THE LANDS OF MONTANA 



Montana, third in area of the states, is perhaps more diversified physically and 

 topographically than even might be expected within its broad limits. The state averages 

 275 miles in width from north to south, and 535 miles in length. It contains 94,078,080 

 acres of which 589,440 acres are water surface, leaving a land area of 93,568,640 acres. 

 Within the limits of Montana are the headwaters of three great drainage basins. The 

 drainage of the western part of the state reaches the Pacific ocean through the Clark 

 Fork of the Columbia river; the drainage of a portion of the northwestern part is into 

 Hudson Bay through St. Mary's river; and the drainage of the central, southern, and 

 eastern districts is into the Gulf of Mexico through the Missouri river and its tribu- 

 taries. 



The western two-fifths of the state is covered with numerous mountain ranges, 

 with rather abrupt drops between into foot-hills and valleys, the altitude of the latter 

 ranging, for the most part, between 2,000 and 5,000 feet. The eastern three-fifths of 

 the state may be described as a rolling plain, with a general and gradual slope from the 

 higher mountain altitudes to below 2,000 feet in places near the eastern border. But 

 this plain is broken here and there by several groups of mountains and hills, and in the 

 southern part by spurs from the main range of the Rockies, where, along the southern 

 line some peaks reach an elevation in excess of 12,000 feet. In still other sections the 

 plain is rough, and chiefly suitable for grazing purposes. 



Altitude According to the Thirteenth Annual Report of the U. S. Geological 



c Survey, Part II, the average altitude in Montana is 3,400 feet; while 



one-half of the state lies at an altitude of less than 3,000 feet, and 



ontana three-fourths at less than 4,000 feet. Montana's average altitude is 



much lower than that of the other western states in the Rocky Mountain region, which 



largely offsets its disadvantage of being farther north, so that climatic conditions for 



agricultural purposes are more favorable in Montana than in many districts of the states 



to the south. 



The land of the state has been roughly classified as follows : Farming land, 

 30,000,000 acres ; mountain and forest lands, 26,000,000 acres ; and grazing land, 37,000,- 

 000 acres. Of the 67,000,000 acres thus classified as farm and grazing land, the records 

 of the State Board of Equalization, on the 1922 returns, show that 49,152,321 acres were 

 assessed under such classifications at an average value of $11.62 per acre or a total 

 valuation of $570,940,104. This is exclusive of the value of improvements, but the 

 figures include some timbered areas that were returned and assessed as grazing lands. 



Assessments on irrigated land in Montana in 1922 averaged $51.38 an acre; on 

 non-irrigated farming land, $13.48 per acre; and on good grazing land, $6.51 an acre. 

 Because the classifications of lands were not imiformly adhered to in levying assess- 

 ments, accurate data are lacking as to the acreage in the several different classes. 



The areas in crops in this state for the past three years were : 6,702,000 acres 

 in 1920; 6,399,000 acres in 1921; 6,872,000 acres in 1922. 



Data covering the utilization and ownership of lands within the state, the number 

 of farms by counties, with their total acreage and values, and other data, are shown 

 in the tables in the following pages. Irrigated lands are taken up in a separate section. 



