Montana

Montana Forklift Parts - The US state of Montana is located within the Western Region of the nation. The west region of the state comprises several mountain ranges, whereas smaller "island ranges" could be situated within the central area of the state. In total, there are 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the name of the state, derived from the Spanish word montana, which means mountain. Montana has various nicknames, none official, including: "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State", and slogans that comprise "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 within the United States. The economy is mainly based on services, with wheat farming, ranching, coal and oil mining within the east, and lumber, tourism, and hard rock mining in the west. Millions of tourists annually go to Glacier National Park, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Montana's total state product in the year 2003 was $26 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $25,406, 47th within the nation. However, this number is fast increasing.

With a land area of 147,046 square miles or 380,850 km2, the state of Montana is a little larger as opposed to Japan and slightly smaller as opposed to Paraguay. It is the fourth biggest state within the United States after the states Texas, California and Alaska, and is the the largest landlocked U.S. state. To the north, the state of Montana shares a 545-mile (877 km) border together with three Canadian provinces: Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Alberta. To the east, the state borders North Dakota and South Dakota. Towards the south lies the state of Wyoming and towards the west and southwest is the state of Idaho.

Montana is a relative center of beer microbrewing, ranking third within the US in number of craft breweries per capita. There are significant businesses for lumber and mineral extraction; the state's resources comprise coal, silver, gold, talc, and vermiculite. Ecotaxes on resource extraction are many.

Tourism is also essential to the economy with millions of tourists each and every year to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn, the Missouri River headwaters and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.