Western Montana

Other common definitions add in the mountainous areas east of the divide including Beaverhead, Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Madison, and Park Counties.

[1] Most of Western Montana is covered in forest, prominent species being Ponderosa pine, aspen, and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir.

[3] In the late 19th century non-indigenous people arrived and established mines and additional cities in the mountains and valleys.

Vast quantities of copper were mined, leaving behind the largest Superfund cleanup site in the history of the nation.

Western Montana, though faring better than much of the nation, was the portion of the state hit hardest by the current economic downturn.