MONTANA: SEBASTIAN VELASQUEZ # 43 9.E

MONTANAMontana
Montana has several nicknames, none official, is a state located in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges. Other island ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña (mountain).[3] including: "The Treasure State" and "Big Sky Country," and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains," and more recently, "The Last Best Place." The state ranks fourth in area, but 44th in population, and therefore has the third lowest population density in the United States. The economy is primarily based on services statewide, with ranching, wheat farming, oil and coal in the east, and lumber, tourism, and hard rock mining in the west. Millions of tourists annually visit Glacier National Park, the Battle of Little Bighorn site, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

　Geography
Map of Montana
With a land area of 145,552 square miles (376,980 km^{2) the state of Montana is the fourth largest in the United States (after}
The
The ^Alaska, ^Texas, and ^California). To the north, Montana and Canada share a 545 mile border across three ^provinces: ^{British Columbia}, ^Alberta, and ^Saskatchewan. To the east, the state borders ^{North Dakota} and ^{South Dakota}. To the south lies ^Wyoming and to the west and southwest is ^Idaho.^topography of the state is diverse, and roughly defined by the ^{Continental Divide}, which runs on an approximate diagonal line through the state from northwest to south-central, splitting it into two distinct eastern and western regions. Montana is well known for its mountainous western region, most of which is geologically and geographically part of the Northern ^{Rocky Mountains}. The ^Absaroka and ^Beartooth ranges in the south are technically part of the Central Rocky Mountains. About 60% of the state is ^prairie, part of the northern ^{Great Plains}. Nonetheless, even east of the ^{Continental Divide} and the ^{Rocky Mountain Front}, there are a number of isolated "island ranges" that dot the prairie landscape. This island range region covers most of the central third of the state.^{Bitterroot Mountains}—one of the longest continuous ranges in the entire Rocky Mountain chain from Alaska to ^Mexico—divide the state from Idaho to the west, with the southern third of the range blending into the Continental Divide. Mountain ranges between the Bitterroots and the top of the Continental Divide include the ^{Cabinet Mountains}, the Missions, the Garnet, Sapphire, Flint Creek, and Pintlar ranges.

 Montana also contains numerous rivers, many of which are known for "blue-ribbon" trout fishing, while also providing most of the water needed by residents of the state, and hydropower. Montana is one of few geographic areas in the world whose rivers form parts of three major watersheds (i.e. where two continental divides intersect). Its rivers feed the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and Hudson Bay, and the watershed areas are divided atop Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park

FloraVegetation of the state includes lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine; douglas fir, larch, spruce; aspen, birch, red cedar, hemlock, ash, alder; rocky mountain maple and cottonwood trees. Forests cover approximately 25 percent of the state. Flowers native to Montana include asters, bitterroots, daisies, lupins, poppies, primroses, columbine, lilies, orchids and dryads. Several species of sagebrush and cactus and many species of grasses are common. Many species of mushrooms and lichens are also found in the state.

Rivers