什麼是蒙大拿

美國西北部一州。面積380,847平方公里；首府赫勒拿。該州東爲大平原，西爲落磯山脈。該州的河流分別注入三個不同的流域︰太平洋、墨西哥灣和哈得遜灣。當歐洲的定居者來到此地時，這裏的居民是各個印第安部落，包括了夏延人、黑腳人、內茲佩爾塞人和克勞人。蒙大拿州大部分地方是美國經由1803年路易斯安那購地取得。西部地區一直是有爭議的，直到1846年英國撤銷對該地區的主權。1804～1806路易斯和克拉克遠征曾來到蒙大拿探險。天主教的傳教士於於1841年在今天的史蒂文斯維爾鎮附近建起聖瑪利亞教團，這是在蒙大拿的第一個永久性定居點。1860年代初這裏發現黃金；稍後開始放牧牛、羊，開始與印第安人間的艱苦戰爭，因他們的狩獵地遭到破壞。1864年設立蒙大拿準州。雖然美國的卡斯特的軍隊在1876年小大角河戰役被擊敗且遭殘殺，印第安人於1877年同意停戰並移居到保留地。1889年蒙大拿成爲聯邦第41州。1890年代發現大量銅礦，近一世紀以來，採礦業一直是該州重要的經濟支柱。現今，該州經濟最重視的是旅遊業。人口約902,195（2000）。

Montana

State (pop., 1997 est.: 879,000), northwestern U.S. It covers 147,046 sq mi (380,849 sq km); its capital is Helena. Montana straddles the Great Plains to the east and the Rocky Mtns. to the west. Unique among the states, its rivers flow into three of the continent's primary watersheds: the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, and Hudson Bay. At the time of European settlement the region was inhabited by various Indian tribes, including the Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Nez Percé, and Crow. Most of Montana was obtained by the U.S. through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The western part was disputed until 1846, when Britain relinquished its claim to the area. The Lewis and Clark Expedition explored Montana in 1804-6. St. Mary's mission, established in 1841 by Roman Catholic missionaries, became the first permanent town as Stevensville. Gold was discovered in the early 1860s; cattle and sheep grazing were introduced later that decade, leading to bitter battles with the Indians, whose hunting grounds were destroyed. Montana Territory was established in 1864. Though the U.S. troops of George Custer were defeated and slain at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the Indians ceased fighting in 1877 and were placed on reservations. Montana became the 41st state in 1889. Vast deposits of copper were found in the 1890s, and mining was the economic mainstay for almost a century. The state's economy now emphasizes tourism.