Geoff, I have a simple question: North and South Americans are Americans (continental identity?... Remember North and South America (The Americas) are American countries and territories, don't you?....
Maybe he was looking at very OLD information. The school in Missoula used to be named Montana State College in the 1950's. My father graduated from MSC.
Eastern MT, similar to Western ND, is wide open, rolling prairies, hills, badlands, few trees, great for cattle, brutal in winter, and there just ain't much there. That's why I like living in the northern high plains. It's quiet.
People talk about the plains being boring but that's the beauty of it. I've traveled around the country backpacking etc and I always end up in the plains. It's peaceful, the people are absolutely fantastic, and being a country boy from south texas I feel right at home on the plains
Great video, it is nice to see a Montana shout out. However, you got the colleges reversed. University of Montana is in Missoula and Montana State is in Bozeman. This is a deep rivalry, you may want to update the video
3rd generation born and raised in eastern Montana to a family of ranchers and dry-land wheat farmers. After finishing my undergrad degree at MSU (Bozeman) in the 80's, I've lived all over the US. Mountains are stunning, the ocean is beautiful, but nothing makes my heart sing like standing in a sea of wheat rippling in the wind under an infinite blue sky. Was wondering if Montana would ever be on your radar. Thank you!
Montanna is the only state out of the lower 48 that never had a battleship named after it. There was the proposed Montana class, BB67-71, which were planned at the outbreak of WWII, but never started.
A fact missed by this video: our path to statehood was primarily influenced by international politics. In the 1880s, lots of British investors were looking at cattle operations (and other land investments) in Montana and other Western territories. Congress, in order to capitalize on this foreign capital, passed a law in approx. 1888 to ban foreign investment in territories (where it was difficult to collect tax revenue), and within months, 6 western states ratified statehood pacts with the United States, Montana among them.
Browning is probably the most brutal town to live in Montana due to chinook winds causing insane temperature shifts including a record 100 degree swing in 24 hours. Eastern in Montana is home to many large ranches as well.
Browning isn't far from Pincher Creek, Alberta in Canada, which also receives those same brutal chinook winds. A great place for wind power generation.
@@mousetreehouse6833 If the wind is strong enough, you have a lightweight car, and you don't have the brakes set, you run the risk of turning your car into a land sailor. 🤣 There used to be a radio DJ in Great Falls who would issue a "Skirt Alert" if the wind was gusting over 35, which is a rather common occurrence in Great Falls. 😉
@@mythigator7406 Ha, ha. Thanks... and it must be a favorite homework assignment for h.s. science teachers (Hey, kids, you want to turn your dad's car into a sailboat?!?).
Nice video. Should be mentioned that the border between Idaho and Montana is a mistake. A survey crew was supposed to map out the Continental Divide though followed the wrong mountain range. Idaho has tried several times to get this land back.
I went to Montana State University, and you pixed up Bozeman and Missoula as to which school is located in which city. Montana State University is in Bozeman, and Missoula has that other school. Go Bobcats!
I live in Central Montana Between Billings and Roundup. Yes it's cold ,windy and unpredictable at times . No pizza delivery. All you city folks would hate it.
Wow, that's a weird coincidence. Just two days ago I randomly started wondering whether the crinkly border between Montana and Idaho was a river or a watershed (I guessed it would be one or the other). I'm not American, so it was kind of an odd thing to think about, but I do find American geography interesting.
I was born in Boise and my grandparents used to have a RV park in Northern Idaho, about 6 miles from the Montana border. I remember riding with my grandfather into Western Montana to get supplies for the park. Great memories from the late 70s and early 80s.
Exactly. I love geography, and I am subscribed to a few channels like this one. Geoff does such a good job with his content, and I also learn something new each time I watch one of his videos 😀👍
Montana is called Big Sky Country because of a state tourism campaign in the 1960s. The state advertising director, Jack Hallowell, was having drinks with A.B. Guthrie, the author of the book, "The Big Sky". Hallowell asked Guthrie if he could use that as an advertising slogan.
I lived in Billings from 2015-2018. That area has characteristics of both eastern and western Montana, although I too would consider it more of an eastern town. I worked at the sugar factory there and drove for Uber.
Years ago on my first road trip out west I was westbound on I-94 and then I-90 in Montana. I saw The Rockies rising up and thought, I'll be in those mountains in an hour. 😂😂😂😂 It took half the day before I got there.
I would love to visit Montana, especially the western part of the state. It's a huge state with very few people, that would be a nice change of pace 🏞🙌
Well you better hurry! We got a lot of people coming here from all over, mostly from California. I live here, and it's getting more crowed and filled with creepier people by the minute. It is still nice, just not as nice as 2 Years ago.
As you see by the comments here, long-time and native Montanans are very averse to change and people coming to the area. This mindset is especially prominent in the eastern part of the state.
I spent over 20 years living just south of Billings montana, just across the state line in Wyoming. In Montana is an absolutely gorgeous state, both halves of it but for different reasons. The Western half obviously for the Rocky Mountains in the Abundant wildlife. But the eastern half is absolutely beautiful also. It is a prairie portion of the state and on the surface and if you drive along the highways or the rail line, for the most part all you see is wide open Prairie. But every once in a while you dip down into one of those river valleys or secluded little hideaways that you don't see because of the high plains. I definitely recommend it but it's not a state you can simply rush through it 75 mph and expect to see anything
As a resident of the middle of Eastern Montana, we wouldn't have it any other way. Yes, W. MT is gorgeous, but the High Plains have a beauty all their own and the people here are friendly, love their freedom, and are the most hardy of all.
I grew up in Montana, on the eastern side of your split there. West has a lot to offer. Hiking, camping, views, lakes, rivers, fishing, hunting, and visual interest… The East has… flat. Wanna hike? I hope you enjoy looking at farm fields and nothing while being 100% subject to weather. Most people just get drunk and drunk for fun, and in between, they drink… because there’s nothing especially interesting to do there… bird hunting and fishing ain’t bad though… Also, fun note: the west side of montana is shaped that way due to the “copper Barrons” who owned mines and bribed government officials to draw the map so Montana got a huge chunk of Idaho because Montana’s politicians were more in their pocket and the mining regulations were slightly more in their favour… iirc, the real line should have been near the continental divide.
Mainly because of oil, and also because Calgary is about as far south as Canada can build railroads to connect the entire country, while the United States has far more land further south to build numerous railroads that connect the Atlantic to the pacific.
I've lived in MT my entire life. Great video, I had never considered the lack of metropolitan areas along the Missouri (except Great Falls, which barely counts as metro) had to do with the Battle of Little Bighorn, but that completely makes sense. One thing I'd love to hear talked about is Montana's influence on the military, with Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Minute Men Missile Silos, and how the vast, empty geography relates to that.
It was less due to the Little Big Horn and more due to the fact that they made the entire state from the divide, along the Teton, Missouri, to the nd border reservation. It was cut down latwr in the 1890s to where the lines are today. War department policy dictated tge need for a deliniated border, water was the best choice at tge time. The little bighorn had no effect because the alliance shattered soon after, sitting bull fled to Canada and lived undee the protection of the Blackfoot chief Crowfoot until he surrendered. The falls stopped water travel, that is why the towns are where they are Benton being the military out post to observe native movements north of the river. Zortman as a landing, and great falls as an upper landing.
@@Cyrus992 I absolutely love the Eastern part of Montana. I am a born and raised Montanan. I really dislike the mountains. Give me wheat flowing in the wind. Open spaces. The sky seen forever. The northern lights like Alaska.
Montana's split geography is similar to Washington and Oregon. For Washington and Oregon, the land west of the Cascade Mountains and the land east have different geography and climates. The western half has much more rain and a more temperate climate than the eastern half which is drier and much colder in the winter.
I lived in eastern mt for 10 years, the low population is due to 2 things. Low rainfall which means lower land use. Then montana never pursued better freight rail., which leads to under devolpment in ag sector. You need freight rail to be modern economy, and easter mt only has 2 that are about 100 miles apart. The high line on along us 2, and a rail along Interstate 94. The town in between them are kind of non factors that would be bigger if the had rail. I.e. Jordan and Winnett
I rode through Montana on the Amtrak Empire builder, Seattle to Chicago. The western half of the state was gorgeous, steep forest and high mountains. The eastern half was exactly like North Dakota: flat and dull.
As a Montanan, Having Montana State in Missoula and the U of M in Bozeman is the single most cursed image I've ever seen, lol. Okay it really isn't and if I'm being honest, this was a very accurate and well researched video (Except for getting our Universities backwards, which is a huge insult to us, lol)
I was born and raised in eastern Montana, then moved to western Montana for 21 years then finally had my fill of the hard winters, now I live in Arizona and I love it.
The border follows the Bitterroot Mountains rather than the Continental Divide because Copper King Marcus Daly paid the surveyors to go follow the Bitterroot Mountains so he could be in Montana rather than Idaho. My favorite way to describe the western border is as the silhouette of Abe Lincoln’s face.
Just a note, please fix your graphic regarding Missoula and Bozeman. Missoula is home of the U of M and Bozeman is home to MSU. This is a big rivalry and some may be offended. Go GRIZ!
I love how informative and interesting your videos are! I kinda wanna go visit Montana right now thanks to you 😊 Just a friendly observation though… it seems like you emphasize almost every word. It’s a lot.
Loved the information in this video. I was born and raised in eastern Montana, but currently live in Washington state. Montana will always be home.❤(Just a friendly edit. Montana State University is in Bozeman and the University of Montana is in Missoula.)
I wanted to point out that your reported city populations are way off. It appears you have used the populations of the entire counties the cities reside in. For example, Missoula, as of 2022 is reported at 77,000, not 127,000 as you have stated.
Montana aka Alberta South... Always fascinated by the place since its geography is very similar to ours yet the population patterns of Montana are very different. Lots of small cities connected to each other on rail lines and highways via mountain passes... Alberta? 75-80% live in the very long-thin megacity region of Edmonton-Calgary... 300 km long but only a km or two wide since most of the towns and cities in between the two big ones with the exception of Red Deer are probably walkable in 15 minutes from the centre... Leduc, Ponoka, Wetaskiwin, Lacombe, Olds, Didsbury, Blackfalds, etc... All are about 10-20K and until recently were sleepy farm towns... Also politically like Alberta? A very purple state with a mix of very rural right wing and very urban left wing populations... Very much like home...
I grew up in western North Dakota. The Bakken reserve has definitely increased the population in the northern parts. Central and Eastern Montana, regardless, is easily the most desolate non-mountainous part of the United States. Also noteworthy, western North Dakota, and northeastern Montana easily have the most extreme temperature climate on the continent. Average highs in July in the mid 80s… Average lows in January single digits…. And as a bonus, commonly windy outside of maybe July and August.
Yep, Missoula and Bozeman were switched as to which was MSU and which was UM. My dad graduated from Montana State College in 1946, which happened to be in Missoula. It changed to the University of Montana some time in the late 50’s early 60’s I think. I grew up on the plains of Montana and now live in Missoula. Good video.
It’s cool the Empire Builder serves Glacier National Park, but I would think it will make more sense with a North-South split since the major population centers in Montana have not been served since the North Coast Hiawatha was cut in 1979
I love visiting Montana. The vastness of the landscapes is breathtaking. Only bummer is I gotta drive through one of the Dakotas and eastern MT to get to the good stuff. Eastern MT is seriously one of the most desolate places I’ve been. Beautiful and underrated state compared to the Rocky Mountain states.
I wanna go go Billings. The plains have always seemed so psychedelic to me with the rimrocks. I'd love to go for a hike there and enjoy nature. I hear its one of the best cities for outdoor recreation.
But eastern Montana can claim that they have a professional sports team aka the Billings Outlaws (Arena Football League) who won the ArenaBowl this season
I love this video so much because I live and was born in Montana and I still live in Montana for 19 and a half years now. A++ for making a video of my home state.
North and South Dakota, not exactly very populous areas, are way, way, way more densely populated, even in their rural areas, than eastern Montana. Growing up In Bismarck, you'd see Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa plates all the time, and everyone has family in those states. But you would almost never meet or hear about anyone knowing anyone from Montana or Wyoming, simply because, even though we share a border, the actual people live 500 miles away and there's few cultural ties across that empty distance.
@@ConradE83 Cities in Alberta, Canada, like Calgary and Edmonton, have a similar population to Montana, or even more (Calgary). Saskatchewan, Canada, which borders Montana, has a similar population to Montana. Like North Dakota, which also borders the province, and South Dakota, Saskatchewan has a small population.
It’s interesting that Billings, despite being technically in the east, is pretty much in the middle between the Eastern and Western half’s of the state. That way everyone can travel about the same distance to do shopping there.
I'm a 4th generation farmer in Northeast Montana. It's definitely not for everyone. -40º keeps the riff raff away, that's for sure. But, when I retire, I'm going to maybe sell out and find a nice condo on the beach in San Diego or La Jolla, California.
Economics usually drives migration, and establishes settlements. People will go where they can make a living when it’s a necessity. Economics typically plays a big role in demographics.
Born in Billings, lived the most in Great Falls, now live in the Seattle area but will always consider Montana to be home. As numerous others have pointed out, you got the universities transposed and missed the origin story of Montana's western border (the original surveyors followed the wrong mountain range). I would add that, in geographical terms, Great Falls is far more appropriately placed in eastern Montana than in western Montana. Great Falls is about an hour's drive east of the leading edge of the Rockies; thus, its location is high prairie and has the wind and harsh climate that are characteristic of the east.
Good video. Like the overview. When people refer to "Big Sky Country" or "the Land of the Big Sky", they aren't referring to just the eastern side of the state, though: it's used to refer to the WHOLE state. Case in point, I went to Big Sky High School, which is located in Missoula, in the heart of the western, mountainous part.
Other than a very brief mention, you basically ignored the largest city in the state. No mention of why they largest city is in the Plains region, no mention of the university or industry in Billings. No mention of the city’s history.
I grew up in Washington state and worked summers in Montana during college. Washington has everything Montana has, plus the Puget Sound. The only states that is possibly more visually striking than Washington would be California. But it’s genuinely less green.
I'm a Montana property owner. To second what a few people have said, western Montana is just plainly more attractive. It's essentially a continuation of the Pacific Northwest while eastern Montana is essentially a continuation of the high plains of North Dakota. The funny thing is that western Montana should have been part of Idaho based off the standard, rectangular shape (see Wyoming, Colorado, etc..) that was used to draw western state borders in the late 19th century, However, the Territory of Montana had more political power and influence when those borders were finalized and was able to convince Congress to add that portion to its territory. If it wasn't for that, the fortunes of both Idaho and Montana would be completely different.
Eastern Montana actually had more people than the west during the homestead boom in the 1900's. It wasnt until people discovered most of the land in the east (and west for that matter) wasn't arable and many left
As someone who lives in Eastern Montana I can tell you there is nuthing here that's why no one is here. It's not the worst place to live but there is so many better places.
LoL ,get going then . because for me I've traveled all over the west and eastern Montana is still better than any of the rest .Look up at the sky once and awhile.
The 2cents Infucener This video is informative!Great book that tells of the interesting history of montana is called "No bar too far" BRAVO!keep up the good work!
Great video! I live in MT and love it. But as others have noted (kinda a huge deal in MT) you have the two major colleges mixed up. Bozeman is MSU and Missoula is UM. And I have to say it... Go Cats Go
It's because the eastern part is flat and windy and has the record coldest temperature in the lower 48, whereas the west is some of the most beautiful land in the world
The coldest record was in the mountains at Rogers pass. The winds are really only bad on the immediate front, get out to Havre or even Malya they are not terrible
Besides the UM and MSU mixup, Montana actually is the only state that has a triple divide peak. Water at this peak can go to the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, or the Artic Ocean. 😊
GUYS! Help me figure out which state has the BEST GEOGRAPHY by taking this poll: forms.gle/MDrngnTh2BpQpv7W7 It takes 2 minutes 🤠
Geoff, I have a simple question: North and South Americans are Americans (continental identity?... Remember North and South America (The Americas) are American countries and territories, don't you?....
so what you're saying is, if you want to escape black and brown people, this would be the perfect place?
This is a great video. Only thing is you labeled MSU (should be Bozeman) and UofM (should be Missoula) backwards
I hope he has a bunker ready for when the Cats and Griz find this video.
@@AtarahDerek Definitely!! 😆 p.s. Go Grizz!
And both are rivals lol. Like if he put Ohio State in Ann Arbor or Washington State in Seattle
😂 I came to say the same thing. I'm in Missoula.
Maybe he was looking at very OLD information. The school in Missoula used to be named Montana State College in the 1950's. My father graduated from MSC.
Eastern MT, similar to Western ND, is wide open, rolling prairies, hills, badlands, few trees, great for cattle, brutal in winter, and there just ain't much there.
That's why I like living in the northern high plains.
It's quiet.
People talk about the plains being boring but that's the beauty of it. I've traveled around the country backpacking etc and I always end up in the plains. It's peaceful, the people are absolutely fantastic, and being a country boy from south texas I feel right at home on the plains
Nice area
And Woman Free - the way Jesus intended it!! LOL
I don't know, the wind can be loud at times. The wind sounds like a freight train moving at high speed during microbursts.
@@Zenas521
That must be incredible!
Is it easy to fall asleep by, or is it just too nerve-wracking?
Montana state is in Bozeman
University of Montana is in Missoula
You had it the other way around in the video
Oof, big oversight. That's like saying Ohio State is in Ann Arbor and UM is in Columbus lol
@@bigjules1234567890 Lol, with their big rivalry, that mistake will get people killed. 😂
@@jessebakken7547lmao 😂😂
Montana Tech is in Butte, it operates under the U of M accreditation.
Great video, it is nice to see a Montana shout out. However, you got the colleges reversed. University of Montana is in Missoula and Montana State is in Bozeman. This is a deep rivalry, you may want to update the video
Show the image of the Universities being backward to anyone here and you'd be run out of the State probably lol
3rd generation born and raised in eastern Montana to a family of ranchers and dry-land wheat farmers. After finishing my undergrad degree at MSU (Bozeman) in the 80's, I've lived all over the US. Mountains are stunning, the ocean is beautiful, but nothing makes my heart sing like standing in a sea of wheat rippling in the wind under an infinite blue sky. Was wondering if Montana would ever be on your radar. Thank you!
I'm 4th generation, there's nothing like the eastern Montana sky, when I see it I know I'm home.
Montanna is the only state out of the lower 48 that never had a battleship named after it. There was the proposed Montana class, BB67-71, which were planned at the outbreak of WWII, but never started.
There is a Montana. It's a nuke sub
There was a USS Missoula in WWII.
WW2 all battleships were named for states. The uss Arizona still rests in pearl harbor.
FUN FACT: Due to its state motto ("Gold and Silver"), Montana is also known as the "Treasure State".
@@revinhatol oro y plata
@@Yoghurtmale8 Es cierto.
A fact missed by this video: our path to statehood was primarily influenced by international politics. In the 1880s, lots of British investors were looking at cattle operations (and other land investments) in Montana and other Western territories. Congress, in order to capitalize on this foreign capital, passed a law in approx. 1888 to ban foreign investment in territories (where it was difficult to collect tax revenue), and within months, 6 western states ratified statehood pacts with the United States, Montana among them.
Browning is probably the most brutal town to live in Montana due to chinook winds causing insane temperature shifts including a record 100 degree swing in 24 hours. Eastern in Montana is home to many large ranches as well.
Browning isn't far from Pincher Creek, Alberta in Canada, which also receives those same brutal chinook winds. A great place for wind power generation.
I used to live in Great Falls. As a kid I learned to never open both passenger doors at the same time.
@FVBirdCam
Please excuse my ignorance, but... how come?
@@mousetreehouse6833 If the wind is strong enough, you have a lightweight car, and you don't have the brakes set, you run the risk of turning your car into a land sailor. 🤣
There used to be a radio DJ in Great Falls who would issue a "Skirt Alert" if the wind was gusting over 35, which is a rather common occurrence in Great Falls. 😉
@@mythigator7406
Ha, ha. Thanks... and it must be a favorite homework assignment for h.s. science teachers (Hey, kids, you want to turn your dad's car into a sailboat?!?).
Nice video. Should be mentioned that the border between Idaho and Montana is a mistake. A survey crew was supposed to map out the Continental Divide though followed the wrong mountain range. Idaho has tried several times to get this land back.
I went to Montana State University, and you pixed up Bozeman and Missoula as to which school is located in which city. Montana State University is in Bozeman, and Missoula has that other school. Go Bobcats!
Mad Dog 20/20
U of M Grad here. GO GRIZ (Also Hi fellow Montanan, hope you're well.)
I've lived here for all 32 years of my life and I still feel like I have a whole state to explore.
I live in Central Montana
Between Billings and Roundup.
Yes it's cold ,windy and unpredictable at times .
No pizza delivery. All you city folks would hate it.
Are you calling me a city folk!😡
Wow, that's a weird coincidence. Just two days ago I randomly started wondering whether the crinkly border between Montana and Idaho was a river or a watershed (I guessed it would be one or the other). I'm not American, so it was kind of an odd thing to think about, but I do find American geography interesting.
I was born in Boise and my grandparents used to have a RV park in Northern Idaho, about 6 miles from the Montana border. I remember riding with my grandfather into Western Montana to get supplies for the park. Great memories from the late 70s and early 80s.
I have learned so many quirky facts about US geography from this channel - never fails to disappoint!
Exactly. I love geography, and I am subscribed to a few channels like this one. Geoff does such a good job with his content, and I also learn something new each time I watch one of his videos 😀👍
Montana is called Big Sky Country because of a state tourism campaign in the 1960s. The state advertising director, Jack Hallowell, was having drinks with A.B. Guthrie, the author of the book, "The Big Sky". Hallowell asked Guthrie if he could use that as an advertising slogan.
I lived in Billings from 2015-2018. That area has characteristics of both eastern and western Montana, although I too would consider it more of an eastern town. I worked at the sugar factory there and drove for Uber.
Years ago on my first road trip out west I was westbound on I-94 and then I-90 in Montana. I saw The Rockies rising up and thought, I'll be in those mountains in an hour. 😂😂😂😂 It took half the day before I got there.
I would love to visit Montana, especially the western part of the state. It's a huge state with very few people, that would be a nice change of pace 🏞🙌
Well you better hurry! We got a lot of people coming here from all over, mostly from California. I live here, and it's getting more crowed and filled with creepier people by the minute. It is still nice, just not as nice as 2 Years ago.
Stay home
As you see by the comments here, long-time and native Montanans are very averse to change and people coming to the area. This mindset is especially prominent in the eastern part of the state.
Eastern Montanan here and delighted we got a video! Thanks!
I spent over 20 years living just south of Billings montana, just across the state line in Wyoming.
In Montana is an absolutely gorgeous state, both halves of it but for different reasons. The Western half obviously for the Rocky Mountains in the Abundant wildlife. But the eastern half is absolutely beautiful also. It is a prairie portion of the state and on the surface and if you drive along the highways or the rail line, for the most part all you see is wide open Prairie. But every once in a while you dip down into one of those river valleys or secluded little hideaways that you don't see because of the high plains. I definitely recommend it but it's not a state you can simply rush through it 75 mph and expect to see anything
Any reccomendations for a Florida Man looking to check out billings next summer?
As a resident of the middle of Eastern Montana, we wouldn't have it any other way. Yes, W. MT is gorgeous, but the High Plains have a beauty all their own and the people here are friendly, love their freedom, and are the most hardy of all.
Trying to go to eastern Montana one summer I'm from Florida, and it looks awesome to me
I love Montana! Growing up as a kid in Missoula defined me as a man now!
Montana is full.
North Dakota is nice....
Mmmm, this is the most Montanian thing to say~
100% !!
Yes, I am not from your state and I believe you 100percent
You have 5 people instead of 3 stop I’m sorry you have a neighbor 100 miles away
Just spent 2 weeks in Montana. Enjoy that state very much. 🌄
I bet it's a beautiful place. I've never been in that part of the country. Hopefully I'll get to see it one day.
Missoula Griz here, you also showed a pic of Lower Yellowstone Falls when talking about the tribes. That falls is deeply in Wyoming!
I grew up in Montana, on the eastern side of your split there.
West has a lot to offer. Hiking, camping, views, lakes, rivers, fishing, hunting, and visual interest…
The East has… flat. Wanna hike? I hope you enjoy looking at farm fields and nothing while being 100% subject to weather. Most people just get drunk and drunk for fun, and in between, they drink… because there’s nothing especially interesting to do there… bird hunting and fishing ain’t bad though…
Also, fun note: the west side of montana is shaped that way due to the “copper Barrons” who owned mines and bribed government officials to draw the map so Montana got a huge chunk of Idaho because Montana’s politicians were more in their pocket and the mining regulations were slightly more in their favour… iirc, the real line should have been near the continental divide.
The east has far more hiking than the west!
@@billymaxwell3446 yea… but it’s pretty boring and easy generally… being so flat, it’s hard to find anywhere interesting to hike imo.
My grandpa loved the east and it's big open sky. My dad, not so much. After living in the western part for most of my life, I agree with my dad.
The Bitterroot range runs along the border between Idaho and Montana.
The Rocky Mountains don't stop in New Mexico, they go all the way down to Oxaca, it's just that in Mexico we call them Sierra Madre.
Montana is similar to Alberta, but it has a smaller population. Alberta, and Montana have a historical connection too.
Mainly because of oil, and also because Calgary is about as far south as Canada can build railroads to connect the entire country, while the United States has far more land further south to build numerous railroads that connect the Atlantic to the pacific.
You should do a video talking about North and South Dakota
I've lived in MT my entire life. Great video, I had never considered the lack of metropolitan areas along the Missouri (except Great Falls, which barely counts as metro) had to do with the Battle of Little Bighorn, but that completely makes sense.
One thing I'd love to hear talked about is Montana's influence on the military, with Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Minute Men Missile Silos, and how the vast, empty geography relates to that.
It was less due to the Little Big Horn and more due to the fact that they made the entire state from the divide, along the Teton, Missouri, to the nd border reservation. It was cut down latwr in the 1890s to where the lines are today. War department policy dictated tge need for a deliniated border, water was the best choice at tge time. The little bighorn had no effect because the alliance shattered soon after, sitting bull fled to Canada and lived undee the protection of the Blackfoot chief Crowfoot until he surrendered.
The falls stopped water travel, that is why the towns are where they are Benton being the military out post to observe native movements north of the river. Zortman as a landing, and great falls as an upper landing.
You reversed the Universities. U of M in Missoula. MSU in Bozeman. MSU was founded as an A&M School.
I love how you always give the natives their props first.
Montana, Arizona, and Ohio are probably where they've most earned it (at least, if I'm remembering where Little Turtle was campaigning correctly).
Folks like me instead traveled mostly to Western Montana instead of Eastern. Those areas are more attractive
Where is the term, "that is not my crap."
Gotta learn to appreciate the East’s farms
@@Cyrus992 I absolutely love the Eastern part of Montana. I am a born and raised Montanan. I really dislike the mountains. Give me wheat flowing in the wind. Open spaces. The sky seen forever. The northern lights like Alaska.
@@maryanngregory4750 i guess you'd love Saskatchewan or most of Alberta
@@maryanngregory4750 I'm trying to get out to Billings. I love prairies
Montana's split geography is similar to Washington and Oregon. For Washington and Oregon, the land west of the Cascade Mountains and the land east have different geography and climates. The western half has much more rain and a more temperate climate than the eastern half which is drier and much colder in the winter.
I lived in eastern mt for 10 years, the low population is due to 2 things. Low rainfall which means lower land use. Then montana never pursued better freight rail., which leads to under devolpment in ag sector. You need freight rail to be modern economy, and easter mt only has 2 that are about 100 miles apart. The high line on along us 2, and a rail along Interstate 94. The town in between them are kind of non factors that would be bigger if the had rail. I.e. Jordan and Winnett
I rode through Montana on the Amtrak Empire builder, Seattle to Chicago. The western half of the state was gorgeous, steep forest and high mountains. The eastern half was exactly like North Dakota: flat and dull.
As a Montanan, Having Montana State in Missoula and the U of M in Bozeman is the single most cursed image I've ever seen, lol. Okay it really isn't and if I'm being honest, this was a very accurate and well researched video (Except for getting our Universities backwards, which is a huge insult to us, lol)
A quick search shows Kalispells current population at 30k and Missoula about 80k
I was born and raised in eastern Montana, then moved to western Montana for 21 years then finally had my fill of the hard winters, now I live in Arizona and I love it.
Howdy. You have the University locations backwards. Montana State University is in Bozeman. University of Montana is in Missoula. Thanks
The border follows the Bitterroot Mountains rather than the Continental Divide because Copper King Marcus Daly paid the surveyors to go follow the Bitterroot Mountains so he could be in Montana rather than Idaho. My favorite way to describe the western border is as the silhouette of Abe Lincoln’s face.
U of M is in Missoula and MSU is in Bozeman.
The VA/WV border also follows mountaintops.
Just a note, please fix your graphic regarding Missoula and Bozeman. Missoula is home of the U of M and Bozeman is home to MSU. This is a big rivalry and some may be offended. Go GRIZ!
I love how informative and interesting your videos are! I kinda wanna go visit Montana right now thanks to you 😊
Just a friendly observation though… it seems like you emphasize almost every word. It’s a lot.
Loved the information in this video. I was born and raised in eastern Montana, but currently live in Washington state. Montana will always be home.❤(Just a friendly edit. Montana State University is in Bozeman and the University of Montana is in Missoula.)
Dude you have to correct what towns MSU and UM are in. MSU is in Bozeman and UM in Missoula.
Thanks
I wanted to point out that your reported city populations are way off. It appears you have used the populations of the entire counties the cities reside in. For example, Missoula, as of 2022 is reported at 77,000, not 127,000 as you have stated.
Montana aka Alberta South... Always fascinated by the place since its geography is very similar to ours yet the population patterns of Montana are very different. Lots of small cities connected to each other on rail lines and highways via mountain passes... Alberta? 75-80% live in the very long-thin megacity region of Edmonton-Calgary... 300 km long but only a km or two wide since most of the towns and cities in between the two big ones with the exception of Red Deer are probably walkable in 15 minutes from the centre... Leduc, Ponoka, Wetaskiwin, Lacombe, Olds, Didsbury, Blackfalds, etc... All are about 10-20K and until recently were sleepy farm towns... Also politically like Alberta? A very purple state with a mix of very rural right wing and very urban left wing populations... Very much like home...
Yes I’ve always said Montana is just more southern Alberta. Especially the Great falls area.
I grew up in western North Dakota. The Bakken reserve has definitely increased the population in the northern parts. Central and Eastern Montana, regardless, is easily the most desolate non-mountainous part of the United States. Also noteworthy, western North Dakota, and northeastern Montana easily have the most extreme temperature climate on the continent. Average highs in July in the mid 80s… Average lows in January single digits…. And as a bonus, commonly windy outside of maybe July and August.
Ironically Montana's largest city is in the eastern part of the state.
Yep, Missoula and Bozeman were switched as to which was MSU and which was UM. My dad graduated from Montana State College in 1946, which happened to be in Missoula. It changed to the University of Montana some time in the late 50’s early 60’s I think. I grew up on the plains of Montana and now live in Missoula. Good video.
Love your work. Where did you get your population estimates from? They are wildly different from census data.
Moved from CA to Montana in 2021. Love it. It’s not easier, but it’s better.
I advocate for eastern Montana to secede from western Montana and become West Dakota, or western Montana can become "New California" perhaps. 😂
It’s cool the Empire Builder serves Glacier National Park, but I would think it will make more sense with a North-South split since the major population centers in Montana have not been served since the North Coast Hiawatha was cut in 1979
you got the schools wrong, MSU is in Bozeman while MU is in Missoula. Big time football rivalry lol js. anyways great vid!!!!!
I love visiting Montana. The vastness of the landscapes is breathtaking. Only bummer is I gotta drive through one of the Dakotas and eastern MT to get to the good stuff. Eastern MT is seriously one of the most desolate places I’ve been. Beautiful and underrated state compared to the Rocky Mountain states.
I thought the tall section of Idaho was called the chimney stack.
I wanna go go Billings. The plains have always seemed so psychedelic to me with the rimrocks. I'd love to go for a hike there and enjoy nature. I hear its one of the best cities for outdoor recreation.
8:57 You got the college locations wrong...
I'm hoping to visit next Spring!
But eastern Montana can claim that they have a professional sports team aka the Billings Outlaws (Arena Football League) who won the ArenaBowl this season
Oh, you mentioned Drummond!! I'm thrilled my home town was mentioned!
I love this video so much because I live and was born in Montana and I still live in Montana for 19 and a half years now. A++ for making a video of my home state.
I wouldn't mind living there.
North and South Dakota, not exactly very populous areas, are way, way, way more densely populated, even in their rural areas, than eastern Montana. Growing up In Bismarck, you'd see Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa plates all the time, and everyone has family in those states. But you would almost never meet or hear about anyone knowing anyone from Montana or Wyoming, simply because, even though we share a border, the actual people live 500 miles away and there's few cultural ties across that empty distance.
@@ConradE83 Cities in Alberta, Canada, like Calgary and Edmonton, have a similar population to Montana, or even more (Calgary). Saskatchewan, Canada, which borders Montana, has a similar population to Montana. Like North Dakota, which also borders the province, and South Dakota, Saskatchewan has a small population.
I ALWAYS ENJOY YOUR CONTENT MR GEOFF, SO MANY OTHERS DO ALSO, PLEASE CONTINUE TO MAKE GREAT PRODUCT JUST AS YOU ALWAYS HAVE. THANK YOU SIR!!
Please 🙏 add captions. The CZcams generated ones are awful
Fort Benton is the birthplace of Montana.
It’s interesting that Billings, despite being technically in the east, is pretty much in the middle between the Eastern and Western half’s of the state. That way everyone can travel about the same distance to do shopping there.
I'm a 4th generation farmer in Northeast Montana. It's definitely not for everyone. -40º keeps the riff raff away, that's for sure. But, when I retire, I'm going to maybe sell out and find a nice condo on the beach in San Diego or La Jolla, California.
Economics usually drives migration, and establishes settlements. People will go where they can make a living when it’s a necessity. Economics typically plays a big role in demographics.
Born in Billings, lived the most in Great Falls, now live in the Seattle area but will always consider Montana to be home. As numerous others have pointed out, you got the universities transposed and missed the origin story of Montana's western border (the original surveyors followed the wrong mountain range). I would add that, in geographical terms, Great Falls is far more appropriately placed in eastern Montana than in western Montana. Great Falls is about an hour's drive east of the leading edge of the Rockies; thus, its location is high prairie and has the wind and harsh climate that are characteristic of the east.
Good video. Like the overview. When people refer to "Big Sky Country" or "the Land of the Big Sky", they aren't referring to just the eastern side of the state, though: it's used to refer to the WHOLE state. Case in point, I went to Big Sky High School, which is located in Missoula, in the heart of the western, mountainous part.
Very good video, but you got the universities in Missoula and Bozeman backwards. MSU is in Bozeman. U of M is in Missoula!
Fire and Brimstone by Michael Punke is a good read into Montana's early years
Great show.
Other than a very brief mention, you basically ignored the largest city in the state. No mention of why they largest city is in the Plains region, no mention of the university or industry in Billings. No mention of the city’s history.
I grew up in Washington state and worked summers in Montana during college.
Washington has everything Montana has, plus the Puget Sound.
The only states that is possibly more visually striking than Washington would be California. But it’s genuinely less green.
I'm a Montana property owner. To second what a few people have said, western Montana is just plainly more attractive. It's essentially a continuation of the Pacific Northwest while eastern Montana is essentially a continuation of the high plains of North Dakota. The funny thing is that western Montana should have been part of Idaho based off the standard, rectangular shape (see Wyoming, Colorado, etc..) that was used to draw western state borders in the late 19th century, However, the Territory of Montana had more political power and influence when those borders were finalized and was able to convince Congress to add that portion to its territory. If it wasn't for that, the fortunes of both Idaho and Montana would be completely different.
Eastern Montana actually had more people than the west during the homestead boom in the 1900's. It wasnt until people discovered most of the land in the east (and west for that matter) wasn't arable and many left
Many lost homesteads during the great depression. My family did.
As someone who lives in Eastern Montana I can tell you there is nuthing here that's why no one is here. It's not the worst place to live but there is so many better places.
LoL ,get going then . because for me I've traveled all over the west and eastern Montana is still better than any of the rest .Look up at the sky once and awhile.
@@edlynnporter7519 I will admit that is the best part about here is the big open sky and gorgeous sunsets
Great video! Just a correction: UM is in Missoula and MSU is in Bozeman. ‘00 UM alum 🙋🏻♂️ #GoGriz!
The 2cents Infucener This video is informative!Great book that tells of the interesting history of montana is called "No bar too far" BRAVO!keep up the good work!
Great video! I live in MT and love it. But as others have noted (kinda a huge deal in MT) you have the two major colleges mixed up. Bozeman is MSU and Missoula is UM.
And I have to say it... Go Cats Go
Go Griz! 😂
It's because the eastern part is flat and windy and has the record coldest temperature in the lower 48, whereas the west is some of the most beautiful land in the world
The coldest record was in the mountains at Rogers pass. The winds are really only bad on the immediate front, get out to Havre or even Malya they are not terrible
Your podcast is a great idea. Always looking forward to the next one!
could you do a video on why the Oregon coast is so “empty”?
Climate pure and simple. Eastern Montana can stay at 40 below zero for weeks at a time. Western Montana 40 degrees warmer in Winter.
Eastern Montana is a cold windy paradise in Winter, followed by a dry parched, dreamy Summer. Good place to enjoy watermelon.
Hey- not sure if you heard, didn't bother to read the comments below, but University of Montana is in Missoula and Montana State is in Bozeman.
You and Martin Decoder need to flip a coin on who gets that music
Besides the UM and MSU mixup, Montana actually is the only state that has a triple divide peak. Water at this peak can go to the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, or the Artic Ocean. 😊
Ive lived in montana my whole life 36 yrs and eastern montana blows we should give it to the midwest and call it west dakota
Simple answer: there isn’t much in Eastern Montana; Billings is a large city but not much after that