Travel Oracles 50 States: Montana
As part of my summer series - Travel Oracles 50 States - I am revisiting each os the fifty American states as an overview on travel culture and history. Today: Montana
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As part of my summer series - Travel Oracles 50 States - I am revisiting each os the fifty American states as an overview on travel culture and history. Today: Montana
Joined: Montana territory was organized from the existing Idaho Territory by Act of Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 28, 1864. President Benjamin Harrison admitted Montana into the Union by Presidential Proclamation on November 8, 1889 as the 41st state.
Original Indigenous Peoples: Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Chippewa, Cree, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kootenai, Little Shell Chippewa, Northern Cheyenne, Pend d'Oreille, Salish, and Sioux are among Montana's twelve Native American tribes.
First Settlers: The first Europeans to venture into Montana were French fur traders in the 1700s. They set up trading posts and traded with the Native Americans for beaver furs. Over the next several years, the land was claimed by both the French and Spanish
History moment: The world’s first International Peace Park was established in 1932 when Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, were combined. In 1995, UNESCO listed the two parks as a joint World Heritage Site for their diverse and plentiful plant and wildlife species, and outstanding scenery. Montana is home to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, which memorializes the historic 1876 battle between the Sioux tribe and U.S. Army, often referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand.”
Known for: Its natural beauty including The Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park, diverse wildlife, abundance of natural mineral resources,
Places: Billings, Helena, Missoula, Bozeman, Kalispell and so many more
Movie setting: and the huge TV hit ‘Yellowstone’ (*You can actually book stays at the “Dutton Ranch” in Darby)
Musicians from: Tim Montana, Nicolette Larson, Colin Meloy
Surprising facts: Carved by glaciers more than 10,000 years ago, Flathead Lake is the largest freshwater lake between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. It is 28 miles long, between 5 and 15 miles wide and encompasses nearly 200 square miles. The National Bison Range was established in 1908 in western Montana to preserve wild bison from extinction. In addition to elk, deer, antelope, bears and other animals, roughly 500 bison live in the wildlife refuge.
Big Sky Country is more than just a nickname: Montana has huge expanses of rugged country and is the fourth largest U.S. state by area, behind Alaska, Texas and California, but with an average of just six people per square mile, it is one of the country’s least densely populated states. It's a place to discover how beautiful the night sky can be and what "dark" truly is with limited city lights. But in addition to the natural beauty—stunning glaciers and ski slopes, trout-filled streams and high plains—you'll also find a welcoming place full of locals who love to share their state's natural beauty, mining history, and thriving cultural communities with others. Although the name Montana is derived from the Spanish montaña (“mountain” or “mountainous region”), it has an average elevation of only 3,400 feet, the lowest among the Rocky Mountain states. Montana is home to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, which memorializes the historic 1876 battle between the Sioux tribe and U.S. Army, often referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand.” Yellowstone National Park, located in southern Montana and northern Wyoming, was the first national park established in the United States. The state has always attracted famous residents seeking the great outdoors (David Letterman, Jeff Bridges, Michael Keaton, and Tom Brokaw, just to name a few), and saw a surge of new visitors over the pandemic from people seeking space, and also the popularity of the smash hit show ‘Yellowstone’ with its dreamy landscape cinematography sent people’s Montana dreams soaring. Let’s travel to Montana
My Experience: I have had the pleasure of driving through Montana every summer growing up, en route to my mom’s home state of Colorado. Montana is so vast and open, and is an all-around beautiful state - It’s
Helena, Bozeman, and Southwest Montana
Missoula, Kalispell, and Northwest Montana
Billings, Little Big Horn, and the Montana Plains
Nature: Montana is a stunner, with 8 National Parks including National Battlefield - Big Hole. Wisdom, National Recreation Area - Bighorn Canyon, National Historic Site - Fort Union Trading Post - National Park. Glacier, National Historic Site - Grant-Kohrs Ranch, - National Geologic Trail. Ice Age Floods, - National Historic Trail - Lewis & Clark, National Monument - Little Bighorn Battlefield
Ranking in US: Per the annual US News report, Montana is currently ranked #33 out of 50 in 2021, it was #29 in 2019. In my opinion, this should be way higher - MT is a great state.