MONTANA is a word derived from the Latin word meaning "mountainous." It is often termed "The Treasure State," "Land of the Shining Mountains," and "Big Sky Country." Admitted to the union as a state on november 8, 1889, it is the nation's fourth-largest state. The eastern third is plains country; the central third, plains and isolated mountain ranges; and the wester third, mountain ranges and valleys. The highest point, at 12,799 feet, is Granite Peak in the Beartooth Mountains of southcentral Montana. The lowest point, at 1,800 feet, lies in northwestern Montana where the Kootenai River flows out of Montana.
WATER RESOURCES
Within Montana's borders are portions of three major drainage systems.
West of the Continental Divide, streams drain via the Columbia River into the Pacific Ocean. East of the Divide, streams drain via the Missouri-Mississippi river system into the Gulf of Mexico. And from portions of Glacier National Park and Teton County, streams drain via the Bell and St. Mary rivers into Hudson Bay. Triple Divide, where water flows in all three directions is located in Glacier National Park.
FORESTS
There are 10 national forests, including 12 wilderness areas and one national recreation area, in Montana with 16,796,000 acres of public lands for outdoor recreation, 16,000 miles of fishing streams, and 217,000 acres of lakes. There are seven state forests containing 213,000 consolidated acres, plus approximately 276,000 acres of individual tracts, for a total of nearly half a million acres of state forest land. National and state forests are located primarily in the western third of the state.
NATIONAL PARKS
Glacier National Park, the nation's foremost trail park with nearly 1,000 miles of trails, is located entirely in Montana. Three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park, the nation's oldest and largest parks, are in Montana.
STATE PARKS
Montana has 60 state parks that protect significant historic sites and natural areas and provide a variety of recreational opportunities, including camping, picnicking, fishing, hiking, swimming, boating, and nature study.
INDIAN RESERVATIONS
Montana is home to twelve North American Indian Tribes on seven reservations:
1. The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Fort Peck Reservation, Poplar.
2. The Blackfeet Tribes, Blackfeet Reservation, Browning.
3. The Chippewa and Cree Tribes, Rocky Boy's Reservation, Box Elder.
4. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Flathead
Reservation, Pablo.
5. The Crow Tribe, Crow Reservation, Crow Agency.
6. The Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes, Fort Belknap
Reservation, Fort Belknap Agency.
7. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Lame Deer.
8. The Little Shell Tribe, no reservation, 3071 1st Street, Havre,
59501.
MAJOR INDUSTRIES
Agriculture
Total cash receipts from the marketing of agricultural products totaled $1.6 billion in 1989. Of this total figure, $710 million was from the marketing of crops and $899 million from the marketing of livestock and livestock products. Cash receipts from leading commodities were: cattle and calves, $770 million; wheat, $391 million; barley, $111 million; dairy products $43 million; sugar beets, $46 million; hay, $120 million; hogs, $34 million; sheep and lambs, $21 million; all other crops and livestock, $75 million.
Mineral Production
Total value in 1989 was $1.2 billion. Value of leading minerals: coal, $280 million (38 million T); petroleum, $329 million (20 million bbl); metals (gold, copper, silver, platinum, etc.), $596 million; natural gas, $75 million (45 million MCF).
Value of Construction Contracts
$500 million (1988)
Travel & Tourism
Tourism is one of Montana's top industries, with travelers (both
resident and nonresident) directly contributing over $1 billion to the
state's economy in 1990. Montana hosts approximately 5.5 million
nonresident visitors each year.
Wood & Paper Products
$993 million in sales (1989)
THE ARTS
Interest in the arts is lively and diverse. Outstanding museums and art galleries are located throughout the state. Summer theater flourishes in many communities. Community orchestras and choral groups grow in stature each year. several nationally know writers, artists, and craft workers call Montana home.
NEWSPAPERS
11 daily and 64 nondaily newspapers are published in Montana.
CAPITAL
Helena (pronounced with accent on first syllable: HEL-e-na).
STATE SONGS
"Montana," with music by Joseph E. Howard and lyrics by Charles C. Cohan, is available from Shodair Hospital, 840 Helena Avenue, Helena, MT 59601, for $3.00. "Montana Melody," the state ballad, was written by Carleen and LeGrande Harvey and adopted by the state legislature in 1983. Copies are available from Cut-A-Trail Music, P.O. Box 5551, Missoula, MT 59801.
POPULATION
The 1990 census of Montana's population was 799,065. The six largest cities are: Billings, 81,151; Great Falls, 55,097; Missoula, 42,918; Butte, 33,336; Helena, 24,569; and Bozeman, 22, 660.
GOVERNMENT
Montana has four presidential electoral votes. Members of Congress are U.S. Senators Max Baucus (D) and Conrad Burns (R) and U.S. Representative Pat Williams (D).
The Montana Legislature has 50 senators and 100 representative elected from single-member districts. The legislature meets at regular biennial sessions for 90 days in odd-numbered years.
Montana is governed by its constitution, and laws are administered by its executive branch officers and various boards and commissions. Executive officers include Governor Stan Stephens (R), Lt. Governor Dennis Rehberg (R), Attorney General Marc Racicot (R), Secretary of State Mike Cooney (D), Auditor Andrea Bennett (R), and Superintendent of Public Instruction Nancy Keenan (D). All are elected to four-year terms.
Judicial decisions are made by a system of courts headed by the state supreme court. The court has chief justice and six justices elected to eight-year terms. Nineteen district courts are each presided over by one to four judges elected to six-year terms. There are numerous municipal and justice of the peace courts. Copies of the Montana Constitution are available at no charge from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Helena, Mt 59620.
There are 56 counties, 126 incorporated cities and towns and two consolidated city-county governments in Montana. nine local governments operate under the "commission-manager" form of government including five of the state's largest cities. The majority of cities continue with the "commission-executive" form also known as the "mayor-council" form and most counties retain the traditional "commission" form.
EDUCATION
Montana has 769 schools serving 109,490 elementary students (grades K-8) and 42,747 (grades 9-12). Five vocational-technical centers are located in Missoula, Butte, Helena, Great Falls, and Billings. The Montana State School for the Deaf and Blind is in Great Falls. The State University System of Higher Education is composed of these units:
Montana State University, Bozeman; the University of Montana, Missoula;
Wester Montana College of the University of Montana, Dillon; Eastern
Montana college, Billings; Northern Montana College, Havre; and the
College of Mineral Science and Technology, Butte. There are three private colleges in Montana: Carroll College, Helena; the College of Great Falls, Great Falls; and Rocky Mountain College, Billings. In addition there are three public community colleges: Dawson Community College, Glendive; Flathead Valley Community College, Kalispell; and Miles Community College, Miles City.
State Seal
The seal's central group representing a plow and a miner's pick and shovel is flanked by a representation of the Great Falls of the Missouri River on the right, mountain scenery on the left, and the words "Oro-y-Plata" (Spanish for gold and silver) below. Surrounding the illustration are the words, "The Great Seal of the State of Montana."
Throughout Montana's history, there have been several styles for the
Territorial and State Seal; however, the state has had but one official Great Seal. First, the "Oro-y-Plata" seal served the Territory of Montana. The act designating it the Great Seal of the Territory of Montana was signed by Governor Sidney Edgerton at Bannack City on January 17, 1865. Twenty-eight years later-on March 2, 1893 - the Territorial Seal was signed by Governor
J.E. Rickards and adopted as the official seal of the State of Montana.
STATE SYMBOLS
State Bird Western Meadowlark
State Flower Bitterroot
State Tree Ponderosa Pine
Gem Stones Agate and Sapphire
State Grass Bluebunch Wheatgrass
State Fish Blackspotted Cutthroat Trout
State Animal Grizzly Bear
State Fossil Duck-billed Dinosaur (Maiasaura peeblesorum)
BOOKS ABOUT MONTANA
Recommended for children:
Montana In Words and Pictures. Dennis Fradin. Children's Press, 1981. 2nd grade, non-fiction
Montana. Allan Carpenter. Children's Press, 1979. 4th grade, non-fiction.
A Horse Named Sky. Barbara Corooran. Atheneum, 1986. 5th grade, fiction.
One Summer in Montana. Dayton O. Hyde. Atheneum, 1985. 6th grade, fiction.
Recommended for high school and above:
Montana Is, Montana! A Photographic Celebration, Volume I. Rick Graetz.
Northern Rockies Publishing, 1988.
Montana! A Photographic Celebration, Volume 2. Rick Graetz and A.B. Guthrie,
Jr., Northern Rockies Publishing, 1989.
Montana On My Mind. Michael Sample and Larry Mayer. Falcon Press, 1987.
The Big Sky. A.B. Guthrie, Jr. Houghton-Mifflin, 1947.
This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind. Ivan Doig. Harcourt-Brace-Jovanovich, 1978.
Tough Trip Through Paradise. Andrew Garcia. Houghton-Mifflin, 1967.
The Journals of Lewis & Clark. Bernard DeVoto, editor. Houghton-Mifflin,1953.
Fool's Crow, James Welch. Viking Press, 1986.
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories. Norman Maclean. University ofChicago Press, 1976.
Many of the above are available from the Montana Historical Society, 225 N.Roberts, Helena, MT 59620. Montana: The Magazine of Western History, anillustrated quarterly, is available from the Society.
Montana is a big state with dramatically different landscapes and physical features. For your convenience, we have divided the state into six vacation countries, each with attractions and scenic values that live up to its name.
Charlie Russell Country is the land memorialized by famed western artist Charlie Russell -cowboys and Plains Indians, buffalo, buttes, dramatic skies and the grand Missouri River. This is where the mountains meet the plains.
For more information write or phone:
Charlie Russell Country
P.O. Box 3166
Great Falls, MT 59403
1-800-527-5348 or (406) 761-5036
Custer Country is the site of the most famous Indian battle in U.S. history. Here, Lt. Col. George Custer lost his life in 1876 against an underestimated force of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. Here, too, are vast cattle ranches, great rivers, and Montana's largest city, Billings. Activities in the area feature many cultural & historic events. For more information write or phone:
Custer Country
Route 1, Box 1206A
Hardin, MT 59034
(406) 665-1671
Gla northwest corner, where lofty mountains set the pace. Here is magnificent Glacier National Park, watchable wildlife, wild rivers, scenic golf courses, wilderness and lakes scattered like jewels. For more information write or phone:formation write or phone:
Glacier Country
945 4th Ave. East
Suite B
Kalispell, MT 59901
1-800-338-5072 or (406) 756-7128
Gold West Country is Montana's southwest corner, where the West's colorful history comes to life in restored mining camps, mansions and union halls. Here, too, are fabled mountains, blue-ribbon trout streams and Montana's capital city. For more information write or phone:
Gold West Country
1155 Main St.
Deer Lodge, MT 59722
(406) 846-1943.
Missouri River Country is Montana's northeast corner, where a great river sets the theme for a vast landscape of prairies, lakes, wildlife and waterfowl refuges. Here, everything is big, with ranches measured in miles. For more information write or phone:
Missouri River Country
101 Hawkeye
Plentywood, MT 59254
(406) 653-3601
Yellowstone Country is Montana's gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Its legendary rivers, majestic peaks, vast forests and wilderness areas make it headquarters for some of the world's finest trout fishing and outdoor recreation. For more information write or phone:
