Montana 36th State

Montana

Montana was the 41st state admitted to the union on November 8, 1889. We are the 4th largest state. Our state population is around 900,000. We live in Park City, which is 21 miles west of our largest city, Billings. The economy of our area comes mostly from agriculture, the railroad, and the petroleum and coal refineries. The eastern side of our state has the northern part of the Great Plains, and the western side of our state has the Rocky Mountains. Quite a difference in landscape! Montana got its name from the Spanish word meaning mountainous. Our state has two nicknames: The Big Sky State and the Treasure State. Our state has some of the largest coal and petroleum reserves in the country. Our state bird is the Meadowlark. Our state animal is the Grizzly Bear. Our state flower is the Bitterroot and our state tree is the Ponderosa.

Caption: July 25, 1806, Captain William Clark, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, carved his name and date on this 200-foot high rock formation know as Pompey's Pillar. This was the only physical evidence the expedition left on its entire journey. The formation was named after their Indian guide, Sacajawea's baby son. It is located 30 miles east of Billings, Montana, on the banks of the Yellowstone River. Photo © Eric Christiansen.

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