Montana map

Where Montana is

Montana lies along the Canadian border in the northern Rockies and Great Plains. It is about 630 miles east to west and 255 miles north to south. British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan lie to the north, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and Idaho to the west and southwest. The western third is mountainous — the Continental Divide winds through it — while the eastern two-thirds are high plains cut by the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. Billings is on the Yellowstone in the south-central plains; Helena is in the mountains near the Divide, and Missoula lies farther west.

Major cities

Geography

• Granite Peak — 12,807 feet, the highest point, in the Beartooth Mountains north of Yellowstone. See the Rocky Mountains map.
• Missouri River — formed at Three Forks by the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers, it flows north past Great Falls and then east across the plains, impounded as Fort Peck Lake. See the Missouri River map.
• Yellowstone River — about 690 miles, the longest undammed river in the contiguous US, leaving Yellowstone National Park and crossing the state past Billings to the Missouri just over the North Dakota line.
• Continental Divide — enters from Yellowstone, loops west to the Idaho border and runs north through Glacier National Park, where Triple Divide Peak sends water to three oceans. See the Continental Divide map.
• Flathead Lake — about 190 square miles, the largest natural freshwater lake in the western contiguous US. See US lakes.
• Lowest point — about 1,800 feet where the Kootenai River leaves the northwest corner for Idaho.
• Glacier and Yellowstone — Glacier National Park sits on the Canadian border; three of Yellowstone's five entrances are in Montana.

Borders

Montana's northern border is the 49th parallel, the eastern border a meridian near 104°03′W shared with both Dakotas, and the southern border the 45th parallel with Wyoming, turning down a meridian at Yellowstone's northwest corner. The Idaho border is the one natural stretch: from Yellowstone it follows the Continental Divide north-west along the Bitterroot Range to Lost Trail Pass, then the Bitterroot crest to Lookout Pass, then a surveyed meridian north to Canada. That mountain line explains why Missoula and the Bitterroot valley belong to Montana rather than Idaho.

Regions of Montana

Western Montana or Glacier Country (Missoula, Kalispell, the Flathead Valley, Glacier National Park), Southwest Montana (Helena, Butte, Bozeman, the upper Missouri valleys), Central Montana (Great Falls, Lewistown), Yellowstone Country (Livingston, Red Lodge), South-central Montana (Billings) and Eastern Montana (Miles City, Glendive, the Hi-Line towns along US 2).

Related maps

• Montana county map — all 56 counties with seats.
• Blank Montana map — outline for printing.
• Printable Montana map.
• Helena — a gold-rush town that became capital in 1875.
• Neighbors: North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho.
• Region: West · Mountain · Rocky Mountains · Great Plains.
• Time zone: Mountain.
• Geography: Rocky Mountains, Continental Divide, Yellowstone, Missouri River.