Nampa Wedding

Nampa (IPA: [nm p]) is the largest city in Canyon County, Idaho, and the second largest in the state. Only the capital city Boise is larger. As of the 2005 census, the population was around 78,000, having grown very quickly in recent years. Nampa is one of the fastest-growing cities in Idaho.

Nampa is located 26 miles west of Boise along Interstate 84. The city is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area.

Nobody knows for sure where Nampa got its name. The belief is that it came from a Native American word for moccasin. Native Americans stuffed their moccasins with sagebrush to keep warm, making a larger footprint. There is also a Nampa in Canada.

Visitors to Nampa may notice a certain odor about the city, especially on foggy days. This is a by-product of the Amalgamated Sugar Factory, a sugar beet processing plant. When the beets are cooked, they emit an odor.

Nampa began its life as a small railroad town in the early 1880s. More railroad lines sprung up running through Nampa, making it a very important railroad town.