Montana: forests, mountains and prairies

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Montana (Big Sky Country) is an inland state in the northwestern United States. Obviously being in the interior of the country no access to the sea. The territory of the state is formed by a vast plateau called Great Plains, that is Great Plains, which occupies the central-eastern part of the country. The Great Plains are cut by hills, valleys and isolated mountains, while in the west rise the Rocky Mountains.

Montana is a sparsely populated state, especially rich in natural areas, mountains, forests and grasslands. It is bordered by Canada to the north, Idaho to the west, Wyoming to the south and North and South Dakota to the east. Montana doesn’t have big cities, the most important being Billings. The state capital is the small town of Helena.

FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE LARGE PRAIRIES

Montana is traversed in the western section of the Rocky Mountain range. The Bitterroot Range and Lewis Range mountains are part of these mountain ranges, where Glacier National Park is located, one of the most beautiful mountain parks in the United States.

The highest mountain in Montana is the Granite Peak (3,904 meters) which is located in the south of the country, in the Beartooth Mountains, not far from the Wyoming border. It should be noted that over 60% of the state’s territory is made up of flat plateaus, which are part of the Great Plains. The great plains extend from the Rocky Mountains to the east, and are crossed by the courses of the Missouri River and its tributaries. Thanks to its scenic beauty, tourism is an important source of income for Montana. The most visited tourist attraction is above all the Glacier National Park. The state is also a winter tourism destination thanks to the fifteen ski areas it houses.

Area: 381,156 sq. km. (4th largest state of the United States of America)
Population: 970,000 (data 2008) (Whites 90.6%, Blacks 0.3%; Asian 0.5%, Amerindian 6.2%. Hispanics (classified into different racial types) are 2.0%. Data 2000).
State Capital: Helena.
Languages: The official language is English (spoken as a first language by 95,7% of the population). Spanish is spoken as a first language by 1,3% of the population. Data 2005).
Religion: Christian 78% (Roman Catholic (23%), Evangelical (26%), Protestant (21%), Mormon (5%), Jehovah’s Witnesses (2%)), Buddhist (1%).
Time zone: (UTC-7; Summer UTC-6).