MONTANA

State of Montana

ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: Derived from the Latin word meaning "mountainous." NICKNAME: The Treasure State. CAPITAL: Helena. ENTERED UNION: 8 November 1889 (41st). SONG: "Montana." BALLAD: "Montana Melody." MOTTO: Oro y Plata (Gold and silver). FLAG: A blue field, fringed in gold on the top and bottom borders, surround the state coat of arms, with "Montana" in gold letters above the coat of arms. OFFICIAL SEAL: In the lower center are a plow and a miner's pick and shovel; mountains appear above them on the left, the Great Falls of the Missouri River on the right, and a state motto on a banner below. The words "The Great Seal of the State of Montana" surround the whole. ANIMAL: Grizzly bear. BIRD: Western meadowlark. FISH: Black-spotted (cutthroat) trout. FLOWER: Bitterroot. TREE: Ponderosa pine. GRASS: Bluebunch wheatgrass. GEMS: Yogo sapphire; Montana agate. FOSSIL: Duck-billed dinosaur. LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Lincoln's Birthday, 12 February; Washington's Birthday, 3rd Monday in February; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Columbus Day, 2nd Monday in October; State Election Day, 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November in even-numbered years; Veterans Day, 11 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December. TIME: 5 AM MST = noon GMT.

⁵⁰ BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dougherty, Michael. The Ultimate Montana Atlas and Travel Encyclopedia. Bozeman, Mont.: Ultimate Press, 2001.

Farr, William, and K. Ross Toole. Montana: Images of the Past . Boulder, Colo.: Pruett, 1984.

Federal Writer's Project. Montana: A State Guide Book . Reprint. New York: Somerset, n.d. (orig. 1939).

Malone, Michael P., and Richard B. Roeder. Montana: A History of Two Centuries . Rev. ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991.

Rowles, Genevieve, ed. Adventure Guide to Montana. Edison, N.J.: Hunter, 2000.

Sateren, Shelley Swanson. Montana Facts and Symbols. Mankato, Minn.: Hilltop Books, 2000.

Schrems, Suzanne H. Uncommon Women, Unmarked Trails: The Courageous Journey of Catholic Missionary Sisters in Frontier Montana. Norman, Okla.: Horse Creek Publications, 2003.

Small, Lawrence F., ed. Religion in Montana: Pathways to the Present. Billings, Mont.: Rocky Mountain College, 1992.

Spence, Clark C. Montana: A Bicentennial History . New York: Norton, 1978.

Toole, Kenneth R. Montana: An Uncommon Land . Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1984.

——. Twentieth-Century Montana: A State of Extremes . Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1983.

Wright, John B. Montana Ghost Dance: Essays on Land and Life. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998.