Montana By Hatcher Childress

Landforms & geographical features Rivers and Lakes Rocky Mountains Great Plains The west The east Largest lake -flathead Missouri river is the longest river in the US and starts here The highest point in Montana is Granite Peak, 12,799 ft Fourth largest state in the nation

Climate Temperature Precipitation summer winter Montana holds the world record for the greatest temperature change in 24 hours. In just a day's time the temperature rose a whopping 103 degrees Fahrenheit

Specialization Farming Ranching Tourism Mining Montana’s specializations

Resources : Renewable Agriculture is a major employer in Montana. Approximately 66 percent of the total land is dedicated to farmland or agriculture. Montana’s most valuable crop is wheat, followed by hay, and then barley. Also Montana has production of lentils, dry peas and barley. Montana ranchers raise sheep, goats, cattle and calves. There are over 2,550,000 head of cattle and calves. Tourism is also important to the economy with millions of visitors a year to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, the Missouri River headwaters, the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

Resources : Non-renewable Montana’s mining industry is critical for the state. Miner’s mine for bentonite (pet litter), limestone (cement, water and air purification), and coal (fuel, electricity generation). Smaller deposits of gold (circuitry, heat control on glass), lead (batteries), zinc (rust control on metal), silver (water purification and photography), garnets (abrasives and computer controlled cutting of metal), sand and gravel (roads and construction), and decorative stone (building construction) abound throughout large regions of the state.

Resources : Flow Montana has WIND, Lots of WIND! In 2009, Montana ranked 9th in wind electricity generation in all the states Montana also has lots of rivers for hydro electric power. Using energy from falling water is nothing new to Montanans. They used river flow to pumped water for farming and mining, turn sawmill blades, and make electricity for farms On a larger scale, dams supplied power to lift ore from mine shafts and to power electric lights for growing cities. There are 31 major damns in Montana. A major dam is over 100 feet tall!

Capital Resources Montana's total income in 2003 was $26 billion Mining Tools: Giant Trucks, Cranes and Explosives Farming Equipment: Combines, Tractors, Sprinklers Ranching Tools: Fencing, Stockyard, Butchers

Human Resources Montana population 998,199 in 2010 the 3rd least densely populated of the 50 states

Montana Interesting Facts & History Montana was first explored by Europeans as part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Montana became a state in 1889 The State Animal is the Grizzly Bear Some of the world's best dinosaur discoveries were found in Montana The Mining town called Virginia City is now a Ghost Town My Dad grew up in Montana

Bibliography perature_Extremes.htm