Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western
third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller "island
ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77
named ranges that are part of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is
reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña. Montana
has several nicknames, none official, including: "Big Sky Country"
and "The Treasure State", and slogans that include "Land of the
Shining Mountains" and more recently, "The Last Best Place".
Montana is the 4th-most extensive, but the 7th-least populous and the 3rd-least
densely populated of the 50 United States. The economy is primarily based on
services, with ranching, wheat farming, oil and coal mining in the east, and
lumber, tourism, and hard rock mining in the west. Millions of tourists
annually visit Glacier National Park, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National
Monument, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.
