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Montana is a state in the Pacific Northwest and Great Plains regions of the United States. The central and western two-thirds of the state have numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named) of the northern Rocky Mountains; thus the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña ("mountain"). The state nickname is the "Treasure State." Other nicknames include "Land of Shining Mountains", "Big Sky Country", and the slogan "the last best place". The state ranks fourth in size but has a relatively low population (with only six states having fewer people) and consequently a very low population density. The economy is primarily based on agriculture and significant lumber and mineral extraction. Tourism is also important to the economy with millions of visitors a year to Glacier National Park, the Battle of Little Bighorn site, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

Geography

Montana and Canada share a 545-mile (877 km) portion of the world's longest undefended border. The state borders the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, more provinces than any other state. This area, following U.S. Highway 2, is often called the "Hi-line." To the east is North Dakota; to the southeast is a short border with South Dakota. In the south is Wyoming, and on the west and southwest is Idaho.

Although Montana is often regarded as mountainous, about 60% of the state is actually prairie in the Great Plains. The central and western two-thirds of the state have numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named) of the northern Rocky Mountains.

With a land area of 145,552 square miles (376,978 km²), the state of Montana is the fourth largest in the United States (after Alaska, Texas, and California). Major rivers in the state include the Missouri, the Clark Fork of the Columbia, Milk, Madison, Flathead, and Yellowstone. The Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in North America. Montana is also one of several areas to claim the disputed title of "world's shortest river", the Roe River. Montana contains Glacier National Park and portions of Yellowstone National Park. Other sites include the Little Bighorn National Monument, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Big Hole National Battlefield, Lewis and Clark Caverns, and the National Bison Range. There are also numerous National Forests and National Wildlife Refuges. The Federal government administers 36,000,000 acres (146,000 km²). 275,000 acres (1,100 km²) are administered as state parks and forests.

The topography of the state is highly diverse. In the western third it is extremely mountainous. The Bitterroot Mountains form most of the western boundary. East of this almost continuous barrier the main chain of the Rocky Mountains crosses the state. Between the Bitterroot Mountains and the Rocky Mountain Front are many parallel valleys (Gallatin Valley, Big Hole Valley, Bitterroot Valley, Flathead Valley), separated by spur ranges. East of the main range of the Rocky Mountains is a high tableland, generally prairie broken by isolated 'island ranges' of mountains. Further east and north of this transition zone are the vast, sparsely populated Great Plains, with rolling tableland prairies and rough badlands extending into the Dakotas, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Wyoming.

Just east of the Rocky Mountains lie the Sun River and Chestnut Valleys (west and south of Great Falls). Three stately buttes are familiar landmarks. These buttes, Square Butte, Shaw Butte, and Crown Butte, are made of igneous rock, which is dense and has withstood weathering for many years. The underlying surface consists of shale. Many areas around these buttes are covered with clay surface soils. These soils have been derived from the weathering of the Colorado Formation.

In the south, near the Yellowstone River, lie the Absaroka Mountains and the Beartooth Mountains, where many of the mountains reach an altitude of over 10,500 feet (3,200 m), and the peaks are perpetually covered with snow. The Beartooth Plateau is the largest continuous land mass over 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in the lower 48 states. Besides the prominent mountain ranges, there are many spurs, detached ridges, and smooth, sloping buttes. The mountains are intersected by numerous small valleys and canyons, through which flow several pristine rivers. The highest point in the state, Granite Peak, is 12,799 feet (3,901 m) high.

The principal river systems in Montana are the Clark Fork of the Columbia, the Missouri, and the Yellowstone. The Clark Fork of the Columbia (not to be confused with the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River) rises in the Rocky Mountains near Butte, and after flowing north turns to the northwest, entering Idaho just above Lake Pend Oreille. The Clark Fork discharges the greatest volume of water of any river exiting the state. The Missouri river, formed by the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers, crosses the central part of the state, flows through the Missouri breaks and enters North Dakota. The Yellowstone, a tributary of the Missouri, rises in Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, flows northeast across the state through canyons and gorges, and enters the Missouri River a few miles east of the North Dakota boundary.

Vegetation of the state includes ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, larch, fir, spruce, aspen, birch, redcedar, ash, alder, rocky mountain maple and cottonwood trees. Forests cover 25% of the state. Flowers native to Montana include asters, bitterroots, daisies, lupins, poppies, primroses, columbine, lilies, orchids and dryads. Several species of sagebrush and cactus and many species of grasses are common plants in some regions. Many species of mushrooms and lichens are also found in the state.

Areas managed by the National Park Service include:

Montana has eight National Forests and over 20 National Wildlife Refuges. Several Indian reservations are located in Montana: Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Crow Indian Reservation, Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and the Flathead Indian Reservation.

See also: List of Montana counties, List of Montana rivers

History

Main article: History of Montana

Native Americans were the first inhabitants of Montana. Groups included the Crows in the south-central area, the Cheyenne in the southeast, the Blackfeet, Assiniboine and Gros Ventres in the central and north-central area and the Kootenai and Salish in the west. The smaller Pend d'Oreille and Kalispel tribes were found around Flathead Lake and the western mountains, respectively.

Subsequent to the Lewis and Clark expedition and after the finding of gold and copper in the state in the late 1850s, Montana became a United States territory (Montana Territory) on May 26, 1864 and the 41st state on November 8, 1889.

Fort Shaw (Montana Territory), was established in the spring of 1867. It is located west of Great Falls in the Sun River Valley and was one of three posts authorized to be built by Congress in 1865. The other two posts in the Montana Territory were Camp Cooke on the Judith River and Fort C.F. Smith on the Bozeman Trail in south central Montana Territory. Fort Shaw, named after Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who commanded the 54th Massachusetts, one of the first all African-American regiments, during the American Civil War, was built of adobe and lumber by the 13th Infantry. The fort had a parade ground that was 400 feet (120 m) square, and consisted of barracks for officers, a hospital, and a trading post, and could house up to 450 soldiers. Completed in 1868, it was used by military personnel until 1891.

After the close of the military post, the government established Fort Shaw as a school to provide industrial training to young Native Americans. The Fort Shaw Indian Industrial School was opened on April 30, 1892. The school had at one time 17 faculty members, 11 Indian assistants and 300 students. The school made use of over 20 of the buildings built by the Army.

The revised Homestead Act of the early 1900s greatly affected the settlement of Montana. This act expanded the land that was provided by the Homestead Act of 1862 from 160 acres to 320 acres (65-130 ha). When the latter act was signed by President Taft, it also reduced the time necessary to prove up from five years to three years and permitted five months absence from the claim each year.

In 1908, the Sun River Irrigation Project, west of Great Falls was opened up for homesteading. Under this Reclamation Act, a person could obtain 40 acres(16 ha). Most of the people who came to file on these homesteads were young couples who were eager to live near the mountains where hunting and fishing were good. Many of these homesteaders came from the Midwest and Minnesota.

Montana was the scene of the Native Americans' last effort to keep their land, and the last stand of U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was fought near the present day town of Hardin. Montana was also the location of the final battles of the Nez Perce Wars.

Cattle ranching has long been central to Montana's history and economy. The Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Deer Lodge Valley is maintained as a link to the ranching style of the late 19th century. It is operated by the National Park Service but is also a 1,900-acre (7.7 km²) working ranch.

Demographics

Population

As of 2005, Montana has an estimated population of 928,670, which is an increase of 8,750, or 0.9%, from the prior year and an increase of 33,475, or 3.7%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 13,674 people (that is 58,001 births minus 44,327 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 21,074 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 2,141 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 18,933 people. 16,500 of state residents are foreign-born, accounting for 1.8% of the total population.

The state ranks fourth in size at 147,000 square miles (381,000 km²) but has a relatively low population (with only six states having fewer people) and consequently a very low population density.

Race and ancestry

Caucasian 91.6%

American Indian/Alaskan Native 6.2%

African American 0.3%

Pacific Islander/Other 0.2%

Historical populations
Census
year 		Population
1870 20,595
1880 39,159
1890 142,924
1900 243,329
1910 376,053
1920 548,889
1930 537,606
1940 559,456
1950 591,024
1960 674,767
1970 694,409
1980 786,690
1990 799,065
2000 902,195
2005 Estimate 935,670
The five largest reported ancestries in Montana are:
German (27%), Irish (14.8%), English (12.7%), Norwegian (10.6%), American (5.1%).

German ancestry is the largest reported ancestry in most of Montana. Residents of Scandinavian ancestry are a plurality in parts of the state, particularly in the northeast. There are several predominantly Native American counties, especially in the north and east. The residents of the western Rocky Mountains are largely of British origin.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Montana:

Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Montana's total state product in 2003 was $26 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $25,406, 47th in the nation. However, this number is rapidly increasing. According to the Missoulian, the economy has grown rapidly since 2003; in 2005, Montana ranked 39th in the nation with an average per capita personal income of $29,387.

The economy is primarily based on agriculture--wheat, barley, sugar beets, oats, rye, seed potatoes, honey, cherries, cattle and sheep ranching--and significant lumber and mineral extraction (gold, coal, silver, talc, and vermiculite). Tourism is also important to the economy with millions of visitors a year to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, the Missouri River headwaters, the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

Montana personal income tax contains 7 brackets, with rates ranging from 1% to 6.9%. Montana has no sales tax. In Montana, household goods are exempt from property taxes. However, property taxes are assessed on livestock, farm machinery, heavy equipment, automobiles, trucks and business equipment. • The amount of property tax owed is not determined solely by the property's value. The property's value is multiplied by a tax rate, set by the Montana Legislature, to determine its taxable value. The taxable value is then multiplied by the mill levy established by various taxing jurisdictions -- city and county government, school districts and others.

Transportation

Major highways include:

In addition, Amtrak's "Empire Builder" train runs through the north of the state, stopping in the following towns: Libby, Whitefish, West Glacier, Essex, East Glacier Park, Browning, Cut Bank, Shelby, Havre, Malta, Glasgow, and Wolf Point.

Law and government

See: List of Montana Governors

The current Governor is Brian Schweitzer (Democrat) who was sworn in on January 3, 2005. Its two U.S. senators are Max Baucus (Democrat) and Conrad Burns (Republican). Montana's congressman is Denny Rehberg (Republican).

The state was the first to elect a female member of Congress (Jeannette Rankin), and was one of the first states to give women voting rights; (see suffrage). Despite its sizable American Indian population, Montana is one of the most homogenous states— nearly 90% of its residents are of European descent, with a large number of immigrants of German, Irish, Norwegian, Welsh, Cornish, Italian, Slovak and Swedish heritage arriving in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A significant portion of Chinese (Cantonese) immigrants also came and left an indelible mark on the state, especially in the mining cities of Helena, Butte, and Anaconda.

Politics

Historically, Montana was a Swing state of cross-ticket voters with a tradition of sending "conservatives to Helena (the state capital) and liberals to Washington." However, there have also been long-term shifts of party control. During the 1970s, the state was dominated by the Democratic party, with Democratic governors for a 20-year period, and a Democratic majority of both the national congressional delegation and during many sessions of the state legislature. This pattern shifted, beginning with the 1988 election, when Montana elected a Republican governor and sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate for the first time since the 1940s. The state last supported a Democrat for president in 1992, Bill Clinton's first election. By 1994, the Republican party controlled the majority of Montana political activities, party dominance that lasted until 2004.

Thus, in recent years, Montana has been classified as a Republican-leaning state. However, since 2004, in spite of strong support in Montana for President George W. Bush, Democrats seem to be on the upswing. The state currently has a Democratic governor (Brian Schweitzer), elected in 2004; Democratic-controlled state legislature, and one Democratic U.S. Senator (Max Baucus), who has been in the Senate since 1978. Republican Senator Conrad Burns will be up against Democrat Jon Tester in the 2006 election.

Montana is an Alcoholic beverage control state.

Important cities and towns

Montana's largest city is Billings.

Some of the cities in Montana are:

Some of the major towns in Montana are:

Education

Colleges and universities

The state-funded Montana University System consists of:

Major Tribal Colleges in Montana include:

Major Private Colleges and Universities include:

Professional sports teams

The Minor League baseball teams are:

Miscellaneous topics

The state's name is derived from the Spanish word montaña ("mountain"). The state nickname is the "Treasure State." Other nicknames include "Land of Shining Mountains", "Big Sky Country", and the slogan "the last best place".

The USS Montana was named in honor of the state. Montana has the unique honor of being the only US state to have never had a large capital ship (battleship, battlecruiser, or heavy cruiser) of any kind commissioned in the United States Navy.

In 1902, a group of female students from the Fort Shaw Indian Industrial School began playing basketball and traveled throughout Montana, defeating high school teams and some college teams. In 1904, the girls' basketball team traveled by train to the St. Louis World's Fair. Over a period of five months, the team was challenged by numerous other basketball teams and won every contest, returning to Fort Shaw with the "world champion" trophy. On May 1, 2004, a monument in honor of the basketball team was unveiled at the entrance of the present-day Fort Shaw Elementary School.

In the movie ' First Contact', Montana is the location of the fictitious first contact between humans and an alien race, the Vulcans.

Montana has the largest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states.

Montana is the only state with a triple divide, allowing water to flow into the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Hudson Bay. This phenomenon occurs at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park.

In 1888, Helena (the current state capital) had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world.

Montana is one of two states in the continental United States which in addition to not having a major metropolitan area over 1,000,000 in population, also does not border a state that does have one (Maine is the other). (However, it does border the Canadian Provinces Alberta and British Columbia, which together have three cities with a metro population of over 1,000,000.)

State symbols

Ski areas

Montana has several ski areas including:

See also

Further reading

  • Bennion, Jon. Big Sky Politics. Five Valleys Publishing, April 2004. ISBN 1888550139
  • Lopach, James. We the People of Montana: The Workings of a Popular Government. Falcon Press, 1983 ISBN 0878421599
  • Kittredge, William. The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology. (From the back cover: "...over 230 stories, poems, reminiscences, and reports written by 140 men and women. The book is divided into eight sections with introductory essays by William Bevis, Mary Clearman Blew, William Kittredge, William Lang, Richard Roeder, Annick Smith, and James Welch.") University of Washington: 1990. 1158 pages. ISBN 0295969741.
  • Howard, Joseph Kinsey. Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome. Bison Books: 2003. ISBN 0803273398.
  • Malone, Michael P., Richard B. Roeder and William L. Lang. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. University of Washington: 1991. ISBN 0295971290.
  • Toole, Kenneth Ross. Montana: An Uncommon Land. University of Oklahoma: 1984. ISBN 0806118903.
  • Doig, Ivan, Dancing at the Rascal Fair. Scribner: 1987. ISBN 0689117647.
  • Doig, Ivan, English Creek. Peter Smith Publisher Inc: 1992. ISBN 0844666084.
  • MacLean, Norman, A River Runs Through It. University of Chicago Press: 1976. ISBN 0226500608.
  • MacLean, Norman, Young Men and Fire. University of Chicago Press: 1992. ISBN 0226500616.
  • Walker, Mildred. Winter Wheat. Harcourt: 1967. ISBN 0151972230.
  • Walter, Dave, et. al. Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Montana History. Falcon Press, 2000. ISBN 1585920320
  • Axline, Jon, et. al. Still Speaking Ill of the Dead: More Jerks in Montana History. Falcon Press, 2005. ISBN 1585920320

External links

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