Montana (MT).

• Region: Northwestern United States
• Population: 1,122,867 (ranked 43rd) (2022 estimate)
• Capital: Helena (pop. 33,885) (2022 estimate)
• Largest city: Billings (pop. 119,960) (2022 estimate)
• Number of counties: 56
• State nickname: Treasure State
• State motto: Oro y plata (Spanish for "Gold and silver")
• State flag: Dark blue field with the state seal emblem and name “Montana” above

Montana, the Rocky Mountain state known as the “Treasure State,” entered the Union on November 8, 1889, as the forty-first state. The state is located in the nation's northwestern quarter. To the north, it borders the Western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Its neighboring states in the US are Idaho to the west, Wyoming to the south, and North Dakota and South Dakota to the east. The state's heritage of mining, farming, and ranching have added much to the nation's "Old West" mythology, and they remain important industries today. Tourism is another important industry. Many visitors come to enjoy natural areas such as Glacier National Park to take part in wilderness activities such as hiking and camping. Others enjoy visiting dude ranches and historic sites to relive the state's Old West heritage.

State Name: The name "Montana" is derived from the Spanish word for "mountain." The official nickname of "Treasure State" relates to Montana's rich deposits of gold, silver, and other precious metals. (The state motto is "Oro y plata"—Spanish for "Gold and Silver.") Montana is also often known as "Big Sky Country" because of the clear-blue skies and distant horizons on the eastern plains.

Capital:Helena, the state capital, also served as territorial capital of Montana from 1875 until the state entered the Union in 1889. From 1867 to 1874, Virginia City was capital of the Montana Territory.

Flag: Montana's state flag, originally adopted in 1905 and revised in 1981, displays the state seal on a blue field. Above the seal is the state's name in gold letters. The image on the seal displays pioneer life, with mining and farming implements in the foreground. In the background are mountains, forests, a waterfall (the Great Falls of the Missouri), and a sunset. At the bottom of the seal is a banner bearing the state motto "Gold and Silver."

Official Symbols

• Flower: Bitterroot
• Bird: Western meadowlark
• Tree: Ponderosa pine
• Animal: Grizzly bear
• Fish: Blackspotted cutthroat trout
• Song: "Montana" by Charles Cohen and Joseph E. Howard

State and National Historic Sites

• Big Hole National Battlefield (Wisdom)
• Cascade County Courthouse State Historic Site (Great Falls)
• Fort Benton Historic District (Fort Benton)
• Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (Sidney)
• Fort Fizzle State Historic Site, Lolo National Forest (Missoula)
• Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site (Deer Lodge)
• Missoula County Courthouse (Missoula)

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Population: 1,122,867 (ranked 43rd) (2022 estimate)
• Population density: 7.4/sq mi (2020 estimate)
• Urban population: 53.4% (2020 estimate)
• Rural population: 46.6% (2020 estimate)
• Population under 18: 20.8% (2022 estimate)
• Population over 65: 20.0% (2022 estimate)
• White alone: 88.7% (2022 estimate)
• Black or African American alone: 0.6% (2022 estimate)
• Hispanic or Latino: 4.5% (2022 estimate)
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 6.5% (2022 estimate)
• Asian alone: 1.1% (2022 estimate)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1% (2022 estimate)
• Two or More Races: 3.0% (2022)
• Per capita income: $34,423 (ranked 33rd)
• Unemployment: 2.5% (2023 estimate)

American Indians: In prehistoric times, Montana was unpopulated by American Indian tribes until the beginning of the 1600s. Thousands of years earlier, the region had been inhabited by Paleo-Indians, or ancestors of modern tribes; but these groups had apparently moved on due to changes in climate and hunting. Beginning in the early 1600s, tribes migrated to Montana, often from the Mississippi River Basin. The tribes which settled in the Great Plains included the Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Crow, and Atsina (Gros Ventre). The tribes in the mountains included the Flathead, Kootenai, and Shoshone.

Montana was the scene of much conflict between American Indians and White settlers. The Indian Wars (1867–1877) which followed the Civil War often spilled over into Montana. In 1876, the Sioux and Cheyenne defeated the Seventh US Cavalry under Lt. Col. George A. Custer, killing him and most of his men. This was a temporary victory, however, as the Army sent large numbers of troops to Montana and further repressed the population. The Nez Percé War of 1877 ended another effort at tribal resistance, when the army captured Chief Joseph and his followers, who had fled to Montana from Idaho.

Montana has seven Indian reservations: Blackfeet, Flathead, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Rocky Boy's, Crow, and Northern Cheyenne. Some of these are home to several tribes. The Flathead Reservation, for example, is home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, as well as the Pend d'Oreille (Kalispel). Fort Belknap Reservation belongs to the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre (A'aninin), Fort Peck to the Assiniboine and Dakota Sioux, and Rocky Boy's to the Chippewa-Cree tribes. The Little Shell band of the Chippewa Tribe has federal and state recognition, but lacks reservation lands.

ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY

• Total area: 147,040 sq mi (ranked 4th)
• Land area: 145,509.2 sq mi (99% of total area)
• Water area: 1,493.4 sq mi (1% of total area)
• National parks: 8
• Highest point: Granite Peak (12,799 feet)
• Lowest point: Kootenai River (1,800 feet)
• Highest temperature: 117° F (Glendive; Medicine Lake, July 20, 1893; July 5, 1937)
• Lowest temperature: –70° F (Rogers Pass, January 20, 1954)

Topography: Montana takes its name from the Rocky Mountains, which run through the state's western third. This includes the Bitterroot Range, which marks the boundary with Idaho. The central and eastern parts of the state, however, lie in the Great Plains. Both the mountain and plains regions are areas of great natural beauty, as in Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. The plains region provides home for herds of bison, which live in the National Bison Range near Ravelli.

Major Lakes

• Arod Lake
• Bull Lake
• Cabinet Gorge Reservoir
• Flathead Lake
• Fort Peck Reservoir
• Freezeout Lake
• Lake Koocanusa
• Noxon Reservoir
• Pishkun Reservoir
• Ruby Reservoir

Major Rivers

• Big Hole River
• Boulder River
• Clark Fork River
• Flathead River
• Gallatin River
• Jefferson River
• Madison River
• Missouri River
• Musselshell River
• Yellowstone River

State and National Parks: Montana has more than fifty state parks; these include natural landmarks, historic sites, and nature-recreation areas. Numerous historic sites are related to Lewis and Clark's journey through the state in the early 1800s. Other sites relate to the state's territorial past, such as the ghost town of Bannack, Montana's first territorial capital.

There are several areas managed by the National Park Service (NPS). Historically significant sites include the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. The latter commemorates the Sioux and Cheyenne victory over Custer's Seventh US Cavalry in 1876. Natural areas include part of Yellowstone, the first national park in the United States, and Glacier National Park.

Natural Resources: Montana's nickname of the "Treasure State" hints at the rich deposits of precious metals like gold and silver that also give the state its official motto ("Oro y plata," Spanish for "gold and silver"). Platinum and palladium became valuable commodities in the twenty-first century. Copper and coal have also been important mineral resources since the nineteenth century. The timber industry is important in the mountainous western third of the state, while the Great Plains of the eastern two-thirds possess rich grazing and agricultural lands. There is significant production of crude oil, sand, gravel, and crushed stone as well.

Plants and Animals: Vegetation on Montana's eastern plains is largely confined to natural grasses, cacti, and shrubs. There are also many wildflowers and wild berries. Trees grow mostly in the river valleys and the western mountains. In the river valleys and foothills grow species such as cottonwoods and poplars. In the mountains themselves are numerous species of evergreens, such as Douglas fir, pines such as the Ponderosa and lodgepole pine, and juniper.

Montana has one of the richest and most varied wildlife populations in the nation, including species that are rare elsewhere in the United States. Large animals include bighorn sheep, grizzly and black bears, moose, elk, and bison. Smaller species include beavers and wolves. There are numerous species of birds, including the bald eagle (the nation's symbol) and trumpeter swans. Fish species include chinook salmon and various types of trout. The cutthroat trout is the state fish.

Climate: Montana's climate often displays extremes in temperature, but these are moderated in part because of the warm Chinook winds. Winters average around 24 degrees Fahrenheit in Helena, while summer temperatures average almost 67 degrees Fahrenheit. By comparison, in Billings, the winter average is nearly 27 degrees and summer average is about 69 degrees.

The state is also semi-arid. Precipitation is spread unevenly throughout the state, and some areas receive far greater amounts of rainfall. Summer precipitation averages are about twice those of winter precipitation averages. Winter blizzards and summer thunderstorms are common. Tornadoes occasionally come through eastern Montana. Floods and droughts also occur.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Major Colleges and Universities

• Carroll College (Helena)
• Montana State University (Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Havre)
• Montana Technological University (Butte)
• Rocky Mountain College (Billings)
• Salish Kootenai College (Pablo)
• University of Montana (Butte, Dillon, Helena, Missoula)
• University of Providence (Great Falls)

Major Museums

• Big Hole National Battlefield (Wisdom)
• Crail Ranch (Big Sky)
• Historic St. Mary's Mission and Museum (Stevensville)
• Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Museum (Crow Agency)
• Museum of the Plains Indian (Browning)
• Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman)
• World Museum of Mining (Butte)
• Yellowstone Art Museum (Billings)

Major Libraries

• Montana Historical Society Library (Helena)
• State Law Library of Montana (Helena)

Media

Montana has an active press, with daily papers in the state's major cities. These include the Billings Gazette, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the Great Falls Tribune, the Helena Independent-Record, the Missoulian (Missoula), and the Montana Standard (Butte). Weekly newspapers include the Bigfork Eagle, and the Independent-Observer. The Flathead Indian Reservation also has a weekly newspaper, the Char-Koosta News. The agricultural weekly The Prairie Star provides farming news to Montana and neighboring Wyoming. Montana Magazine, published in Helena for fifty years, was a full-color monthly that focused on people, events, and places throughout the state.

Television and radio stations are found throughout the state. The state has two public radio stations: Montana Public Radio, based at the University of Montana (Missoula), and Yellowstone Public Radio, based in Billings. Montana PBS, the state's public-television network, consists of station KUSM at Montana State University (Bozeman) and KUFM at the University of Montana (Missoula).

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Gross domestic product (in millions $USD): 65,014.5 (ranked 47th) (2022 estimate)
• GDP percent change: 1.6%

Major Industries: Montana's economy is no longer dominated by mining, as it was in the nineteenth century, but mining remains a major industry sector. Coal and petroleum mining overtook the extraction of precious metals. Other important industries include the timber and wood-products industry, agriculture and food processing, and tourism. Another prominent industry is the finance, insurance, real estate, and leasing industry. Agriculture focuses on raising livestock (cattle and hogs) and growing crops such as grains and legumes.

Tourism: Tourism is a major industry in Montana, with major attractions focusing on the state's pioneer and Native American heritages. Many visitors come to enjoy "dude ranching," where they can take part in real cowboy life. Other activities include hunting and fishing. Historic sites such as the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, which commemorates the 1876 Sioux/Cheyenne victory over Custer's Seventh Cavalry, are popular attractions.

Energy Production: Montana accounts for around 30 percent of the total US recoverable coal reserves and about 5 percent of national coal production. Coal also represents the state's largest single energy source in terms of consumption. Petroleum and natural gas are also important energy sources. Renewable sources of electricity generation including hydropower, wind power, biomass, and geothermal areas represent a growing industry.

Agriculture: Montana agriculture focuses on raising livestock and growing crops. Livestock production focuses on cattle, hogs, and sheep. Major crops are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, legumes, corn, sugar beets, and hay.

Airports: Montana has several large, commercial airports and many smaller regional and municipal facilities. Larger airports include the Billings Logan International Airport (Billings), and Wokal Field/Glasgow International Airport (Glasgow).

GOVERNMENT

• Governor: Greg Gianforte (Republican)
• Present constitution date: May 25, 1905
• Electoral votes: 3
• Number of counties: 56
• Violent crime rate: 469.8 (per 100,000 residents)
• Death penalty: Yes

Constitution: The Montana Constitution was adopted in 1972 and took effect in 1973. This document emphasizes environmentalism and increases voter participation (through the referendum and initiative). The 1972 constitution replaced the one adopted at statehood in 1889.

Branches of Government

Executive: The chief executive officer of Montana is the governor, who is elected to a four-year term. Duties include proposal, vetoing, and approval of legislation; oversight of the executive branch, and serving as commander-in-chief of the state military forces. The lieutenant governor serves as governor in case of the incumbent's death, disability, or removal from office. The other constitutional officers are the secretary of state, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and auditor.

Legislative: The Montana legislature has two houses: a fifty-member Senate and hundred-member House of Representatives. Senators are elected to four-year terms and representatives to two-year terms. Half of the Senate runs for election every two years. The legislature meets in odd-numbered years, for a session to last no more than ninety legislative days.

Judicial: The seven-member state supreme court is Montana's highest court and only court of appeal. Justices serve eight-year terms. Beneath the supreme court are the district courts, which have original jurisdiction over most civil and criminal cases. District court judges serve six-year terms. There are also two specialized courts: a water court, to hear cases involving water rights, and a workers' compensation court. Neither of these two uses jury trials. Beneath the district courts are the city and municipal courts and the justice of the peace courts; their cases involve matters such as small claims and traffic violations. Judges and justices are appointed by the governor, but must stand for reelection when their initial term expires. The 1972 Constitution allows people to declare their candidacy against a judge running for reelection, or for open seats.

HISTORY

1740s A pair of French brothers, Francois and Louis-Joseph Verendrye, become the first Europeans to explore the region later known as Montana.

1803 US President Thomas Jefferson purchases the Louisiana Territory for $15 million from France. The purchase includes the eastern part of what later becomes Montana.

1803–06Lewis and Clark Expedition. President Jefferson sends Meriwether Lewis and William Clark westward as coleaders of the "Corps of Discovery," whose mission is to survey western lands including the Louisiana Purchase and Oregon Country. The expedition departs St. Louis, Missouri in May 1804, and crosses into present-day Montana in April 1805. Continuing westward, they enter into present-day Idaho via the Lolo Pass in the Rockies. The party makes its way back to St. Louis and returns home in September 1806.

1807Manuel Lisa, a fur-trader, establishes Fort Remon near present-day Billings, near the mouth of the Bighorn River.

1807–08 Fur-trapper John Colter becomes the first White man to explore the land now covered by Yellowstone National Park.

1829 The American Fur Company, owned by Eastern businessman John Jacob Astor, establishes Fort Union on the Missouri River. The fort is at the eastern edge of present-day Montana.

1841 Father Pierre Jean de Smet, a Belgian-born Jesuit missionary, arrives in Montana.

1846 The US gains title to the western part of Montana, as part of the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain.

1852 Gold is discovered in what later becomes the Montana Territory.

1861-65 The Civil War. Though Montana is part of the Union (as a separate territory from 1863 onward), it possesses a large number of Southern sympathizers.

1863 Congress establishes the Idaho Territory, which originally includes present-day Montana.

1864 Congress establishes the Montana Territory out of land from the Idaho Territory. Bannack is chosen as territorial capital, but the government soon moves to the newly-established mining town of Virginia City. Idaho Territorial Chief Justice Sydney Edgerton is appointed Montana's first territorial governor.

1866 Cowboys bring the first cattle to Montana, from Texas via the Bozeman Trail.

1867 Virginia City becomes territorial capital of Montana, following a territory-wide referendum on the matter. Residents of Helena resolve to hold another election, to gain the capital for their city.

1867–77 The Indian Wars. The US Army increases its presence in the Montana Territory in order to protect White settlements. In 1876, the Sioux and Cheyenne under Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeat the US Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and many of his troops are killed. The Army quickly sends large numbers of troops to Montana and breaks the American Indians' military power. The Nez Percé War of 1877 ends when Chief Joseph and his followers flee from Idaho to Montana, where they are captured by the Army.

1875 Helena becomes territorial capital, after residents successfully dispute the results of a second territory-wide referendum that favored Virginia City. The Montana supreme court rules in favor of Helena's claim. That same year, silver is discovered at Butte.

1881–82 The Northern Pacific railroad reaches Montana.

1889 On November 8, Montana enters the Union as the forty-first state.

1898 The First Territorial Montana Infantry trains near Helena to fight in the Spanish-American War. The regimental flag is adopted in 1905 as the first state flag.

1909 Congress passes the Enlarged Homestead Act in order to encourage western settlement. Thousands of homesteaders travel to Montana for free federal land. That same year, the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway completes a electrified rail line through Montana.

1914Jeannette Rankin, a women's rights activist, helps win the vote for women in Montana.

1914–18 World War I. Montana agriculture enjoys a boom time brought on by increased demand. Jeannette Rankin, elected to the House of Representatives in 1916, is one of the few members of Congress to vote in 1917 against entry into the war—a fact that probably hurts her 1918 Senate campaign.

1919 Montana is hit by a severe drought, ending the boom times of the war years.

1929 The Great Depression strikes the nation.

1941–45 World War II. Montana provides raw materials and foodstuffs for the US war effort. The US Army Air Forces build two air bases in the state. These later become known as Malmsford Air Force Base, located near Great Falls, and Glascow Air Force Base. Jeannette Rankin, back in Congress, is the only member of the House of Representatives to vote against entry into the war.

1965 Montana Public Radio begins as a student-training program at the University of Montana at Missoula. In 1974, the station becomes an affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR).

1972 The state passes a new constitution, which goes into effect the following year.

1976Norman Maclean, a professor of English at the University of Chicago, publishes the story collection A River Runs through It and Other Stories, which chronicle his Missoula boyhood. The book is later made into a movie directed by Robert Redford.

1988 Fire strikes throughout Yellowstone National Park, following a severe drought. Many thousands of acres of trees are destroyed.

1996 The Freemen Movement, part of the antigovernment "militia movement," declares its compound in the town of Jordan to be an independent government. After various hostile actions by the militia group, including threats against local officials, the Federal Bureau of Investigation lays siege to the compound. After eighty-one days, the group surrenders and are arrested.

That same year, federal authorities arrest Theodore Kaczynski, known as the "Unabomber," at his cabin near Lincoln. Kaczynski, an anti-technology extremist with a history of mental illness, had killed and injured several people by means of letter-bombs. Kaczynski publishes a lengthy "manifesto" in national newspapers—an action that leads to his arrest when his brother recognizes his writing.

2000 Lieutenant Governor Judy Martz, a Republican, is elected as the state's first woman governor.

2004 In the November election, voters approved a bill that would allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

2005 Montana businessman and philanthropist Thomas Siebel initiates the antidrug organization known as the Montana Meth Project, aimed at stopping rampant methamphetamine use among the state’s youth. The group aims at preventing further escalation of meth abuse in the state through awareness education and a multifaceted ad campaign. The Montana Meth Project becomes the model for other projects of its kind in several states, including Arizona and Oregon.

2011 An ExxonMobil oil pipeline ruptures near Billings, pouring a thousand barrels of oil into the Yellowstone River.

2017 Montana raises its minumum wage by ten cents to $8.15 per hour.

2020 Like other states, Montana is disrupted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Though case counts in Montana are relatively low in the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020, major surges are seen in fall and winter 2020 and again in late summer and fall 2021.

2022Heavy rainfall in June leads to historic flooding of the Yellowstone River, which severely damages infrastructure in Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding communities in Montana.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Edwin C. Bearss, 1923–2020 (Billings), Historian; Author.

Max Baucus, 1941– (Helena), US Senator.

Dirk Benedict, 1945– (Helena), Actor.

Dana Carvey, 1955– (Missoula), Comedian; Actor.

George Alexander Chestnutt, 1914–1993 (Helena), Author.

Eloise Cobell [Eloise Pepion; Yellow Bird Woman], 1945–2011 (Blackfeet Indian Reservation), Activist; bank executive.

Gary Cooper, 1901–1961 (Helena), Actor.

Patrick Duffy, 1949– (Townsend), Actor.

A. B. [Alfred Bertram] Guthrie, Jr., 1901–1991 (Choteau), Western novelist.

Chet Huntley, 1911–1974 (Cardwell), Journalist; Television newscaster.

Pert Kelton, 1907–1968 (Great Falls), Actor.

Evel [Robert Craig] Knievel, 1938–2007 (Butte), Daredevil; Motorcyclist.

Myrna Loy, 1905–1993 (Raidersburg), Actor.

David Lynch, 1946– (Missoula), Actor; Filmmaker.

D'Arcy McNickle, 1904–77 (St. Ignatius), Writer; American Indian rights activist; academic.

George Montgomery, 1916–2000 (Brady), Actor.

Marc Racicot, 1948– (Thompson Falls), Governor; Chair of the Republican National Committee.

Jeannette Rankin, 1880–1973 (near Missoula), US Representative (first woman to be elected to the House); Activist for peace and women's rights.

Martha Raye, 1916–1994 (Butte), Actor.

Steve Reeves, 1926–2000 (Glasgow), Bodybuilder; Actor.

Steve Reevis, 1962–2017 (Blackfeet Reservation, Browning), Actor.

Minnie Spotted Wolf, 1923–88 (near Heart Butte), First American Indian woman in the US Marine Corps.

Lester C. Thurow, 1938–2016 (Livingston), Economist.

INTERESTING FACTS

• Montana has hundreds of Air Force nuclear-missile silos, holding intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), managed by the 341st Space Wing based at Malmstrom Air Force Base outside Great Falls.
• Governor Roy E. Ayers, a Democrat who served from 1937 to 1941, was the first governor to be born in Montana. He was born in 1882 in Lewiston, in what was then the Montana Territory.
• Montana senator Mike Mansfield, a Democrat, served as US Senate majority leader from 1961 to 1977.
• In 2023 Montana became the first US state to pass a law banning TikTok, a popular social media app.
• Charles Cooper, father of actor Gary Cooper, served as a Montana Supreme Court justice in the 1920s.
• Part of Glacier National Park features a rare triple divide, in which water drainage is split between three ultimate watersheds, feeding the Gulf of Mexico, Hudson Bay, and the Pacific Ocean.

Bibliography

Fritz, Harry W., et al., editors. Montana Legacy: Essays on History, People, and Place. Montana Historical Society P, 2002.

Malone, Michael P., et al. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. Rev. ed., U of Washington P, 2003.

"The Mineral Industry of Montana." National Minerals Information Center, USGS, US Department of the Interior, www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/mineral-industry-montana. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

"Montana." QuickFacts, US Census Bureau, 1 Jul. 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MT/PST045221. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

"Montana: 2020 Census." United States Census Bureau, 25 Aug. 2021, www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/montana-population-change-between-census-decade.html. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

"Montana State Profile and Energy Estimates." US Energy Information Administration, 20 Apr. 2023, www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=MT#:~:text=Montana. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

"Montana: State BEARFACTS." Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce, 31 Mar. 2023, apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

"2022 State Agriculture Overview: Montana." National Agricultural Statistics Service, US Department of Agriculture, 2022, www.nass.usda.gov/Quick‗Stats/Ag‗Overview/stateOverview.php?state=Montana&year=2022. Accessed 18 Sep. 2023.

Eric Badertscher