Portal:Montana

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The Montana Portal

East face of the Crazy Mountains in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana (2015)

Montana (/mɒnˈtænə/ ^ⓘ mon-TAN-ə) is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to the north. It is the fourth-largest state by area, the eighth-least populous state, and the third-least densely populated state. Its capital is Helena, while the most populous city is Billings. The western half of the state contains numerous mountain ranges, while the eastern half is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands, with smaller mountain ranges found throughout the state.

Most of Montana first came under American sovereignty with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and was explored by the Lewis and Clark Expedition shortly thereafter. Fur trappers followed and were the main economic activity in the area until gold was discovered in 1852. The ensuing gold rush, along with the passage of the Homestead Acts in 1862, brought large numbers of American settlers to Montana. Rapid population growth and development culminated in statehood on November 8, 1889. Mining, particularly around Butte and Helena, would remain the state's main economic engine through the mid-20th century.

Montana has no official nickname but several unofficial ones, most notably "Big Sky Country", "The Treasure State", "Land of the Shining Mountains", and "The Last Best Place". Its economy is primarily based on agriculture, including ranching and cereal grain farming. Other significant economic resources include oil, gas, coal, mining, and lumber. The health care, service, defense, and government sectors are also significant to the state's economy. Montana's fastest-growing sector is tourism, with 12.6 million tourists (as of 2019) visiting the state each year. (Full article...)

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Montana Highway 87 (MT 87) is a primary state highway in Madison County in Montana, United States. The highway travels through mainly rural areas in Raynolds Pass, from the Montana–Idaho state line to an intersection with U.S. Route 287 (US 287). The route travels through a portion of Gallatin National Forest. In 1922, a road in the location of MT 87 was added to the highway system, and a few years later the road was designated as portions of two early auto trails. In 1959, the route was rapidly improved due to the collapse of US 287 nearby. During 1967, much of the highway was reconstructed along its current location. (Full article...)

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The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships (1956, 1976, and 1984). It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS). Through the 2022 season, the Bobcats had played in 1,049 games with an all-time record of 525–492–32.

The first championship came in Montana State's last season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which moved to NAIA in 1952. The national championship was the first ever for the RMAC and was also the first time the NAIA had a football champion. The Bobcats were members of the RMAC from 1917 to 1956, after being an independent from 1897 to 1916. MSC rejoined the NCAA (College Division) in 1957, and had one of its most successful runs as an independent from 1957 to 1962 with six straight winning seasons, including an 8–2 mark in 1957 and 8–1 in 1958. In 1963, Montana State became a charter member of the Big Sky Conference and has since won two national championships. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Montana-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Clark Fork River, Missoula, in autumn (from Montana)
Image 2Montana Rail Link freight haulage in 2005 (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 3U.S. Route 93 in Montana (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 4Montana ranks 2nd nationally in craft breweries per capita. (from Montana)
Image 5Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park (from Montana)
Image 6Assiniboine family, Montana, 1890–91 (from Montana)
Image 7The Empire Builder in Essex (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 8General locations of Indian reservations in Montana (from Montana)
Image 9Jeannette Rankin, August 1916 (from History of Montana)
Image 10Click to enlarge detailed map (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 11Dancers at Crow Fair in 1941 (from Montana)
Image 12Main Street in Red Lodge, 2000, showing iron facades on buildings (from History of Montana)
Image 13Map of Montana (from Montana)
Image 14Montana population density map (from Montana)
Image 15First Interstate Center, in downtown Billings, is the tallest building in Montana. (from Montana)
Image 16Köppen climate types of Montana, using 1991-2020 climate normals (from Montana)
Image 17Missoula, the second-largest city in Montana (from Montana)
Image 18Mining headframes in Butte, MT (from History of Montana)
Image 19Ethnic origins in Montana (from Montana)
Image 20Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Deer Lodge, MT, date unknown (from History of Montana)
Image 21Chief Joseph (from History of Montana)
Image 22100 pound native Montana wolf taken in 1928 (from Montana)

Map of counties in Montana by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census

Legend

Non-Hispanic White

50–60%

60–70%

70–80%

80–90%

90%+

Native American

50–60%

60–70%

70–80%

(from Montana)

Image 24Montana Territory in 1865 (from Montana)
Image 25Swedish gold panners in 1860s Montana. The Montana gold rush began in 1862. (from History of Montana)
Image 26Yellowstone Airport, West Yellowstone, Montana (from Montana)
Image 27Relief map of Montana (from Montana)
Image 28Quake Lake was created by a landslide during the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. (from Montana)
Image 29Missouri Breaks region in central Montana (from Montana)
Image 30Map of domestic flights available from the largest airport in Montana (Click to enlarge) (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 31Population of Montana 1870–2018 (from Montana)
Image 32Montana State Bobcats football at Bobcat Stadium (Montana State University), Bozeman (from Montana)
Image 33Early Indian treaty territories in Montana (from Montana)
Image 34Guided snowmobile tours in Yellowstone Park (from Montana)
Image 35Stump Horn and family (Northern Cheyenne); showing home and horse-drawn travois. (from History of Montana)
Image 36Pompeys Pillar National Monument (from Montana)
Image 37Buffalo Soldiers, Ft. Keogh, Montana, 1890. The nickname was given to the "Black Cavalry" by the Native American tribes they fought. (from Montana)
Image 38Map of Williston Basin oil fields with reservoirs in Bakken Formation (from History of Montana)
Image 39An Airbus A319 waits at Billings Logan International Airport. (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 40Temperature and precipitation for Montana's capital city, Helena (from Montana)
Image 41Joseph M. Dixon, Congressman (1903–1913) and Governor of Montana (1921–1925) (from History of Montana)
Image 42Chief Joseph and Col. John Gibbon met again on the Big Hole Battlefield site in 1889. (from Montana)
Image 43The Scout in Winter, Crow, 1908 by Edward S. Curtis (from History of Montana)
Image 44Pretty Nose at Fort Keogh, 1879 (from History of Montana)
Image 45Lone Mountain at Big Sky Ski Resort (from Montana)
Image 46The Palisades area on the north end of the ski area at Red Lodge Mountain Resort (from Montana)
Image 47Mountain Line buses queue to pick up passengers in Missoula. (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 48From Frank Bond, "Louisiana" and the Louisiana Purchase.
Government Printing Office, 1912 Map No. 4. (from History of Montana)
Image 49The Big Sky Resort (from Montana)
Image 50Mennonite family in Montana, c. 1937 (from Montana)
Image 51Treemap of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election. Areas are in proportion to the number of votes cast in each county. (from Montana)
Image 52Early tribal treaty territories in Montana (from History of Montana)

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... that 16 Montana youths are plaintiffs in the lawsuit Held v. Montana, the first constitutional climate change lawsuit to go to trial in the United States?
... that Absaroka was a proposed U.S. state that would have included parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana?
... that the owner of a Montana TV station changed the name of his company because he was asked why his license plate read "SUNBELT"?
... that the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University Library helped to create a public domain archive of sounds from Yellowstone National Park?
... that campaign literature in the 1894 Montana capital referendum accused Helena residents of copious Manhattan consumption?

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