Montana History, Geography, Population, State Facts

The Treasure State

Great Seal of the State of Montana

Adopted on  February 9, 1865.

Montana's first official symbol, its seal, has had a fascinating history. A Montana Territory legislative committee initially designed a seal in 1865. Francis M. Thompson chaired the committee and had what passed for expertise in the seal design business. He had engraved seals for the first mining districts on the ends of ax handles. Even he had to admit his work was not the most artistic, but it was the best at hand. 


First explored for France by François and Louis-Joseph Verendrye in the early 1740s, much of the region was acquired by the U.S. from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Before western Montana was obtained from Great Britain in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, American trading posts and forts had been established in the territory.

The major Indian Wars (1867–1877) included the famous 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn, better known as “Custer's Last Stand,” in which Cheyenne and Sioux defeated George A. Custer and more than 200 of his men in southeast Montana.

Much of Montana's early history was concerned with mining, with copper, lead, zinc, silver, coal, and oil as principal products. Butte is the center of the area that once supplied half of the U.S. copper.

Capital City: Helena

Capitol Tour

Montana: State of Montana Official Web Site

Admission to Statehood: Click for Date & List

Airports: Airports MapAirport Links

Amtrak: West

Area: 147046 sq.mi, 4th   Land 145556 sq. mi., 4th   Water 1490 sq.mi., 26th

Area Codes: Montana

Biographies: Famous People from Montana

Bird: Western Meadowlark

Border States: Regional List •  Idaho •  North Dakota •  South Dakota •  Wyoming

Cam World: Live Web Cams

Cities & Towns: Montana

Climate: Montana

Community Pages: Montana Cities, Towns, Communities List

Constitution: 41st State

County Profile: County Map   56 Counties

Courts: Judicial System

Current Events: Montana News Headlines

Department of: Education •  Certification | Montana University System About Montana's University System. | Montana State University - Bozeman | University of Montana Offers a broad liberal arts education. | University of Montana - Western Education through experiential learning that combines theory and practice.

Driving: DMV

Economy: Agriculture: Cattle, wheat, barley, sugar beets, hay, hogs. • Industry: Mining, lumber and wood products, food processing, tourism.

Flag: Montana (MT)

Flower: Bitterroot   Lewisia rediviva

Cyndi's List •  Mtgenweb •  Historical Societies

Geographic Center: Fergus, 11 miles west of Lewistown

Geology Maps: Montana

Ghost Towns: Ghost Towns

Governor: Office of Governor

Highest Point: Granite Peak; 12,799 feet, 10th

Highways: Montana Highways

History: History Timeline   Historical  

Hotels, Motels & Inns:

Kids Corner: State of Montana Kids Site

Library: Montana 

License Plates: Montana

Lottery: Montana

Lowest Point: Kootenai River; 1800 feet, 47th

Maps:

Media: Radio   TV

Motto: Oro y plata Gold and Silver

Museums: The Virtual Library

Name: Montana name based on Spanish word for "mountainous"

National Forest: Montana

Population: Quick facts   902,195; 44th, 12/00

Real Estate: Every Montana City, Town & Community

Representatives: Montana House: Members  • Montana Senate: Members  • US House:   110th Congress •  US Senate:   110th Congress

Road Side America: Montana

School Directory: Montana

Soil: Montana - Scobey

Song: Montana  • 

Sports: Montana Teams

State Parks: Montana Boating, fishing, hunting, canoeing, hiking, or sailing in a Montana state park.| Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center Bear and Wolf Preserve. You'll see wildlife as you've never seen it, with an up close view of live grizzly bears and a pack of gray wolves.

Symbols: Montana's

Tourism: www.visitmt.com

Travel: Montana Travel

Tree: Ponderosa pine   Pinus ponderosa  

Veteran Affairs: Montana VA

Visitor Guides: Montana Montana's Official Travel Guide.

Weather: Helena, Helena Regional Airport

White Pages: AnyWho.com  - Over 90 million people listings, businesses, emails, & reverse telephone listings.

Yellow Pages:: Yellow Pages.com

Zoo: Zoo Montana