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Most of Billings is located in the Yellowstone Valley, carved out by the
Yellowstone River. Over 10 million years ago, this valley was underwater
with the tops of the Rims being a prehistoric beach. It is not unusual to
find fossilized fish in the area.
Before the Europeans came, the Crow Indians inhabited the Yellowstone River
valleys and the surrounding areas. Their true name is the Apsáalooke which means
"people [or children] of the large-beaked bird". Some of pictographs in
the Pictograph Cave 6 miles south of Billings are 2,100 years old.
(Note: The rock art on this site was not created by the Crow, who arrived in
the area around 1700 AD.) earlier inhiabitiants, The traditional shelters of
the Crow were tipis (Teepees) made with Bison skins and wooden poles.
They were known to construct some of the largest tipis. The Crow also had more
horses than any other plains tribe.
Billings is located at 45°47′12″N, 108°32′14″W (45.786553, -108.537139)GR1,
with two thirds of the city in the Yellowstone Valley, the city being divided
into the Valley and the Heights by the Rims, a long cliff, also called the Rimrocks.
Billings is surrounded by six mountain ranges, the Beartooth Mountains to
the southwest, the Pryor Mountains and Bighorn Mountains to the south,
the Crazy Mountains to the west, the Bull Mountains to the north and the
Wolf Mountains to the south east.
The Yellowstone River runs through the City. According to the United States Census Bureau,
the city has a total area of 106.0 km² (41.0 mi²). 104.7 km² (40.9 mi²) of it is land
and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.33%) is water.
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