Discover the Treasure State: 18 Amazing and Fun Facts About Montana You Never Knew!
1. Speed Limit Shenanigans
Montana's highways once seemed to take a page from the Fast & Furious, where speedometers knew no bounds: Montana and Nevada formerly had no daytime speed limits, until a 55 mph national speed limit was established in 1974. Cleverly skirting the rules, Montanans implemented penalties for "wasting energy" to account for speed demons, but eventually fell in line in 1999 with a maximum 80 mph highway speed limit.
Source => usatoday.com
2. Wildlife Football Rivalry
In Montana, even the wildlife cheers for their home teams: Montana is host to one of the oldest college football rivalries in the nation, the Griz-Cat Rivalry. This annual game between the Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats dates all the way back to 1897, making it the 31st oldest active rivalry in NCAA Division I, and the 4th oldest in the FCS. Even the trophy they play for, The Great Divide Trophy, must feel ancient at this point!
Source => egriz.com
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3. Glacier National Park Buffet
If Montana's Glacier National Park were an all-you-can-explore buffet, even the hungriest outdoor enthusiasts would need stretchy adventure pants: The park boasts over 1 million acres of land, featuring 745 miles of hiking trails, 25 named glaciers, 762 lakes, 175+ named mountains, and more than 200 named waterfalls to satiate your wanderlust cravings.
Source => visitusaparks.com
4. Record-Breaking Dinosaur Discovery
In the land where T-Rex's and Triceratops once roamed the earth and belted out monstrous renditions of "Who let the dinos out", lies the king of all dinosaur discoveries: Montana's Seismosaurus halli holds the Guinness World Record for the longest dinosaur ever found, measuring an astonishing 137 feet in length and nearly 23 feet tall at the hips. This colossal creature can now be marveled at the Montana Dinosaur Center, as part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail.
Source => centralmontana.com
5. The Headwaters State
Who needs a water park when you've got Montana: The land where two massive water systems - the Columbia and the Missouri rivers - have their humble beginnings, earning the state its refreshing nickname, "The Headwaters State."
Source => montanaseniornews.com
6. Montana vs. Rhode Island Size
If Rhode Island was a goldfish, Montana would be a great white shark: Montana is a whopping 28 times larger, spanning an impressive 376,979 square kilometers, compared to Rhode Island's modest 2,706. However, Montana's population is only slightly smaller than Rhode Island's - just under a million folks in the vast open spaces of Big Sky Country, while roughly 1.05 million crowd into the nation's smallest state.
Source => mylifeelsewhere.com
7. Cows Outnumber Humans
In Montana, there's a good chance you'll find more cows at the party than people: with a staggering 2.5 million cattle roaming the state, it's the third-highest in the US for most cattle per person, outnumbering its human population of over 1 million by more than two to one!
Source => beef2live.com
8. Ghost Town Party
When Montana throws a party, even the ghosts show up fashionably late: Over a dozen ghost towns scattered across the state offer a hauntingly good time exploring the well-preserved structures at Bannack State Park, Virginia City, and lesser-known mining communities like Coloma and Rimini, letting visitors delve deep into Montana's gold rush past through the abandoned mines and buildings standing tall as testament to its boom and bust era.
Source => visitmt.com
9. State Seal Saga
In Montana, lawmakers once played an elaborate game of hide and seek with a bison and his animal friends in pursuit of the perfect state seal: The final design ditched the critters for a plow, miner's pick, shovel, mountain scenery, and the Great Falls of the Missouri River, along with the phrase "Oro y Plata" to represent the state's treasure trove of gold, silver, and all things sparkly.
Source => sosmt.gov
10. Wild Wonderland and Geysers Galore
Where the wild things roam and geysers blow their top: Montana's Glacier National Park boasts over 700 miles of trails, and is home to grizzly bears, mountain goats, and elk, while also hosting three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park, complete with boiling mud and spouting geysers for nature's unparalleled amusement.
Source => duderanch.org
11. Bison Family Reunion
What do you call a bison family reunion with humble beginnings that goes on to save an entire species? A Montana tale of epic hoof-portions: The Michel Pablo and Charles Allard Bison Herd on the Flathead reservation, originating from a humble purchase of 13 buffalo in 1884, grew to a whopping 800 members by 1906, ultimately becoming a key reason for the plains bison's continued existence in North America today.
Source => allaboutbison.com
12. Outdoorsy Treasure State
If Montana were a person, it'd be that outdoorsy, adventurous friend who always has a fascinating story to tell about their weekend escapades: The Treasure State offers a remarkable array of landscapes, from sublime mountains to verdant hills, and is a haven for wildlife enthusiasts. Montana is home to some iconic national parks, such as Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park, where otherworldly geysers and awe-inspiring glaciers are the norm. Its capital, Helena, has a picturesque history and architecture, featuring many buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. So if breathtaking views and adrenaline-inducing activities tickle your fancy, Montana is an unmissable destination!
Source => iqair.com
13. Clovis Culture Mystery
In a plot twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan, prehistoric Montana holds the key to a long-lost civilization's legacy: the Anzick site is the only location where human remnants of the enigmatic Clovis culture have been unearthed, unveiling their genetic connection to Native Americans and suggesting a singular migration into the Americas long ago.
Source => npr.org
14. Gold in Montana's Hills
Whoever said "there's gold in them thar hills" must've had Montana in mind, striking it rich with a pickaxe and a prospector's grin: Montana, known as the "Treasure State," has produced over $20 billion worth of gold since the 1800s, ranking it as the fourth largest gold-producing state in the US. Its gold-rush journey began in 1862 with a discovery in Bannack, and visitors today can still pan for gold or explore historic mining towns.
Source => en.wikipedia.org
15. Grizzly Mountain Dining
Move over foodies, grizzlies have their own mountain-top dining experience: Grizzly bears frequently climb to the summit of Mount Cleveland in Glacier National Park to feast on a particular species of moths, while adventurous wolverines such as M3 have been tracked traversing the mountain in just 90 minutes, proving that fine dining at high altitudes isn't reserved for humans alone.
Source => summitpost.org
16. Grizzly Bear State Animal Vote
In a claw-some twist of democratic fur-titude, Montana found its spirit animal by turning to the wisdom of pint-sized residents: The grizzly bear snagged the title of Montana state animal, thanks to an undoubtedly roarin' vote from its youngest citizens in the early 1900s.
Source => leg.mt.gov
17. Triple Divide Peak Water Flow
Ever play that game where you pour a drink on the ground and watch which way it flows? Move over, tea-leaves: Triple Divide Peak in Montana's Glacier National Park decides the fate of its liquid offerings by leading them to either the Columbia River towards the Pacific Ocean, the Nelson River on its way to Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean, or the Mississippi River heading towards the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Reuniting waters from three major watersheds, this peak precisely determines which of the 1,823,000 square miles they'll grace on their way to distant shores.
Source => openrivers.lib.umn.edu
18. Park of Lakes and Plants
When you wish upon a park, lakes and plants appear in great arc: Montana's Glacier National Park boasts more than 130 shimmering lakes and houses over 1,000 unique species of plants, making it an Eden for nature aficionados and knowledge seekers.
Source => familysearch.org
