Montana is a state in the Northwest of the United States. The
name derives from the Spanish word montaña, and this in turn
from the Latin montanus (both in German: "mountain",
"mountainous", "mountainous"). The name is also a reference to
the natural resources of this state; its nickname Treasure State
("Treasure State") is due to the large number of mineral
resources (oil, coal, copper, silver and gold), almost all of
which are raised by mining.
With 380,838 km², Montana is
the fourth largest state in the USA after Alaska,
Texas and California and is slightly larger than Germany. However, with
just over a million inhabitants, only about 0.3% of the
total population live there. In the United States, only
Wyoming
and Alaska are more sparsely populated. Montana is one of the
mountain states that are traversed by the Rocky Mountains. The
capital of Montana is Helena.
1 Billings - largest city in Montana
2 Bozeman
3 Butte - former
mining town
4 Great Falls
5 Helena - Capital of Montana
6
Livingston - North access to Yellowstone National Park
7 Missoula
Bannack Ghost Town is a historic abandoned settlement located in Beaverhead Country, Montana near modern day town of Dillon. Bannack was originally found in 1862.
Bear Paw Battlesite is a location of a Battle of Bear Paw that is situated in Blaine County, Montana.
Big Hole National Battlefield is a historic site of a battle between Nez Perce native tribes and US cavalry that was fought on 9- 10 August 1877.
Big Sky Resort is visited by tourists all year long, but it is particularly famous for its 150 ski runs. The longest run measures up to 6 miles.
Elkhorn Ghost Town, Montana was constructed on a site of a silver mining camp after a large deposit of precious metal was discovered nearby.
Garnet Ghost Town, Montana is a ghost town found near a golden deposit that was discovered here in 1862.
Glacier National Park is situated near Kalispell, Montana in United States. This nature reserve covers an area of 1,013,322 acres.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is famous battle site where Custer commanding his cavalry unit was killed by the native Americans.
Whitewater Rafting - Many rivers in Montana, particularly in the
western part of the state, offer world-class rapids.
Floating - a
unique Montana experience. Rent inner tubes, grab a beer cooler, and
swim down a river with a bunch of your friends on a hot day. Choose a
river that's wide and slow or fast with rapids and enjoy the views from
a cool Montana waterway.
fly fishing
Mountain hiking, climbing
Horseback riding, western adventures
skis and snowboards
By plane
Billings Logan International Airport (IATA: BIL)
Missoula International Airport (IATA: MSO)
Great Falls International
Airport (IATA: GTF)
By car
interstate
I90 Ellensburg WA -
Butte MT - Billings MT - Buffalo WY
I94 Billings MT - Bismarck ND -
Fargo ND
With an area of 380,850 km², it is slightly larger than Japan. It is the fourth largest state in the United States (after Alaska, Texas and California). In the north, it has an international border with Canada - 877 km of border, the longest undefended border in the world - bordering the Canadian provinces. of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, more provinces than any other American state. In addition, it borders the states of North Dakota and South Dakota, to the east; with Wyoming, to the south; and with Idaho, to the west and southwest.
The relief of the state is diverse, but very defined by the
continental divide of the Americas, which runs through the state in a
diagonal direction, crossing it from the northwest to the center-south,
and dividing it into two differentiated zones: the eastern regions, and
the southern regions. west. It is well known for its mountainous west,
most of which is geologically and geographically part of the Rocky
Mountains. However, about 60% of the state is actually grassland, part
of the northern Great Plains. Despite this, even east of the Continental
Divide and the Rocky Mountain Front, there are numerous microclimate
areas where grasslands abound.
The Bitterroot Mountain Range
divides Montana, from Idaho to the western third. The mountains between
the Bitterroot and the summit of the Continental Divide are the Cabinet
Mountains, The Missions Mountains, the Garnet Mountains, the Sapphire
Mountains, the Stony Creek Mountains (Flint Creek Mountains) and the
Pintlar mountain range (Pintlar Range).
The northern section of
the Continental Divide, where mountains quickly give way to grasslands,
is popularly known as the Rocky Mountain Front, but is mostly named
after the Lewis Range, located in the Glacier National Park. Due to the
configuration of mountain ranges in this park, the Northern Divide
(beginning at Seward Peninsula, Alaska) crosses this region and turns
east at Triple Divide Peak. Thus, the Waterton, Belly and Saint Mary
rivers flow north towards Alberta (Canada), emptying into the
Saskatchewan River and, finally, emptying into Hudson Bay.
East
of the divide, several mountains run across the southern half of the
state, including the Gravelly Range, Tobacco Root Mountains, Madison
Range, Gallatin Range), the Big Belt Mountains, the Bridger Mountains,
the Absaroka Range, and the Beartooth Mountains. The Beartooth Plateau
is the largest landmass above 3,000 m in the lower 48 states, and
contains the state's highest point, Granite Peak, at 3,901 m.
Between the mountain ranges there are numerous valleys, rich in
agricultural resources and rivers, and have multiple opportunities for
tourism and leisure. Among the best-known areas are the Flathead,
Bitterroot, Big Hole, and Gallatin Valley valleys.
The east and
north of this transition zone is usually known as the northern plains,
with grasslands and plateaus, with some mountains and badlands, and
extends through the Dakotas, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Wyoming. The
small and rare mountains that are organized to the east of the
continental divide are: the Crazy Mountains, the Little Belt Mountains,
the Snowy Mountains, the Sweet Grass Hills (Sweet Grass Hills), the Bull
Mountains, and, in the southeastern corner of the state, near Ekalaka,
the Long Pines and Short Pines.
The eastern area of this zone, in
the north central part of the state, is known as Missouri breaks. Here,
near Great Falls, you can find three buttes (in Spanish, "volcanic
neck", mountain or small hill with vertical walls), as well as
impressive cliffs. These three, Cuadrado butte, Corona butte and Shaw
butte, are made up of very dense, magmatic rock, and have resisted
erosion for a long time. The fundamental surface is composed of slate.
Many areas around these buttes are covered by clays. These lands are
derived from the Colorado Formation. In the far east, areas such as
Makoshika State Park near Glendive and Medicine Rocks State Park near
Ekalaka are also notable Montana badlands.
It also has many rivers, many of them known as the "blue ribbon",
which are ideal for trout fishing, but also supply water to most
residents, as well as hydraulic power. It is the only state that has
rivers that flow into the three great American watersheds: the Pacific
Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson Bay, which are divided by Triple
Divide Peak, in Glacier National Park.
East of the divide, the
Missouri River, formed by the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison and
Gallatin rivers, crosses the central part of the state, flows through
the Missouri breaks and enters North Dakota. The Yellowstone River rises
in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, flows north to Livingston in
Montana, where it turns east and runs through the state until it empties
into the Missouri River, a few miles east of the border with North
Dakota. Other major tributaries of the Missouri River that flow through
the state are the Milk River, Marias River, Tongue River, and
Musselshell River. Montana also claims the title of having the "smallest
river in the world," the Roe River, just outside of Great Falls. All of
these rivers eventually reach the Mississippi River, and therefore, the
Gulf of Mexico.
Water is vitally important to this state, both
for agriculture and hydropower. In addition to rivers, this state is
home to Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake west of the
Great Lakes. Many reservoirs have been built, the largest being Fort
Peck, built on the Missouri River.
The name Montana comes from the Spanish word Montaña, which in turn comes from the Vulgar Latin montanea, which means great natural elevation of the terrain. North Mountain was the name that the first Spanish explorers gave to the entire mountainous region of the West. The name of Montana was included in a bill by the Committee on the Territories of the United States, chaired at the time by the Republican of Ohio James Ashley, for the territory that would become the Territory of Idaho. This name was changed by Representatives Henry Wilson (Massachusetts) and Benjamin F. Harding (Oregon), who complained that it made "no sense." When Ashley presented a bill to establish a temporary government in 1864 for the new territory from Idaho, he again chose the name Montana Territory. This time Republican Samuel Cox, also from Ohio, opposed that name. Cox complained that the name was inappropriate, given that most of the territory is not mountainous, stating that the name the Native Americans had given it was more appropriate than the Spanish. Names such as Shoshone were suggested, but It was decided that the Committee on Territories could name it whatever they wanted, so the name Montana was finally adopted.
Various indigenous peoples lived in the territory of the present-day state of Montana for thousands of years. Historical tribes encountered by Europeans and settlers in the United States include the Crow people in the south-central area, Cheyenne in the southeast, Blackfoot, Assiniboine and Gros Ventres in the central and north-central area, and Kootenai and Salish in the west. The smaller Pend d'Oreille and Kalispel tribes lived near Flathead Lake and the Western Mountains, respectively. A portion of southeastern Montana was used as a corridor between the Crow and related Hidatsas in North Dakota.
As part of the Missouri River basin, all land in Montana east of the
Continental Divide was part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Later,
and particularly in the decades following the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, European traders , Canadians and Americans operated a fur
trade, trading with indigenous peoples, in both the eastern and western
parts of what would become Montana. Although the increasing interaction
between fur traders and indigenous peoples often proved to be a
profitable partnership, conflicts broke out when indigenous interests
were threatened, such as the conflict between American trappers and the
Blackfeet. The indigenous peoples of the region were also decimated by
diseases introduced by fur traders to which they had no immunity. The
Fort Raymond trading post (1807-1811) was built in Crow Indian country
in 1807. Until Oregon Treaty of 1846, the land west of the Continental
Divide was disputed between the British and American governments and was
known as Oregon Country. The first permanent settlement of
Euro-Americans in what is now Montana was St. Mary's, established in
1841 near present-day Stevensville. In 1847, Fort Benton was built as
the highest fur trading post on the Missouri River. In the In the 1850s,
settlers began moving into the Beaverhead and Big Hole valleys from the
Oregon Trail and into the Clark's Fork Valley.
The first gold
discovered in Montana was at Gold Creek near present-day Garrison in
1852. The gold rush in the region began in earnest beginning in 1862. A
series of important mineral discoveries in the western part of the state
found gold, silver, copper, lead and coal (and later oil) that attracted
tens of thousands of miners to the area. The richest of all placer gold
diggings were discovered in Alder Gulch, where the town of Virginia City
was established. Other rich placer deposits were found in Last Chance
Gulch, where the city of Helena is now located, Confederate Gulch,
Silver Bow, Emigrant Gulch, and Cooke City. Gold production between 1862
and 1876 reached $144 million, after which silver became even more
important. The largest mining operations were in Butte, with significant
silver deposits and expansive copper deposits.
Before the
creation of the Montana Territory (1864-1889), areas within present-day
Montana were part of the territories of Oregon (1848-1859), Washington
(1853-1863), Idaho (1863-1864), and Dakota ( 1861-1864). Montana became
one of the territories of the United States on May 26, 1864. Its first
capital was located in Bannack. Sidney Edgerton was its first governor.
The capital was moved to Virginia City in 1865 and to Helena in 1875. In
1870, the non-Indian population of Montana Territory was 20,595. The
Montana Historical Society, founded on February 2, 1865 in Virginia
City, is the oldest such institution west of the Mississippi (excluding
Louisiana). In 1869 and 1870, respectively, the Cook-Folsom-Peterson and
Washburn-Langford-Doane expeditions were launched from Helena to the
Upper Yellowstone region. The extraordinary discoveries and reports from
these expeditions led to the creation of Yellowstone National Park in
1872.
As settlers began to populate Montana from the 1850s to the
1870s, disputes occurred with Native Americans, primarily over ownership
and control of land. In 1855, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac
Stevens negotiated the Hellgate Treaty between the United States
government and the Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai people of
western Montana, which established boundaries for tribal nations. The
treaty was ratified in 1859. While the treaty established what later
became the Flathead Indian Reservation, problems with interpreters and
confusion over the terms of the treaty led whites to believe that the
Bitterroot Valley was open to settlement, but tribal nations disputed
those provisions. The Salish remained in the Bitterroot Valley until
1891.
The first US Army post established in Montana was Camp
Cooke in 1866, on the Missouri River, to protect steamboat traffic to
Fort Benton. More than a dozen additional military posts were
established in the state. Pressure on land ownership and control
increased due to gold discoveries in various parts of Montana and
surrounding states. Major battles occurred in Montana during the Red
Cloud War, the Great Sioux War of 1876, and the Nez Perce War and in
conflicts with the Piegan Blackfeet. Most notable were the Marias
Massacre (1870), the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876), the Battle of Big
Hole (1877), and the Battle of Bear Paw (1877). The last recorded
conflict in Montana between the United States Army and Native Americans
occurred in 1887 during the Battle of Crow Agency in Big Horn. Surviving
Indians who had signed treaties were usually required to move to
reservations.
Simultaneously with these conflicts, the bison, a
key species and the main source of protein on which natives had survived
for many centuries, were being destroyed. Experts estimate that about 13
million bison roamed Montana in 1870. In 1875, General Philip Sheridan
asked a joint session of Congress to authorize the slaughter of bison
herds to deprive the Indians of their food source. By 1884, commercial
hunting had brought the bison to the brink of extinction; There were
only about 325 bison left in the entire United States.
Cattle
ranching has been central to Montana's history and economy since Johnny
Grant began wintering cattle in Deer Lodge Valley in the 1850s and
trading fatted cattle in Montana's fertile valleys with emigrants on the
Oregon Trail. Nelson Story brought the first Texas Longhorn cattle to
the territory in 1866. Granville Stuart, Samuel Hauser, and Andrew J.
Davis began a major open-range cattle operation in Fergus County in
1879. Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Deer Lodge remains
today as a link to the late 19th century style of farming. Operated by
the National Park Service, it is a 8 km² working ranch.
The
Northern Pacific Railroad (NPR) tracks reached Montana from the west in
1881 and from the east in 1882. However, the railroad played a major
role in causing tensions with Native American tribes in the 1870s. Jay
Cooke, the chairman of NPR, launched major studies in the Yellowstone
Valley in 1871, 1872, and 1873, which were vigorously challenged by the
Sioux under Chief Sitting Bull. These clashes, in part, contributed to
the Panic of 1873, a financial crisis that delayed railroad construction
in Montana. Surveys of 1874, 1875, and 1876 helped spark the Great Sioux
War of 1876. The transcontinental NPR was completed on the 8th.
September 1883 at Gold Creek.
In 1881, the Utah and Northern
Railway, a branch of the Union Pacific, completed a narrow gauge line
from northern Utah to Butte. Several smaller spur lines operated in
Montana from 1881 into the 20th century, including the Oregon Short
Line, Montana Railroad and Milwaukee Road.
The Great Northern
Railroad (GNR) tracks reached eastern Montana in 1887, and when they
reached the northern Rocky Mountains in 1890, the GNR became a major
promoter of tourism in the Glacier National Park region. The
transcontinental GNR was completed on January 6, 1893 in Scenic,
Washington and is known as the Hi Line, being the northernmost
transcontinental railroad line in the United States.
Under
territorial governor Thomas Meagher, Montanans held a constitutional
convention in 1866 in an unsuccessful bid for statehood. A second
constitutional convention held in Helena in 1884 produced a constitution
ratified 3:1 by the citizens of Montana in November 1884. For political
reasons, Congress did not approve Montana statehood until February 1889
and President Grover Cleveland signed an omnibus bill that granted
statehood to Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington once
the corresponding state constitutions were drafted. In July 1889,
Montanans convened their third constitutional convention and drafted a
constitution accepted by the people and the federal government. On
November 8, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed Montana the
41st state of the union. The state's first governor was Joseph K.
Toole.34 In the 1880s, Helena (the state capital) had more millionaires
per capita than any other city in the United States.
The
Homestead Act of 1862 provided free land to settlers who could claim and
"prove" 1 km² of federal land in the Midwest and Western United States.
Montana did not see a large influx of immigrants from this law because
160 acres was generally insufficient to support a family in the arid
territory. The first homestead claim under the law in Montana was made
by David Carpenter near Helena in 1868. The first claim by a woman was
made near Warm Springs Creek by Gwenllian Evans, the daughter of Deer
Lodge Montana pioneer Morgan Evans. By 1880, farms were in the greener
valleys of central and western Montana, but few in the eastern plains.
The Wilderness Land Act of 1877 was passed to allow settlement of
arid lands in the west and 3 km² was allocated to settlers for a fee of
$.25 per acre and a promise to irrigate the land. After three years, a
fee of one dollar per acre would be paid and the settler would own the
land. This law attracted primarily cattle and sheep ranchers to Montana,
many of whom grazed their flocks on the Montana prairie for three years,
did little to irrigate the land, and then abandoned it without paying
final fees. Some farmers arrived with the arrival of the Great Northern
and Northern Pacific railroads during the 1880s and 1890s, although in
relatively small numbers.
In the early 1900s, James J. Hill of the Great Northern began
promoting settlement on the Montana prairie to fill his trains with
settlers and goods. Other railroads followed his lead. In 1902, the
Reclamation Act was passed, allowing the construction of irrigation
projects in the river valleys of eastern Montana. In 1909, Congress
passed the Expanded Homestead Act which expanded the amount of free land
from 0.6 to 1.3 km² per family and in 1912 reduced the time to "credit"
a claim to three years. In 1916, the The Homestead Act allowed for
640-acre tracts in areas not suitable for irrigation. This combination
of publicity and changes to the Homestead Act attracted tens of
thousands of settlers, attracted by the free land, and World War I
brought high wheat prices. particularly high. Additionally, Montana was
experiencing a temporary period of above-average rainfall. Settlers
arriving during this period were known as "Honyockers" or
"scissorbills". Although the word "honyocker", possibly derived from the
ethnic slur "hunyak", It was derisively applied to settlers as
"newbies", "new in their business" or "unprepared", most of these new
settlers had agricultural experience, although many did not.
However, farmers faced a number of problems. Massive debt was one.
Additionally, most settlers came from wetter regions and were unprepared
for the dry climate, lack of trees, and scarce water resources.
Additionally, small farms of less than 129 ha were not They were
suitable for the environment. Climatic and agricultural conditions are
much harsher and drier west of the 100th meridian. Then the droughts of
1917-1921 proved devastating. Many people left and half of the state's
banks went bankrupt as a result of providing mortgages that could not be
repaid. As a result, the size of holdings increased while the number of
holdings decreased.
By 1910, settlers filed claims on more than
five million acres, and by 1923, more than 93 million acres were under
cultivation. By 1910, the Great Falls land office alone had more than a
thousand homestead records per month, and at the peak of 1917-1918 it
had 14,000 new homes each year. Significant declines occurred after the
drought of 1919.
When World War I broke out, Jeannette Rankin,
the first woman in the United States to serve in Congress, voted against
the United States' declaration of war. His actions were widely
criticized in Montana, where support for the war and patriotism was
strong. In 1917-18, due to a miscalculation of Montana's population,
about 40,000 Montanans, 10% of the state's population, volunteered or
were recruited into the armed forces. This represented a manpower
contribution to the war that was 25% higher than that of any other state
on a per capita basis. About 1,500 Montanans died as a result of the war
and 2,437 were wounded, also higher than any other state in per capita
terms. Montana's Remount Station in Miles City provided 10,000 cavalry
horses for the war, more than any other army post in the country. The
war created a boom for Montana mining, lumber, and agricultural
interests, as demand for war materials and food increased.
In
June 1917, the United States Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917,
which was expanded by the Sedition Act of 1918. In February 1918, the
Montana legislature passed the Montana Sedition Act, which was a model
for the federal version. In combination, these laws criminalized
criticism of the government, military, or symbols of the United States
through speech or other means. The Montana Law led to the arrest of more
than 200 people and the conviction of 78, mostly of German or Austrian
descent. More than 40 spent time in prison. In May 2006, then-Governor
Brian Schweitzer posthumously issued full pardons to all those convicted
of violating the Montana Sedition Act.
Montanans who opposed the
United States' entry into the war included immigrant groups of German
and Irish descent, as well as pacifist Anabaptist people such as the
Hutterites and Mennonites, many of whom were also of Germanic descent.
In turn, pro-war groups formed, such as the Montana Defense Council,
created by Governor Samuel V. Stewart, and local "loyalty committees."
The feeling of war was complicated by labor issues. The Anaconda
Copper Company, which was at its all-time peak of copper production, was
an extremely powerful force in Montana, but it also faced criticism and
opposition from newspapers and socialist unions struggling to make
profits for their members. In Butte, a multiethnic community with a
significant European immigrant population, unions, particularly the
recently formed Metal Mine Workers' Union, opposed the war on the
grounds that it mostly benefited large logging and mining interests. In
the wake of increased mining production and the Speculator Mine disaster
in June 1917, Industrial Workers of the World organizer Frank Little
came to Butte to organize miners. He gave some speeches with incendiary
anti-war rhetoric. On August 1, 1917, masked vigilantes dragged him from
his boarding house and hanged him from a railroad trestle, which was
considered a lynching. Little's murder and the strikes that followed
resulted in the Guard being sent to National to Butte to suppress the
rebels. Overall, anti-German and anti-union sentiments were exacerbated
and a movement was created that led to the passage of the Montana
Sedition Act the following February. In addition, the Council Defense
became a state agency with the power to prosecute and sanction people
considered in violation of the law. The council also approved rules
limiting public gatherings and prohibiting speaking German in public.
In the wake of legislative action in 1918, emotions ran high. United
States Attorney Burton K. Wheeler and several district court judges who
hesitated to prosecute or convict people charged with charges were
heavily criticized. Wheeler was brought before the Defense Council,
although he avoided formal proceedings, and a Forsyth District Court
judge was indicted. There were burnings of German books and several
near-hangings. The ban on speaking German remained in effect until the
early 1920s. Complicating wartime fighting, the 1918 flu pandemic
claimed the lives of more than 5,000 Montanans. Suppression of civil
liberties that occurred led some historians to call this period "Montana
Agony".
An economic depression began in Montana after World War I
and lasted through the Great Depression until the beginning of World War
II. This caused great difficulties for farmers, ranchers and miners.
Wheat farms in eastern Montana make the state a major producer; Wheat
has a relatively high protein content, so it commands premium prices.
When the United States entered World War II on December 8, 1941,
many Montanans had enlisted in the military to escape the poor national
economy of the previous decade. Another 40,000 Montanans entered the
military in the first year after war was declared, and more than 57,000
joined before the war ended. These numbers made up about ten percent of
the state's population, and Montana again contributed one of the highest
numbers of soldiers per capita of any state. Many Native Americans were
among those who served, including Crow Nation soldiers who became Code
Talkers. At least 1,500 Montanans died in the war. Montana was also the
training ground for the First Special Service Force or "Devil's
Brigade", a joint Canadian-American commando-style force that trained at
Fort William Henry Harrison to gain experience in mountainous and winter
conditions before deployment. Air bases were built at Great Falls,
Lewistown, Cut Bank and Glasgow, some of which were used as staging
areas to prepare aircraft to be sent to Allied forces in the Soviet
Union. During the war, around 30 Japanese Fu-Go balloon bombs were
documented to have landed in Montana, although no casualties or major
wildfires were attributed to them.
In 1940, Jeannette Rankin was
elected to Congress again. In 1941, as in 1917, she voted against the
United States' declaration of war following the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. His was the only vote against the war and, following public
outcry over her vote, she Rankin required police protection for a time.
Other pacifists tended to be those from "peace churches" who generally
opposed war. Many people who claimed conscientious objector status from
across the United States were sent to Montana during the war as
paratroopers and for other wildland firefighting duties.
In 1942,
the United States Army established Camp Rimini near Helena for the
purpose of training sled dogs in winter weather.
In the post-World War II Cold War era, Montana became home to the Air Force Military Air Transport Service (1947) for airlift training in Douglas C-54 Skymasters and finally in 1953 , the air and missile forces of the Strategic Air Command were based at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. The base also housed the 29th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Air Defense Command from 1953 to 1968. In December 1959, Malmstrom AFB was selected as the home of the new Minuteman I ICBM. The first operational missiles were in place and ready in early 1962. In late 1962, missiles assigned to the 341st Strategic Missile Wing played a major role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. When the Soviets withdrew their missiles from Cuba, President John F. Kennedy said that the Soviets backed down because they knew they had an "ace up their sleeve," referring directly to the Minuteman missiles in Montana. Montana eventually became home to the largest ICBM range in the United States at 60,865 km².
In 2005 it had an estimated population of 935,670, which represents
an increase of 8,750 inhabitants, or 0.9% compared to the previous year,
and an arrival of 33,475 inhabitants and 3.7% since 2000. This includes
a natural increase since the last census of 13,674 (58,001 births minus
44,327 deaths) and another due to the immigration of 21,074 people to
this state. Immigration from outside the United States has involved an
arrival of 2,141 inhabitants, and immigration from the same country to
this state is 18,933 people. 16,500 of the state's inhabitants were born
abroad, representing 1.8% of the total population.
According to
the 2000 United States Census, 1.52% of the population over the age of 5
speaks Spanish at home, while 1.11% speak German Statistics (in
English).
The population center is in Meagher County, in the town
of White Sulfur Springs Center page (in English).
German ancestry
is the largest among Euro-American groups, while Americans of
Scandinavian descent predominate in rural areas of the state, especially
in the northern and eastern prairies. There are also several counties
where Native Americans predominate, mostly around each of the seven
Indian reservations. Historically, mining oriented western Montana
communities like Butte to have a broader range of ethnic groups,
particularly Eastern European and Irish Americans, as well as people who
emigrated from English mining regions such as Cornwall.
It is the
second largest Hutterite state in the United States (only surpassed by
South Dakota), with several colonies spread throughout the territory.
The Hispanic population of Montana is located mainly around the Billings
area, and in Beaverhead County, in the south-central and south-western
part of the state, and the highest density of African Americans is
located in Great Falls.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that GDP was $26 billion in
2003. Per capita income in the same year was $25,406, 47th in the United
States. However, this number is growing increasingly rapidly. According
to the Missoulian, the economy has grown rapidly since 2003; In 2005, it
ranked 39th in the country with a per capita income of $29,387.
The economy is based mainly on agriculture—wheat, barley, beets, oats,
rye, potatoes, honey and cherries—sheep farming and very significant
extraction of wood and minerals (gold, coal, silver, talc and
vermiculite). Tourism is also very important to the economy with
millions of visitors a year to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, the
Little Big Horn Battle Site, and Yellowstone National Park.
Their
income tax rates range from 1% to 6.9%. This state has no sales tax. In
Montana, buildings are exempt from real estate taxes. However, these
taxes apply to livestock, farm machinery, heavy equipment, automobiles,
trucks, and business equipment. Real estate tax is not determined solely
by property value.
The current governor is Greg Gianforte (Republican), who began
governing on January 4, 2021. His representatives in the Senate are
Steve Daines (Republican) and Jon Tester (Democrat). His representative
to Congress is Greg Gianforte (Republican).
The state was the
first to elect a woman to the United States Congress (Jeannette Rankin)
and was one of the first to grant women the right to vote. Despite its
large Native American population, Montana is one of the most homogeneous
states — about 90% of residents are of European ancestry, with large
numbers of immigrants from Germany, Scandinavia, Ireland, Wales,
Cornwall, Italy and Slovakia during the 19th and 20th centuries. There
is also a significant number of Chinese immigrants (especially in the
cities of Helena, Butte and Anaconda) and Hispanics.
It has been a mixed state, with a tradition of sending "conservatives
to Helena (the state capital) and liberals to Washington." However,
there have been long periods of time with great domination by just one
party. During the 1970s, the state was dominated by the Democratic
Party, with Democratic governors for 20 years and a Democratic majority
in its national congressional delegation and the state legislature. This
pattern changed beginning with the 1988 elections, when he chose a
Republican governor and sent another from the same party to the US
Senate for the first time since the 1940s. This change continued until
1994, when the Republican Party took office. control of both chambers of
its state legislature, consolidating its dominance until 2004. The last
Democrat the state supported for president was in 1992, in Bill
Clinton's first election.
In recent years, it has been classified
as a Republican state, and has supported George W. Bush by a wide margin
in both 2000 and 2004. However, since 2000, the state has been
undergoing a shift toward centralization, which became effective in
2004, when he elected a Democratic governor (Brian Schweitzer). In the
2006 election, Democratic candidate Jon Tester beat (by just 3,000
votes) then-Republican Senator Conrad Burns, one of several crucial
points for the Democratic Party to achieve a majority in the United
States Senate. His only congresswoman, Republican Denny Rehberg, easily
won re-election. The state Senate is (as of 2007) controlled by
Democrats and the state House of Representatives is controlled by
Republicans.
On April 17, 2007, it became the first state to pass
legislation against the federal government's Real ID Act. Governor
Schweitzer signed a bill prohibiting the Montana Automobile Division
from enforcing the new regulations.
It is a state with alcoholic
beverage control.
Important cities and towns
In the 2000 Census, there were no
cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants and only three with more than
50,000 inhabitants, Billings, Missoula and Great Falls. According to
calculations by the United States Census Bureau, on July 1, 2007,
Billings had already exceeded 100,000 inhabitants (101,876 inhabitants)
and was the 254th most populous city in the United States.
The
main cities are listed in the attached table. In addition, other
important locations are the following:
Anaconda
Belgrade
Columbia Falls
Cut Bank
Deer Lodge
Dillon
glasgow
Glendive
hamilton
Hardin
Laurel
Lewistown
Livingston
Polson
shelby
Sydney
Whitefish
Montana is one of the few states that lacks a team in any major
league. However, it owns several teams in Minor League Baseball:
Missoula Osprey
Great Falls White Sox
Helena Brewers
Billings
Mustangs
On the other hand, the state's universities have their own
teams that compete in different sports. Among the university teams, the
Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats stand out, which are
part of the Big Sky Conference and have been part of a great rivalry
since the beginning of the 20th century. Especially popular are the
American football and basketball teams.
Basketball coach Phil
Jackson was born in Deer Lodge, a city located in the state.
Several famous films are set in this state: A River Runs Through It (1992)—called The River of Life in Spain and Nothing is Forever in some Latin American countries—, Legends of Passion (1994) or The Horse Whisperer (1998). ) —The Lord of the Horses (Spanish America) and The Man Who Whispered to the Horses (Spain)—. Television series “Yellowstone” USA 2018 _(Spain) 2020.
State flower: Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) since 1895
State Tree:
Ponderosa Pine since 1949
State animal: Grizzly bear since 1862
State bird: Western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) since 1931
State
fish: cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) since 1977
State
song: "Montana" since 1945
State Ballad: "Montana Melody" from 1983
State Gems: Sapphire and Agate
State fossil: Maiasaura peeblesorum
(ornithopod dinosaur) since 1985
State butterfly: Nymphalis antiopa
since 2001
State Grass: Bluebunch Wheatgrass since 1973
State
motto: Gold and silver