Owyhee County, Idaho

Owyhee County
County
Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in the Owyhee Mountains about 50 miles southwest of Boise.
Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in the Owyhee Mountains about 50 miles southwest of Boise.
Official seal of Owyhee County
Seal
Map of Idaho highlighting Owyhee County
Location within the U.S. state of Idaho
Map of the United States highlighting Idaho
Idaho's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°34′N 116°10′W / 42.56°N 116.17°W / 42.56; -116.17
Country United States
State Idaho
FoundedDecember 31, 1863
Named forlost Hawaiian trappers
SeatMurphy
Largest cityHomedale
Area
 • Total
7,697 sq mi (19,940 km2)
 • Land7,666 sq mi (19,850 km2)
 • Water31 sq mi (80 km2)  0.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
11,913
 • Estimate 
(2023)
12,722 Increase
 • Density1.5/sq mi (0.60/km2)
Time zoneUTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district1st
Websiteowyheecounty.net

Owyhee County (/oʊˈwaɪ.hiː/ oh-WYE-hee) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,913.[1] The county seat is Murphy,[2] and its largest city is Homedale.[3] In area it is the second-largest county in Idaho,[4] behind Idaho County. Owyhee County is part of the Boise metropolitan area and contains slightly more than half of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, which extends over the Nevada border, into Elko County. The majority of the federally recognized Shoshone-Paiute Tribe that is associated with this reservation lives on the Nevada side; its tribal center is in Owyhee, Nevada.

  1. ^ "Owyhee County, Idaho". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Historic Homedale". Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  4. ^ Colley, Evelyn Shaw (March 1, 1962). "Rich ore made Owyhee County boom". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 13.