Portal:Montana

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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, 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, 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 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 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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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...)

List of recognized articles

More recognized content

Selected article - show another

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...)

List of selected articles

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1Early Indian treaty territories in Montana (from Montana)
Image 2100 pound native Montana wolf taken in 1928 (from Montana)
Image 3Quake Lake was created by a landslide during the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. (from Montana)
Image 4Dancers at Crow Fair in 1941 (from Montana)
Image 5Köppen climate types of Montana, using 1991-2020 climate normals (from Montana)
Image 6Mining headframes in Butte, MT (from History of Montana)
Image 7Swedish gold panners in 1860s Montana. The Montana gold rush began in 1862. (from History of Montana)
Image 8General locations of Indian reservations in Montana (from Montana)
Image 9Clark Fork River, Missoula, in autumn (from Montana)
Image 10From Frank Bond, "Louisiana" and the Louisiana Purchase.
Government Printing Office, 1912 Map No. 4. (from History of Montana)
Image 11Map of Montana (from Montana)
Image 12Montana ranks 2nd nationally in craft breweries per capita. (from Montana)
Image 13Main Street in Red Lodge, 2000, showing iron facades on buildings (from History of Montana)
Image 14Temperature and precipitation for Montana's capital city, Helena (from Montana)
Image 15Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park (from Montana)
Image 16Assiniboine family, Montana, 1890–91 (from Montana)
Image 17Early tribal treaty territories in Montana (from History of Montana)
Image 18Mennonite family in Montana, c. 1937 (from Montana)
Image 19Montana State Bobcats football at Bobcat Stadium (Montana State University), Bozeman (from Montana)
Image 20Montana Territory in 1865 (from Montana)
Image 21Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Deer Lodge, MT, date unknown (from History of Montana)
Image 22Map of domestic flights available from the largest airport in Montana (Click to enlarge) (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 23Lone Mountain at Big Sky Ski Resort (from Montana)
Image 24Chief Joseph and Col. John Gibbon met again on the Big Hole Battlefield site in 1889. (from Montana)
Image 25First Interstate Center, in downtown Billings, is the tallest building in Montana. (from Montana)
Image 26Pompeys Pillar National Monument (from Montana)
Image 27Missouri Breaks region in central Montana (from Montana)
Image 28Montana Rail Link freight haulage in 2005 (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 29The Scout in Winter, Crow, 1908 by Edward S. Curtis (from History of Montana)
Image 30Joseph M. Dixon, Congressman (1903–1913) and Governor of Montana (1921–1925) (from History of Montana)
Image 31Treemap 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 32Ethnic origins in Montana (from Montana)
Image 33Jeannette Rankin, August 1916 (from History of Montana)
Image 34Pretty Nose at Fort Keogh, 1879 (from History of Montana)
Image 35Click to enlarge detailed map (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 36Guided snowmobile tours in Yellowstone Park (from Montana)
Image 37The Palisades area on the north end of the ski area at Red Lodge Mountain Resort (from Montana)
Image 38U.S. Route 93 in Montana (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 39Relief map of Montana (from Montana)
Image 40Montana population density map (from Montana)
Image 41Mountain Line buses queue to pick up passengers in Missoula. (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 42Buffalo Soldiers, Ft. Keogh, Montana, 1890. The nickname was given to the "Black Cavalry" by the Native American tribes they fought. (from Montana)
Image 43Population of Montana 1870–2018 (from Montana)
Image 44The Big Sky Resort (from Montana)
Image 45Missoula, the second-largest city in Montana (from Montana)
Image 46An Airbus A319 waits at Billings Logan International Airport. (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 47Chief Joseph (from History of 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 49Stump Horn and family (Northern Cheyenne); showing home and horse-drawn travois. (from History of Montana)
Image 50Map of Williston Basin oil fields with reservoirs in Bakken Formation (from History of Montana)
Image 51The Empire Builder in Essex (from Transportation in Montana)
Image 52Yellowstone Airport, West Yellowstone, Montana (from Montana)

Did you know - load new batch

... 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 campaign literature in the 1894 Montana capital referendum accused Helena residents of copious Manhattan consumption?
... that the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University Library helped to create a public domain archive of sounds from Yellowstone National Park?

Topics

New articles

This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.

Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Last updated: 2024-11-09 21:18 (UTC)

Note: The list display can now be customized by each user. See List display personalization for details.