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) is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Idaho. Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, this is the principal city of the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon. Boise passed Spokane in city population in 2001 census estimates and is now the third largest in the northwest U.S., behind Seattle and Portland. Boise serves as the primary government, economic, cultural, and transportation center for the area.
As of the 2007 Census Bureau estimates, Boise's population was 202,832 with a metropolitan area estimated to have 587,689 inhabitants, by far the most populous metropolitan area in Idaho, and the now the third largest in the U.S. Northwest (a close fourth, if Spokane-Coeur d'Alene are considered in combination, 456,175 + 134,442 = 590,617).
Boise is located at (43.613739, -116.237651), in southwestern Idaho, approximately 41 miles (66 km) east of the Oregon border, and 110 miles (177 km) north of the Nevada border. The downtown core sits at an elevation of 2704 feet (824 m) above sea level.
Most of the metropolitan area lies on a broad, relatively flat plain, descending to the west. Mountains rise up to the northeast, stretching from the far southeastern tip of the Boise city limits to nearby Eagle. These mountains are known to locals as the Boise foothills and are sometimes described as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. About 34 miles (55 km) southwest of Boise, and about 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Nampa, the Owyhee Mountains lie entirely in neighboring Owyhee County.
According to the census bureau, the city has a total area of 64.0 mi² (166 km²). 63.8 mi² (165 km²) of it is land and 0.2 mi² (0.5 km²) of it (0.33%) is water.