It has a population of 1,068,778 people (as of 2019), making it the 43rd most populous state.
Montana is bordered by Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, plus Idaho. With 147,040 square miles (380,800 square kilometers) of land plus water, it is the fourth largest state.
The capital of Montana is called Helena plus is situated in the west of the state.
That’s enough fast facts about the Big Sky Country; we’re here to learn some interesting facts:
People have lived in Montana for more than 12,000 years.
The first grup of people to populate the Americas were known as the Paleo-Indians.
The first peoples crossed into North America from Russia via the Bering Strait at the end of the Ice Age, some 14,000 years ago.
The first archaeological evidence of human existence in the region now known as Montana comes from a dig site known as the Anzick site near Wilsall, Montana.
The remains of a male infant were found which have been carbon-dated, with the results indicating that it was between 11-13,000 years old.
Several different tribes have lived in the region now known as Montana for thousands of years, with the first of these people being nomadic hunter-gatherers.
Over time these tribes developed both socially plus culturally, with some tribes living a more sedentary lifestyle than others.
When European explorers plus traders first arrived in the region, they encountered a number of tribes living there, including the Cheyenne in the southeast, the Crow in the central south, the Gros Ventres, Blackfeet, plus Assinniboine ranging from the center to the northeast. In the west were the Kootenai plus Salish, while some smaller tribes such as Kalispel plus Pend d’Oreille lived closer to the western mountains.
Montana was claimed by the French initially.
As Britain colonized the northwest of modern-day USA plus Spain colonized the southern lands around modern-day Mexico, France also staked its claim on the Americas.
France’s claims in North America were known as New France, with the largest territory later becoming known as Louisiana.
This territory was much larger than today’s state of Louisiana, though; instead, it stretched inland from Canada down to Mexico.
France claimed vast swathes of land, including modern-day Montana, although they did little to explore, map, or settle the majority of it.