When did Montana achieve statehood?

Date of Statehood: November 8, 1889

Capital: Helena

Population: 989,415 (2010)

Size: 147,039 square miles

Montana is the fourth largest U.S. state by area behind Alaska,Texas and California. Montana has an average of just six people per square mile, making it one of the country’s least densely populated states.

Montana is home to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, which memorializes the historic 1876 battle between the Sioux tribe and U.S. Army (the infamous “Custer’s Last Stand).” Yellowstone National Park, located in southern Montana and northern Wyoming, was the first national park established in the United States.

The coldest temperature in the 48 contiguous states ever recorded was -70 degrees Fahrenheit in Rogers Pass on January 20, 1954. In January of 1972, the town of Loma, Montana broke the national record for the greatest temperature change within a 24-hour period by recording a 103 degree climb from -54 degrees Fahrenheit to 49 degrees Fahrenheit.