Are you searching for a new way to test your knowledge of Montana? Or perhaps you're a trivia enthusiast looking for a new challenge? Look no further than Montana trivia questions!
Known as the "Treasure State," Montana is located in the western region of the United States and is known for its rugged natural beauty, from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains. From its rich history and cultural heritage to its unique landscape, there's no shortage of fascinating facts to learn about this state. Montana played a vital role in the American West, particularly in the mining, timber and agriculture industry.
It was also home to famous figures such as Calamity Jane and Sacagawea. Montana is also known for its wildlife, including bison, elk, and grizzly bears. The state's economy is driven by mining, agriculture, and tourism. With a diverse range of activities from hiking, fishing and skiing to visiting historical sites, Montana offers something for everyone. Whether you're a history buff, a trivia enthusiast, or just looking to learn something new, Montana trivia questions offer a fun and educational way to explore all that this state has to offer.
77 Montana Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Found in Arlee, Montana, an international center for peace that opened in 2000 features a “wheel of dharma” meant to represent the “Noble Eightfold Path” and is named the "Garden of One Thousand _____." What word fills in the blank? There are plans for one thousand statues of this figure in the garden.
Answer: Buddha
- Castle is one of many Montana ghost towns created by the silver rush in the late 1800s. The best-known resident of Castle was Martha Jane Cannary Burke who was better known by what "misadventurous" name?
Answer: Calamity Jane
- Although it has a name that sounds more like an unpleasant additive to a salad, what is the official state flower of Montana?
Answer: Bitterroot
- What famous Montanan was born in Butte in 1938 and rose to national fame after changing his name (birth name: Robert Craig)? After a career of increasingly impressive stunts, he publicly converted to Christianity later in life and was baptized at a televised congregation.
Answer: Evel Knievel
- Flathead Lake, Red Lodge, Bozeman, Harvest Moon, and Blackfoot River are all names of what type of company located in Montana? They are all part of an industry that has exploded in popularity across the US in the 2010s.
Answer: Breweries
- Montana had the first course for what type of 4-letter activity in the United States? Built at Lolo Hot Springs on Lolo Pass in 1965, this high-speed sporting event is a dangerous Winter Olympics sport.
Answer: Luge
- What four-word, sixteen-letter phrase has often by used by Montanans to describe their home state? The phrase was also the title of a 1990 anthology of Montana stories edited by William Kittredge.
Answer: The Last Best Place
- What 3 Spanish words appear on the Montana state flag and serve as the state's metallic motto?
Answer: Oro y plata
- Known for his 1986-1993 stint on Saturday Night Live and his role as Garth Algar in the Wayne's World films, what Montanan comedian was born in Missoula in 1955?
Answer: Dana Carvey
- Unknown to many, Montana was home to the Minuteman I ballistic missile in 1959 and the threat of these missiles ended up playing a major role in what precarious 1962 international event?
Answer: Cuban Missile Crisis
- The wreck of the steamship Helena sits in Bigfork, almost 200 miles away from the capital city of Helena in what Big Sky Country state?
Answer: Montana
- The first woman to hold federally-elected office in the U.S. was Jeannette Rankin, a Representative from Montana. Rankin was famously the only member of the U.S. House to vote against a declaration of war against what Asian nation in a 1940s vote?
Answer: Japan
- Within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and standing at an elevation of 12,807 feet above sea level, what is the highest natural point in Montana?
Answer: Granite Peak
- What ski resort in southwestern Montana proudly claims to host the "Biggest Skiing in America"?
Answer: Big Sky Resort
- Two "Copper Kings" competed to determine Montana's state capital in the late 1800s. Helena was the winning option. What was the reptilian runner-up?
Answer: Anaconda
- What river in Montana is the longest contiguous river in the US without a dam?
Answer: Yellowstone River
- What company, with a metallic and reptilian name, was one of the largest trusts in the world in the early 20th century and was headquartered in Butte Montana?
Answer: Anaconda Copper
- What “B” hill has steep sides and a flat top? They are particular known to US residents for being in Montana.
Answer: Butte
- Excluding Alaska, Montana has the largest breeding population of what "musical" type of swan?
Answer: Trumpter swan
- In 1862, there was a landmark piece of legislation in the US meant to encourage frontier families to settle further West. However, there were few takers as the allotted 160 acres of federal land was inadequate for a farm to support a family in Montana's arid territory. What was this famous Act?
Answer: Homestead Act
- What "rich" phrase is the official state nickname of Montana?
Answer: The Treasure State
- After evading capture for almost two decades, the FBI arrested Ted Kaczynski in Montana in 1996. Kaczynski is better known by what single-word nickname?
Answer: The Unabomber
- A former open-pit copper mine in Butte, Montana is one of the only places in the world where you can pay to see toxic waste. What is the name of this "attraction" which has 40 billion gallons of acidic water, heavy metals, and unique microscopic lifeforms?
Answer: The Berkeley Pit
- Electric, Dooley, and Copperopolis are three communities in Montana that share what haunted condition?
Answer: Ghost towns
- We're going way back in time for this one. In the prehistoric area, the land that would later become Portland was flooded after glacial dams collapsed in what gigantic lake that is now the name of what second-largest Montanan city?
Answer: Lake Missoula
- Introduced by Montana Senator James E. Murray, the Resources and Conservation Act of 1959 paved the way for what U.S. government agency to form in 1970?
Answer: The Environmental Protection Agency
- Add together the number of US states and Canadian provinces that Montana borders. What is the sum?
Answer: 7 (Idaho
- Fort Benton, Montana's first fort, was purchased by the US Army in 1865. Initially, the settlement was established as a trading post for what commodity in 1847?
Answer: Fur
- The county seat of Valley County in northeast Montana shares its name with what Scottish city?
Answer: Glasgow
- Named for the fish eggs common at nearby State Fish Hatchery, Montana is home to the shortest river in the United States, measuring just over 200 feet. What is the name of this alliterative river?
Answer: Roe River
- One of Montana's most visited tourist attractions was also deemed "the most beautiful drive in America" a CBS correspondent. What is the name of this section of U.S. Route 212 between Red Lodge and Cooke City?
Answer: Beartooth Highway
- What two states in the continental United States do not contain a Dollar General store? We need the name of both states on this one.
Answer: Idaho and Montana
- Happening in the southeastern portion of Montana, Custer's Last Stand occurred during what battle during the Great Sioux War of 1876?
Answer: Battle of the Little Bighorn
- The town of Ekalaka, Montana was named for the daughter of what famous Sioux chief?
Answer: Sitting Bull
- In 1930, Flathead Lake was dammed at its outlet on Polson Bay and the water level of the lake was raised by ten feet. What was (and still is) the name of this dam?
Answer: Kerr Dam
- How many presidents have called Montana their home state?
Answer: zero
- What "Zen Master" professional sports coach was born in Deer Lodge, Montana? This man later became iconic during coaching stints in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Answer: Phil Jackson
- What Canadian province's southern border lies adjacent to both Idaho and Montana?
Answer: British Columbia
- Montana shares a northern border with 3 Canadian provinces. Name 2 of the 3.
Answer: British Columbia Alberta and Saskatchewan
- What is the "G" name associated with hotel Bibles because of a religious organization that places the tomes in bedside tables? The first of these Bibles was placed in a hotel in Superior, Montana.
Answer: Gideons Bible
- Montana's counties include Big Horn as well as which other related one, named for a 19th century general who was born in Ohio but died in Montana?
Answer: Custer
- The longest-serving US Senator from Montana had initials MM. He also served as a professor of history and political science at the University of Montana. Who was this man?
Answer: Mike Mansfield
- How many national parks are in Montana (just the number, don't need the name(s)?
Answer: 2
- The first national park in the US is often considered the first national park in the world. This park technically lies within Montana and what two other states?
Answer: Wyoming and Idaho
- Fittingly, what is the name of Montana's official state song?
Answer: Montana
- What is the 2-word name for the white buffalo born on the Flathead Indian Reservation in 1933 and now on display in Helena?
Answer: Big Medicine
- Near the town of Three Forks, the Folkvord family is well-known in Montana for founding what grains company? The company's products are distributed throughout the region and claim to be grown at the highest-elevation of any grains in the US.
Answer: Wheat Montana
- What pair of famous expeditioners are the namesake of a state park of limestone caverns in Montana?
Answer: Lewis and Clark
- As of the most recent census, nearly 95% of Montanans speak English at home. What is the second-most-spoken language in the state?
Answer: Spanish
- Adapted into a TV miniseries, what "avian" 1985 novel by Larry McMurtry focuses on a pair of retired Texas Rangers and their crew as they drive a herd of cattle to Montana?
Answer: Lonesome Dove
- What Shoshone woman guided explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark through the Rocky Mountains of Montana on their namesake expedition?
Answer: Sacagawea
- What large Rocky Mountain lake south of Glacier National Park in Montana is famous for being one of the world's cleanest?
Answer: Flathead Lake
- Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery passed through the Rocky Mountains at Lemhi Pass, which crosses from what is now Montana into what bordering state?
Answer: Idaho
- What range of the Rockies along the Idaho-Montana border is named for a small pink flower that is the state flower of Montana?
Answer: Bitterroot Range
- 1982, 1985, 1990: Currently represented by Jon Tester and Steve Daines, as of February 2023 what is the only state west of the Mississippi River that currently has a U.S. Senator from each of the two major political parties?
Answer: Montana
- Of the many native nations currently living in Montana, which group was the first to arrive? This Siouan-language people are named after a bird.
Answer: The Crow
- Although the town has a population of less than 2,000 people as of the 2010 US Census, what Montana municipality boasts a state-owned airport, dozens of lodging establishments, and a neighboring National Park?
Answer: West Yellowstone
- What is the more-common name for 1876 armed engagement named the "Battle of the Greasy Grass" by the indigenous Lakota people?
Answer: Battle of the Little Bighorn or Custer's Last Stand
- What American sportscaster was raised in Billings, Montana and rose to fame as one of the original members of the program "The NFL Today"? This man worked for CBS Sports, ESPN, and ABC before eventually retiring in January 2017.
Answer: Brent Musburger
- How many Canadian provinces border the US state of Montana?
Answer: Three (British Columbia
- Fittingly, what is the name of the 190-feet-deep, 6-mile-long body of water in Cameron, Montana created by a seismic event?
Answer: Earthquake Lake
- "A River Runs Through It and Other Stories" is a collection of stories published in 1976 that created a surge of interest in both fly fishing and the state of Montana for outdoor tourism. What American author wrote this book?
Answer: Norman Maclean
- What U.S. national park, located in the northwest corner of Montana, has the nickname "Crown of the Continent?"
Answer: Glacier National Park
- The first luge run in the United States was built in what Montana settlement which shares its name with the local emergence of geothermally heated groundwater?
Answer: Lolo Hot Springs
- When Glacier National Park was officially christened as a National Park in 1910, what man was the US President?
Answer: William Howard Taft
- By number of square miles, what US state is the closest size in area to Montana's 147,000 square miles?
Answer: California
- As of the 2010 US Census, which of Montana's 20 largest cities had the highest share of Native Americans at approximately 16% of all city residents?
Answer: Polson
- The lowest point in Montana is where which river exits the state in the northwest, at the Montana/Idaho border?
Answer: Kootenai River
- What “R” 20th century woman, an early social worker and fervent suffragette, later made history in 1917 when she was elected to the U.S. House Of Representative out of Montana?
Answer: Jeannette Rankin
- The largest of Montana's state parks by area comes from a Lakota phrase meaning "land of bad spirits" and features badlands and dinosaur fossils. What is this park?
Answer: Makoshika State Park
- Jeannette Rankin of Montana served as the first woman in what role in the US?
Answer: Congresswoman
- Along with the "Treasure State" and "The Last Best Place," one of Montana's state nicknames is the "Land of the ______ Mountains." What word fills in the blank?
Answer: Shining
- What 2013 black-and-white film follows the journey of a Montana man as he drives south to claim a sweepstakes prize? The film is named after a state, but that state is not Montana.
Answer: Nebraska
- According to the Bozeman Daily, what chain restaurant had the most locations in Montana as of 2015? The eatery was nearing the triple digit mark with 93 open establishments.
Answer: Subway
- Montana is the 3rd least densely populated state in the United States. What is the *most* densely populated?
Answer: New Jersey
- Hank Green is an American entrepreneur, musician, educator, producer, vlogger, and author that lives in Missoula, Montana. What was the name of Green's YouTube channel that launched him and his brother to fame in the early 2000s?
Answer: Vlogbrothers
- About 70 miles southwest of Billings lies a bizarre snowfield more than 2 miles above sea level. This field has a unique gray coloration rather than the typical white appearance. What causes this discoloration and also contributes to the glacier's alliterative name?
Answer: Tens of millions of grasshoppers
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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