|
Montana, state in the western United States, the northernmost of the Rocky Mountain states. Montana is called the Treasure State because of its mineral wealth. The name Montana comes from the Spanish word meaning “mountainous” and was first used when the area was designated a territory in 1864. Montana entered the Union on November 8, 1889, as the 41st state. Helena is the capital. Billings is the largest city.
Although many people consider Montana completely mountainous, two-thirds of the state is part of the Great Plains. From the majestic peaks of Glacier National Park in the northwest to the comparatively level terrain near the eastern border, the Montana landscape is one of great beauty, an ever-changing panorama of forest and prairie, highland and broad valley.
Montana’s history has been turbulent.
The region experienced an early and active fur-trading era. With the discovery of gold it developed a vigorous and wealthy mining frontier and later saw a brief but exciting period of the open-range cattle industry. Eventually, dryland and irrigated agriculture spread into many parts of the state. Today despite the arrival of urbanization and modern society, much of the old flavor of the frontier West survives in Montana.
Montana is bounded on the north by the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan; on the east by North Dakota and South Dakota; on the south by Wyoming and Idaho; and on the west by Idaho. Montana is the nation’s fourth largest state, covering 380,837 sq km (147,042 sq mi), including 3,859 sq km (1,490 sq mi) of inland waters. The land area of Montana is more than three times that of Pennsylvania and about the same as that of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana combined.
|
