Montana is a state in the northwestern United States, the 41st state to join the union. The capital is Helena, the largest city is Billings. The official nickname is the Treasure State.
STATE NAME
The state of Montana is a mountainous state, in the central and western parts of Montana there are more than seventy ridges of the Rocky Mountains. Therefore, it is not surprising that the name of the state of Montana comes from the Spanish word montana, which means “mountains”.
GEOGRAPHY
The state of Montana is located in the Western United States and belongs to the mountainous states of the United States. The territory of the state is 381,156 km2, Montana ranks fourth in terms of area among the US states (after Alaska, Texas and California) and is the largest landlocked state. Montana borders the states of North Dakota in the east, South Dakota in the southeast, Wyoming in the south, Idaho in the southwest and west. In the north, the state of Montana borders on Canada. According to the features of the relief, the state of Montana can be divided into two large areas: mountains in the west of the state and plains in the east.
Almost all of western Montana is occupied by mountains; it is not for nothing that the state gets its name from the Spanish montana (“mountain”). These are the numerous ranges of the northern part of the Rocky Mountains: the Bitterroot, Lewis, Anaconda and many others. The highest point in the state of Montana, Granite Peak (3,904 meters above sea level), is located in the south of the state in the Beartooth Mountains. The mountains of Montana are mainly covered with coniferous forests (one of the symbols of Montana is the Oregon pine), here you can see grizzly bears, moose, deer-wapiti and many other animals.
CLIMATE
Montana has a continental climate with hot summers and long, cold winters. It was in the mountains of Montana that the lowest temperature in the continental United States in the entire history of observations (-57 ° C) was recorded in 1954. In the west of Montana, warm air masses coming from the Pacific Ocean have a great influence on the climate. There is more rainfall, milder winters. In the state capital, Helena, the average temperature in January is from -12°C to -1°C, and in July – from 11°C to 29°C.
The regions of Montana east of the Rocky Mountains are drier. The average temperature in January in the largest city of the state, Billings, is from -10°C to 3°C, and in July – from 13°C to 31°C. In Montana, as in neighboring Wyoming, a warm Chinook wind blowing from the slopes of the Rocky Mountains sometimes brings a sharp rise in temperature. In 1972, a case was recorded when the temperature in the Loma area rose by 57 degrees (from -48°C to 9°C) in a day!
ECONOMY
The main sectors of the Montana economy are mining, agriculture and tourism. It is no coincidence that Montana is called the “Treasure State”, the subsoil of the state is extremely rich in minerals. On the plains of eastern Montana, coal, oil, natural gas are mined; in the mountains of the western part of the state – gold, silver, copper, lead, tungsten, molybdenum. Montana is the largest supplier of talc from the US states and the only one – platinum and palladium.
The state has a well-developed oil refining industry, production of timber and wood products. Montana’s largest city, Billings, is also the economic capital of the state. A number of financial organizations, machine-building and petrochemical plants, construction and many other companies are concentrated here.
TOURISM
The most important branch of the economy of the state of Montana is tourism, “Land of the Big Sky”, as the state is often called, is visited annually by millions of tourists. The state has several very popular tourist attractions, both natural and related to the history of Montana.
Among the unique natural sites of Montana are the world-famous Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, the Bison National Sanctuary, Lewis and Clark Cave, Flathead Lake and many others. Montana’s rivers are very popular with fishing enthusiasts. Montana’s most famous historical landmark is the Battle of the Little Bighorn National Monument.
Largest Counties in Montana
Montana became a state in 1889 and is known for its vast wilderness and role in mining and ranching. It has 56 counties. 10 Largest Counties in Montana 1. Yellowstone County County Facts Population: 164,731 (2020 Census) Area Codes: 406…
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