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 of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña (mountain). Montana has several nicknames, none official, 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 accordingly has the third-lowest population density in the 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. With a land area of 147,046 square miles (380,850 km2) Montana is slightly larger than
Japan and slightly smaller than
Paraguay.
Montana is the fourth largest state in the United States (after Alaska, Texas, and California), the largest landlocked U.S. state, and the 56th largest national state/province subdivision in the
World. To the north, Montana shares a 545-mile (877 km) border with three Canadian 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. The 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.
