Montana
From its beautiful mountain ranges, gorgeous valleys, and a wilderness that will seem to go on forever, there is a reason why Montana is called the Last Best Place. Montana has these gorgeous little towns, snow-capped mountains, and some of the greatest sceneries in the country. Most of them are unbelievably stunning that they almost do not look real.
Montana is just one of those states that everyone has to see in their lifetime.
Geography
Located in the Mountain West region of the United States, Montana is a beautiful state known for its gorgeous mountains. It has many nicknames. Some call it the Big Sky Country, The Treasure State, Land of the Shining Mountains, and The Last Best Place. All of these combined give a pretty good picture of what Montana looks like.
Twenty-five percent of Montana are forests brimming with native vegetation. Montana also boasts of some of the most beautiful mountain ranges, brimming with wildlife. Its river valleys are some of the most wonderful, too. It also has at least a thousand named rivers and creeks and over 3,000 lakes and reservoirs.
The state of Montana is the fourth largest state in the country. It is slightly larger than Japan. It is, however, the largest landlocked state in the country. The sheer size of this state alone can give you a pretty good idea of just how much adventure one can have here.
History
Before there was Montana, Montana’s territory was part of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Dakota Territory. Like many other territories in the country, parts of Montana were already occupied by indigenous groups for thousands of years. And so, as settlers from Europe arrived in the area in the 1800s, disputes naturally ensued.
Later in history, Montana would be known as one of the states with the strongest sense of patriotism. In fact, during world war one, 10% of Montana were volunteered or drafted. There were more Montanans in the army than from any other state. Of course, this resulted in a lot of loss but Montana remained steadfast with even more men and women joining during the second world war.
Weather
The size of Montana makes it difficult to categorize it into just one climate type. Of course, the variation in topography and altitude between its parts means different climates, and Montana has so many. For most parts, Montana is cold semi-arid. Some parts of it are hot-summer humid continental while some are warm-summer Mediterranean continental.
Like many other parts of the country, however, Montana is experiencing global warming. The glaciers in Glacier National Park have been observed to recede and are expected to melt away completely over the next few decades. Best to visit it now before it is too late. Check out Glacier National Park Travel Guide for the best experience.
Tourism
Apart from the Glacier National Park, the list of all the spots and destinations you have to see in Montana feels endless. To start off, Montana has over 20 million acres of national forests. Some are close to each other, some are across the state, each unique and worth visiting.
There are also fun and unique parks like the Yellowstone National Park, Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, and Beartooth to name some. There is also the Rocky Mountains but definitely check out our Beginner’s Adventure Guide to the Rocky Mountains first!
Key information about Montana
📍 Area: 380,800 km2
👥 Population: 1,068,778
🏛️ Capital: Helena
🏢 Major cities: Billings, Bozeman, Missoula, Big Sky
🔢 Number of counties: 56
📋 Postal Abbreviation: MT
📖 Primary language/s: English
📌 Nearby states/country: British Columbia, Canada, Alberta, Canada, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho
Adventure Guides In Montana
