Eastern Montana

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Eastern Montana is a loosely defined region of Montana. Some definitions are more or less inclusive than others, ranging from the most inclusive, which would include the entire part of the state east of the

Continental Divide, to the least inclusive, which places the beginning of "eastern" Montana roughly at or even east of Billings, Montana
. The areas of Montana lying just east of the Continental Divide are often called Central Montana. A widely accepted definition of Eastern Montana is that it encompasses the eastern third of the state.

Sand Arroyo Badlands

Parts of Eastern Montana are affected by the economic boom in the Bakken formation, the largest oil discovery in U.S. history.[1][2]

History

The plains of eastern Montana were historically populated by

Crow
.

By the late 19th century, people of European descent set up

Indian reservations
as they were throughout Montana and the west. To this day, Eastern Montana has a proud Native American population.

Eastern Montana was the location of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.[3]

Fort Peck Dam near Glasgow, Montana was a major project of the Public Works Administration, part of the New Deal. Construction of Fort Peck Dam started in 1933, and at its peak in July 1936 employed 10,546 workers. The dam, named for a 19th-century trading post, was completed in 1940, and began generating electricity in July 1943.[4]

Geography, Biomes and Climate

Charles M Russell National Wildlife Refuge - Montana - 2010

Eastern Montana has a

thunderstorms and snow, which can fall at any time of the year. Summers are short but hot and winters are long, cold and extremely variable. During some winters, such as 1925–26, 1930–31, 1960–61 and 1991–92, chinook winds
descending from the Rockies cause frequent mild spells of 35 to 60 °F (1.7 to 15.6 °C) lasting up to several weeks. In contrast, other winters such as 1916–17, 1935–36, 1968–69 and 1978–79 see the westerly flow move further south and in this absence of chinooks, temperatures can stay below 0 °F or −17.8 °C for weeks at a time.

Though the

Midwest
.

Culture

Eastern Montana was mostly colonized by German and Scandinavian, especially Norwegian, immigrants.[7]

Cities in eastern Montana

References

  1. ^ "Bakken: The Biggest Oil Discovery in U.S. History". marketwire.com. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  2. ^ "Bakken: The Biggest Oil Discovery in U.S. History - 500 Beiträge pro Seite". wallstreet-online.de. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  3. ^ "General Custer's last stand, Montana's historical site - by Brian Buchanan, freelance copywriter (American Folklore)". fracas.com. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  4. ^ "Fort Peck Dam". fortpeckdam.com. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  5. ^ Lavin, Matt; Seibert, Catherine (2011-01-01). "Great Plains Flora? Plant Geography of Eastern Montana's Lower Elevation Shrub-grass Dominated Vegetation". Natural Resources and Environmental Issues. 16 (1).
  6. ^ "Montana Wildflowers - Pictures and Identification". montana.plant-life.org. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  7. ISBN 9780295986128
    . Retrieved 2015-02-23.
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