Welcome to TheseUnitedStates - Montana

Montana, our 41st state, was admitted to the Union November 8, 1889.   The 2000 census has Montana's population at 902,195, ranking  44th in the US.  With a total area of  147,042 square miles, the state ranks 4th  in size.  Montana's capital is Helena; its largest city is Billings.

Useful Internet Links for Montana:

Official Website of Montana  

http://www.state.mt.us

Travel and Tourism Department  

http://www.visitmt.org

Call toll free  1-800-VISITMT

Congress.org - Montana Elected Officials

Montana Weather from Weather.com

National Park Service Sites in Montana

Montana News from USA Today

Montana fun facts:

Montana State Bird:  Western meadowlark

Montana State Flower:  Bitterroot

Montana State Motto:  Gold and silver

Montana State Song:  Montana

Montana State Tree:  Ponderosa pine

Nicknames:  Treasure State, Big Sky Country

The geographic center of Montana lies in Fergus County, 11 miles west of Lewistown.  At 12,799 feet, Granite Peak in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness is the state's highest point.  The name Montana comes from the Latin or Spanish for "mountainous."

Brief History:  Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Crow Assiniboin, Salish (Flatheads), Kootenai, and Kalispel peoples were early inhabitants of the region.  French explorers visited in the mid-18th century.  The US acquired the area partly through the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, partly through the 1805-1806 explorations of Lewis and Clark.  Fur traders and missionaries established posts in the early 19th century.  Gold was discovered in 1863, and the Montana territory was established in 1864.  Indian uprisings reached their peak with the Battle of Little Bighorn - "Custer's Last Stand" - in June, 1876.  Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce surrendered in 1877 after a long trek across the state.  Mining activity and the coming of the Northern Pacific Railway, 1883, brought population growth.  Ranching and farming were an important part of the state's economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as they still are today.  Copper wealth from the Butte pits resulted in the turn of the century "War of the Copper Kings" as factions fought for control of "the richest hill on earth."

Montana is home to Glacier National Park and, along with Idaho and Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park.  Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument is located near Crow Agency in the eastern part of the state.  Other Montana attractions include the Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River; Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area; Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman; Museum of the Plains Indians, Blackfeet Reservation, near Browning; Flathead Lake; Lewis and Clark Caverns, near Whitehall; and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Great Falls.

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