The open plains of central and eastern Montana provide land for grain farming, grazing for large herds of beef cattle, oil and gas fields and rich coal deposits. The mountainous regions of western Montana yield timber for wood products manufacturing and minerals for mining. Recent years, however, have seen the state relying less on its natural resources, and branching out into a more diversified economy.
Small businesses are very important to Montana's economy.
The Continental Divide runs along the crests of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico, literally dividing the waters of the North American Continent. Montana is known as the headwaters state because much of the water which flows to the rest of the nation comes from the mountains of Montana. Two of the nation's major river systems, the Missouri and Columbia, are born high in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. 320 miles in western Montana and app. 2100 16th Ave.