Portal:Montana

The Montana Portal

East face of the Crazy Mountains in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana (2015)
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 is bordered by 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, but 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, particularly the Rocky Mountains, while the eastern half is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands, with smaller mountain ranges found throughout the state.

Most of Montana came under American sovereignty with the Louisiana Purchase from France 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 1858. 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 visiting the state each year as of 2019. In 2024 the number reached 13.7 million, the highest ever. (Full article...)

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Preston Hopkins Leslie (March 8, 1819 – February 7, 1907) was the 26th governor of Kentucky from 1871 to 1875, and territorial governor of Montana from 1887 to 1889. He ascended to the office of governor by three different means. First, he succeeded Kentucky governor John W. Stevenson upon the latter's resignation to accept a seat in the United States Senate in 1871. Later that year, he was elected to a full term as governor, defeating John Marshall Harlan in the general election. Finally, he was appointed territorial governor by President Grover Cleveland.

Leslie was a Confederate sympathizer during the Civil War, but began to adopt a more progressive position during his gubernatorial campaign against Harlan. Though he opposed ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, he used his influence as governor to effect passage of laws admitting the testimony of blacks in court and providing for an educational system for recently freed slaves. He also helped quell violence perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan in many areas of the state. (Full article...)

Selected article -

Hell Gate (sometimes known as Hell Gate Ronde, Hell's Gate or Hellgate) is a ghost town at the western end of the Missoula Valley in Missoula County, Montana, United States. The town was located on the banks of the Clark Fork River roughly five miles downstream from present-day Missoula near what is now Frenchtown. (Full article...)

General images -

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

Did you know -

  • ... that actress Montana Manning initially had a speaking role in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but it was cut?
  • ... that the owner of a Montana TV station bought an American Legion hall, gutted by fire, to use as a studio building?
  • ... that Montana voters in 1972 chose to keep the death penalty, allow for gambling to be legalized, have a bicameral legislature, and ratify a new constitution?
  • ... that a Montana TV station once sent out an emergency alert that claimed "the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living"?
  • ... that a Montana TV station once sent out an emergency alert that claimed "the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living"?

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