boise Library and the Log Cabin Literary Center.
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The
Boise River is skirted by over 25 miles of paved Greenbelt from Discovery
Park and Lucky Peak Reservoir east of town, to Eagle Island State Park
eight miles west. The Greenbelt is perfect for joggers, bikers and bladers,
and the Boise River, open for year-round fishing, is dotted with tubers
and rafters in summer. |
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The foothills
on the city’s northern boundary contain numerous hiking trails
and nature paths. The city’s recently developed open space plan
was designed to assure that residential growth in the desirable foothills
allows plenty of open space for residents and visitors to explore. Sixteen
miles farther north, Bogus Basin Ski area provides over 2600 acres of
terrain for cross-country and downhill skiers and snowboarders.
The sports-minded
can attend professional hockey (Idaho Steelheads), basketball (CBA Idaho
Stampede) and baseball (Boise Hawks) events, or see any number of exciting
sports in the Boise State University athletics program.
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For those who
seek cultural enlightenment, the city is home to several live theater
companies including the 26-year old Shakespeare Festival, Ballet Idaho,
Opera Idaho and the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra. Venues such as the
Morrison Center for the Performing Arts and the Boise Pavilion on the
campus of Boise State University and the newer Bank of America Centre
in downtown Boise and Idaho Center in nearby Nampa are host to a large
number of productions including the annual Gene Harris Jazz Festival,
touring Broadway stage shows and local and nationally prominent musicians.
Boise’s downtown retains its vibrancy day and night. After the
thriving business day ends, Boiseans find company, food, and entertainment
in a growing number of downtown restaurants and clubs, many with open-air
dining.
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