The US state of Montana is situated within the Western Region of the US. The west part of the state comprises many mountain ranges, while smaller "island ranges" can be situated within the central area of Montana. In total, there are 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montana, which means mountain. The state of Montana has various nicknames, none official, including: "The Treasure State" and "Big Sky Country", and slogans which consist of "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently, "The Last Best Place." The state ranks 44th in population, but fourth in area, and hence has the third-lowest population density within the United States. The economy is primarily based on services, with ranching, wheat farming, lumber, tourism and hard rock mining in the west and oil and coal mining in the east. Millions of tourists yearly visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and Glacier national Park, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.
The total state product of Montana has been estimated during 2003 to be roughly $26 billion, based on the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2003, the per capita income ranked 47th within the United States at $25,406. Nonetheless, this number is rapidly increasing.
Montana's land area is presently 147,046 square miles or 380,850 km2, that is slightly smaller than the country of Paraguay, but is slightly bigger as opposed to Japan. The state of Montana is the largest state within the union behind the larger states of Alaska, Texas, and California, and is the US' biggest landlocked state. To the north, Montana shares a 545-mile (877 km) border with three Canadian provinces: Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Alberta. Towards the east, the state borders North Dakota and South Dakota. Towards the southwest and west is the state of Idaho and towards the south lies Wyoming.
The state has many beer microbreweries, as a matter of fact, Montana ranks third in the United States in per capita craft breweries. Within the state of Montana, there are numerous major industries for mineral extraction and lumber; Montana's resources comprise coal, silver, gold, talc, and vermiculite. Ecotaxes on resource extraction are numerous.
The economy of Montana is dependent upon Tourism each and every year, with millions of tourists coming from all around to Flathead Lake, Glacier National Park, the Missouri River headwaters, which is the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn. Montana also features three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.