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By The Way
• When President Jefferson commissioned Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery, he hoped that the fur trade might open the West to American settlement. He was right. Manuel Lisa built the first fur trading post in Montana on the confluence of the Bighorn and Yellowstone Rivers in 1807; just one year after Lewis & Clark completed their journey.
• Montana’s official flag was adopted in 1905. The flag has a deep blue field with “Montana” written in yellow, with the state seal below. The seal pictures a beautiful Montana lansdcape: the Rocky Mountains, cliffs, a waterfall, and river beneath a golden sky with white clouds and white sun rays. A plow represents agriculture; a pick and shovel represent mining. A ribbon below the scene states Montana’s motto, “Oro y plata” [meaning “Gold and Silver” in Spanish].
• Montana remained a territory for twenty-five years. It was not until the
federal government passed the Enabling Act of 1889 and the voters of Montana Territory ratified a new constitution that Montana was admitted into the Union as the 41st state on November 8, 1889, by presidential proclamation of President Benjamin Harrison.
By The Numbers
| Population: |
904,433 |
| Entered Union: |
November 8, 1889
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Capitol:
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Helena
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Song:
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Montana
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Land Area:
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145,392 Square Miles
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Water Area:
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1,746 Square Miles
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Size Ranking:
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4th
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Length:
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630 Miles
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Width:
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280 Miles
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Highest Point:
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12,799 Feet, Granite Peak
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Lowest Point:
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1,820 Feet, Kootenai River
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State Nickname:
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Treasure State
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Motto:
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“Oro y Plata” (Gold and Silver)
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Animal:
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Grizzly Bear
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Bird:
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Western Meadowlark
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Butterfly:
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Mourning Cloak
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Fish:
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Blackspotted Cutthroat Trout
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Flower:
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Bitterroot
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Grass:
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Bluebunch Wheatgrass
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Tree:
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Ponderosa Pine
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Fossil:
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Maiasaura, or Duck-Billed Dinosaur
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Gemstone:
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Agate and Sapphire
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