Welcome to Alpha ...
Alpha is located in Valley County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Alpha, you might consider that their post office opened in 1888.
Alpha is 4,760 feet [1,451 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the elevation of Alpha is about 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Alpha lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you leave Alpha and travel west, you will leave Mountain Time and cross into the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT).
Area Codes for Alpha: 208 & 986<3>
Communities Also Named Alpha ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Idaho communities named Alpha: This one is located in Valley County and the other is located in Boise County.
Beyond Idaho, there are 33 communities that are also named Alpha - they are located in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Manitoba, Maryland, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri (2), Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington (2), West Virginia (2) and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alpha.
Communities near Alpha ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alpha.
- Cascade
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Cascade is located in Valley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,053 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cascade <5>
- Crouch
(18 miles [29 km] to the south) - Belvidere
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvidere
- Belvidere is located in Valley County
- Garden Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Garden Valley is located in Boise County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garden Valley <5>
- Ola
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ola have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
- Ola is located in Gem County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ola <5>
- Banks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Banks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
- Banks is located in Boise County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Banks <5>
- Donnelly
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donnelly have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
- Donnelly is located in Valley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donnelly <5>
- Indian Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Valley
- Indian Valley is located in Adams County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian Valley <5>
- Roseberry
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseberry
- Roseberry is located in Valley County
- Grimes Pass
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes Pass
- Grimes Pass is located in Boise County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alpha. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alpha.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alpha. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alpha.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alpha ...
Looking for more information about Alpha? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Alpha, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Alpha.
Adding Alpha to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Alpha in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Alpha was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
X2X - From that list, the Alpha post office opened in 1888.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Alpha.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alpha. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Idaho's counties, including Valley, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alpha - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 208 code has been Overlayed with the 986 area code. New phone numbers in the Alpha area will be assigned with one of these codes: 208 or 986. As a result, placing a call in the Alpha area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |