Montana’s Geography
Part I
Cities & Reservations
Billings






Population 91,750 (115,000 metro) in 2000; 106, 954 in
2012 (162,848 metro).
On the Yellowstone River
Started out as a rail town, but has become the major city
in Montana
Oil (three major refineries in the area Conoco, Exxon,
Cenex)
In 1992 it was listed as America’s 2nd most popular city
to move to.
Named after the railroad tycoon president of the Northern
Pacific Railroad, it is called "The Magic City" as the
town site was laid out in 1882 and a month later 5,000
lots had been sold for cash. By the end of that year, there
were 155 commercial buildings, 99 homes, 6 railroad
buildings and 25 tents where only 3 buildings stood
before. The town appeared "magically."
Billings at night
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Great Falls







Population 56,395 (70,000 metro) in 2000;
58,950 in 2012 (81,723 metro)
On the confluence of the Missouri and the Sun
Rivers
Economy revolves around agriculture/service
and smelting and refining
“The Electric City”
Since the mid 80s, the economy has steadily
worsened (closure of Anaconda Company,
lessening of refinery work and agriculture)
Malmstrom Air Force Base
Total of 4,800 employees (annual payroll of $84
million) totaling 30-35% of the city’s economy
Black Eagle Falls
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Missoula






Population 52,239 (70,000 metro) in 2000;
68,394 in 2012 (109,299 metro)
“The Garden City”
On the Clark’s Fork River
Home to the University of Montana (Go Griz!),
the premier journalism school in the west, and the
only law school in Montana.
Wood products industry (logging, paper mills)
Inversion – air pollution
Downtown Missoula; Missoula as
seen from above the University of
Montana
Virtual Tour of UM Campus: http://www.umt.edu/virtualtour/
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Butte







Population 33,994 in 2000; 34,200 in 2010
A one time mining camp, its population was 100,000 in
1917
A bastion of organized labor unions, the Democratic Party,
and Catholicism
Most ethnically diverse of Montana’s communities
(people of Irish, Finnish, Serbian, Cornish, Italian, Slavic
descent)
Berkeley Pit – filling with acid water at over 3,500 gallons
per minute.
Mainstay of the modern economy is federal money
poured into cleaning up the mess made by mining
Home of “Montana Tech,” known as “Montana School of
Mines”

One of the highest placement rates in MT
Photos of uptown Butte,
Montana
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Bozeman




Population 29,936 (metro 30,000) in 2000;
38,695 in 2012 (micropolitan population of
92,614)
Flanked by the Hyalite Range on the South and
the Bridger Mountains on the west.
Agricultural/tourism economy
Home to Montana State University (Go
Bobcats!), one of the best engineering schools in
the northwest.
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Flathead Reservation






Population 21,259 in 2000; 28,359 in 2010.
Home to the Confederated Salish, Kalispel, and
Kootenai tribes
1.24 million acres reaching from midway up Flathead
Lake south to the Mountains just North of Missoula.
One of the most prosperous reservations with
income from lumber and Kerr Dam which controls the
level of Flathead Lake – also a power plant run by the
tribes.
Unemployment is far lower than on most
reservations.
Salish-Kootenai College and a community college at
Pablo show its progressive feel.
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Kalispell





Population 16,089 (metro 25,000) in 2000;
20,487 in 2012 (micropolitan population
91,633).
Natural resource economy (lumber and
agriculture)
Tourism/recreation are also important
Flathead Valley Community College
North of Flathead Lake
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Fort Peck Reservation




Population 10,595
Home to Assiniboine and Western Sioux tribes
Resource-rich reservation with oil and natural
gas
Under the leadership of tribal chairman, Norman
Hollow, the reservation built one of Montana’s
largest manufacturing plants at Poplar which
assembled products.
Fishing is
excellent
on the Fort
Peck
Reservation
.
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Havre





Population 10,200 in 2000; 9,310 in 2010
Originally called “Bullhook Bottoms,” Havre started
as (and STILL is) a rail town.
Burlington Northern RR is the center of its
economy, but they cut 1/3rd of upper end jobs
there in 1992.
Shopping center for much of the Hi-Line.
Home to MSU-Northern – which is the only nonreservation higher education access in the region.
Havre Beneath the Streets: an old
underground pharmacy, and an old
underground, er, “hotel” room
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Miles City






Population 8,500 in 2000; 8,569 in 2012
Located where the Tongue River joins the Yellowstone
River.
The quintessential “cow town.”
Home of the world famous “Bucking Horse Sale” every
May.
The economy stems from livestock & federal
employment and investment (the two are
intertwined.)
The economy suffered in the 80s due to drought, but it
is on its way up again.
 Oil boom in the Bakken has boosted Miles City’s
economy.
Looking west on Main Street in
downtown Miles City
Custer County District High School in
Miles City – where my English
teacher, Mrs. Horton, told my friend
Jerry to get out of her classroom
“before I rip your face off!”
Ismay, Montana – near Miles City.
Renamed itself Joe, Montana in the
1990s, resulting in the whole town (28
people) being invited to appear on the
Late Show with David Letterman
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Blackfeet Reservation








Population 8,549 in 2000; 10,405 in 2010
One of the windiest places in America
Nearly 1.5 million acres
Home to the Blackfeet tribe
40% of the reservation is owned by non-Indians
due to federal allotments
It has its own industrial park where pencils and pens
are manufactured
Oil and gas reserves make up well over half of all
tribal income
Tourism economy has been boosted by Glacier
Peaks Casino.
Blackfeet Reservation: Browning
(top) and Heart Butte (below)
Blackfeet Nation Singers
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Crow Reservation







Population 6,366 in 2000; 7,900 in 2012
2 million acres
Crosses the drainages of the Bighorn and the Little
Big Horn Rivers.
A majority of the 8,000 Crow people live on the
reservation
66% of the reservation land is controlled by
non-tribal members
Rich in grazing land and millions of tons of
mineable coal.
Over 80% of the population speak the native Crow
language
Crow Reservation images: Bighorn Canyon;
Crow Fair; a government-built home in Crow
Agency
Crow Medicine Wheel
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Lewistown






Population 6,159 in 2000; 5,901 in 2010
Judith Mountains to the north and the Snowies to
the south
Directly in the center of the state
Agricultural economy
Slavic immigrants did the impressive masonry
work on the domed courthouse and other
buildings
Big Spring is there which pumps 3 million gallons
of water per hour at 99.9% purity – one of the
world’s greatest freshwater springs.
Fergus County Courthouse

Facing east on Main Street in Lewistown
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Glendive



Population 4,421 in 2000; 4,925 in 2010
Economy – oil, agriculture, railroad, and a
privately-run prison that handles inmates for
the state of Montana.
In the past two decades, its population has risen
and fallen by 25% in the boom and bust of the
petroleum and railroading industries.

Currently booming again due to the Bakken oil field
boom.


Makoshika State Park near Glendive
Famous for the scenery and dinosaur
fossils
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Northern Cheyenne Reservation






Population 3,923 in 2000; 4,939 in 2013
The small, impoverished reservation (445,000
acres) has 23 million tons of mineable coal.
Tribe was skeptical about disrupting culture with
massive coal development but is now largely in
favor of it.
High rate of unemployment
Council of Forty-four
97% of the reservation land remains in tribal
hands.
Northern Cheyenne Reservation: the Ft. Robinson
Spiritual Outbreak Run in Busby; Lame Deer;
Jimtown Bar in Lame Deer; Dull Knife College in
Lame Deer
Crow and Northern Cheyenne Hospital
Crow and Northern Cheyenne Hospital
Entryway Mural
Crow and Northern Cheyenne Hospital
Lobby
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Fort Belknap Reservation







Population 2,508 in 2000; 2,851 in 2010
646,000 acres
2000 enrolled Assiniboine; 3000 enrolled Gros
Ventre.
50% of enrolled tribal members live on the
reservation
Home to Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes
Lack of natural resource wealth
Zortman-Lansdusky gold mine lies at the south
end of the reservation but was long ago
extracted from Indian ownership.
Ft. Belknap Reservation:
Mission Canyon near Hays, Mt.
Polluted
stream bed
on the Fort
Belknap
Reservation
from the
ZortmanLansdusky
Mine.
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
Rocky Boy’s Reservation







Population 1,954 in 2000; 3,323 in 2010
108,000 acres (smallest reservation)
Named after Chief Stone Child
Foothills of the Bear’s Paw Mountains
Home of refugee Cree, Chippewa, and Métis
from Canada
Northern Winz Casino has boosted local
economy
2014: accepted controversial grant funding for
new playground from NFL’s Washington
Redskins.
Stone Child College on Rocky Boy Reservation
Map It!
Draw & label this place on your blank map.
No tour of Montana is complete
without this: the Jersey Lilly in
Ingomar (population 27?) – great food,
but no indoor plumbing!