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First explored for France by François and
Louis-Joseph Verendrye in the early 1740s, much of the region
was acquired by the U.S. from France as part of the Louisiana
Purchase in 1803. Before western Montana was obtained from Great
Britain in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, American trading posts and
forts had been established in the territory.
The major Indian Wars (1867–1877) included the
famous 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn, better known as
“Custer's Last Stand,” in which Cheyenne and Sioux defeated
George A. Custer and more than 200 of his men in southeast
Montana.
Much of Montana's early history was concerned
with mining, with copper, lead, zinc, silver, coal, and oil as
principal products. Butte is the center of the area that once
supplied half of the U.S. copper.
Fields of grain cover much of Montana's
plains. It ranks high among the states in wheat and barley, with
rye, oats, flaxseed, sugar beets, and potatoes as other
important crops. Sheep and cattle raising make significant
contributions to the economy.
Tourist attractions include hunting, fishing,
skiing, and dude ranching. Glacier National Park, on the
Continental Divide, has 60 glaciers, 200 lakes, and many streams
with good trout fishing. Other major points of interest include
the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Virginia City,
Yellowstone National Park, Fort Union Trading Post and Grant-Kohr's
Ranch National Historic Sites, and the Museum of the Plains
Indians at Browning. |
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