Montana Lakefront Properties for Sale

Montana is located in the Western United States, bordering Canada to the north, Idaho to the southwest, North and South Dakota to the east, and Wyoming to the south. Montana has several unofficial nicknames, some of the most well-known are "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State," and more recently the slogan, "The Last Best Place." Montana is the fourth largest state in size, at approximately 147,000 square miles, but only 44th in population size. The largest city in Montana is Billings in the southeast, the only city in the state with a population over 100,000. Missoula and Great Falls are the next largest, with populations over 50,000. Other larger cities are Helena, the state capital, Bozeman, Butte and Kalispell.

The western half of the state of Montana is characterized by mountain ranges and valleys, with the eastern part mainly characterized by prairie terrain, with some island mountain ranges and valleys in the middle of the flat terrain. All areas of the state have an abundance of water resources, including thousands of lakes and rivers for recreation, agriculture, and industry. Nearly 35 percent of Montana's land is administered by federal or state agencies, with the numerous national and state parks, forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife refuges. Some of the most well-known are Yellowstone National Park, which covers a portion of Montana to the south, and Glacier National Park in northwest Montana. There are also many state and national historic sites, such as Little Bighorn Battlefield and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

With such a large number of incredible national and state parks in Montana, it's not surprising that the fastest growing industries are tourism and recreation. Other industries essential to the economy are agriculture, crops and livestock, oil, gas, coal, and hard rock mining and lumber.