Derek Tranhill, age 9, of Butte, Mt., for his question:
WHAT DOES THE NAME MONTANA MEAN?
The name Montana comes from a Spanish word meaning mountainous. Early travelers, who saw the sun shining on the high, snow capped peaks, called the area the Land of the Shining Mountains.
The mountains gave the state one of its nicknames: the Treasure State. This is because the mountains contained a wealth of gold and silver.
Montana's mountains are indeed spectacular. Some of the peaks in Glacier National Park are so steep and remote that they have never been climbed.
Montana is the fourth largest state in the United States. Only Alaska, Texas and California have larger areas.
Montana's mountains are in the western part of the state. Eastern Montana is a land of broad plains. There, vast herds of cattle graze on the prairie grasses; wheat grows in the fertile soil and wells bring up petroleum from deep under the ground.
Montana has huge deposits of three important minerals: coal, copper and petroleum. Reserves of coal rank among the nation's largest. The reserves of copper around Butte are among the largest in the nation.
Beneath Butte Hill and Summit Valley, in the western mountains, lie huge ore reserves. In addition to copper, this ore contains gold, lead, silver and zinc. Other mineral reserves include bentonite, chromite, clay, fluorspar, gemstones, gypsum, limestone, manganese, phosphate rock, pumice, sand and gravel, talc, tungsten, uranium and vermiculite.
Mining is carried on in most Montana counties. It provides about a fifth of the value of ail goods produced in the state.
Agriculture provides approximately three fifths of the value of goods while manufactured products give the final fifth.
Glacier National Park, in northwestern Montana, gets its name from the more the 50 glaciers that lie on the mountain slopes.
Although Yellowatones National Park lies mainly in northwestern Wyoming, three of the park's five entrances are in Montana. They are near Cook City, Gardiner and West Yellowstone.
Not to be missed is the Cherry Blossom Festival each May in Poison, the May Vigilante Parade in Helena and the Whoop up Days in Conrad, which also come in May. In June, an important event is the National College Rodeo Finals in Bozeman.
Important Montana events in July include the Copper Cup Regatta in Polson, the Flathead Lake Showboat in Poison, the Jaycees Logger Days in Libby, Model T Races in Livingston, MonDak Old Fashioned Fourth of July in Sidney, the North American Indian Days in Browning, the re enactment of the Custer's Last Stand in Harding and the Yellowstone
River Float from Livingston to Billings.