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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.
1. 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
2. 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
3. What four-word, sixteen-letter phrase has often been 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. What ski resort in southwestern Montana proudly claims to host the "Biggest Skiing in America"?
Answer: Big Sky Resort
9. “Joe Cool” and “The Comeback Kid” were two nicknames of what Notre Dame QB who would go on to win multiple Super Bowls as part of an 1980s dynasty with a West Coast NFL franchise?
Answer: Joe Montana
10. 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
11. 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
12. Electric, Dooley, and Copperopolis are three communities in Montana that share what haunted condition?
Answer: Ghost towns
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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
16. The county seat of Valley County in northeast Montana shares its name with what Scottish city?
Answer: Glasgow
17. Kampgrounds of America (KOA) was created by Dave Drum in 1962; his first campground was in what Western state?
Answer: Montana
18. What 3 Spanish words appear on the Montana state flag and serve as the state's metallic motto?
Answer: Oro y plata
19. 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
20. What two states in the continental United States do not have a Dollar General store?
Answer: Idaho and Montana
21. 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
22. The town of Ekalaka, Montana was named for the daughter of what famous Sioux chief?
Answer: Sitting Bull
23. 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
24. 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
25. In April 2023, the House of Representatives of what U.S. state voted to bar trans legislator Zooey Zephyr from the House floor?
Answer: Montana
26. What B-word describes a hill with steep sides and a flat top? They are particularly known to U.S. residents for being in Montana.
Answer: Butte
27. Montana shares a northern border with 3 Canadian provinces. What are they?
Answer: British Columbia Alberta and Saskatchewan
28. 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: Gideon's Bible
29. How many national parks are in Montana?
Answer: 2
30. 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
31. 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
32. 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
33. What pair of famous expeditioners is the namesake of a state park of limestone caverns in Montana?
Answer: Lewis and Clark
34. The famous caverns in Jefferson County, Montana and its associated state park are named for what pair of explorers?
Answer: Lewis and Clark
35. Nearly 95% of Montanans speak English at home. What is the second-most-spoken language in the state?
Answer: Spanish
36. 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
37. What Shoshone woman guided explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark through the Rocky Mountains of Montana on their namesake expedition?
Answer: Sacagawea
38. 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
39. 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
40. 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
41. A national historic site in Montana's Rocky Mountains preserves a site built by 19th century entrepreneurs Johnny Grant and Conrad Kohrs, and which is devoted to the history of what type of business still commonly found in Montana and the Western U.S.?
Answer: Cattle Ranching
42. The Rocky Mountain Trench, the western edge of the Canadian Rockies, runs the length of what Canadian Province? It begins as the Kechika Valley on the south bank of the Liard River and ends as the middle Lake Koocanusa Valley in northwestern Montana.
Answer: British Columbia
43. Travelers' Rest State Park near Lolo, Montana is the only location that has yielded physical proof that what historic pair passed by in the 19th century?
Answer: Lewis and Clark
44. When Montana was admitted to the Union in the late 1880s, its capital had the most millionaires per capita in the world. What is that state capital?
Answer: Helena
45. What national park in Alberta's southwestern corner forms an "International Peace Park" with Glacier National Park across the U.S. border in Montana?
Answer: Waterton Lakes
46. Though it has fewer than 2,000 residents, what Montana municipality boasts a state-owned airport, dozens of lodging establishments, and a neighboring National Park?
Answer: West Yellowstone
47. 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
48. What is the more-common name for the 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
49. 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
50. "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
51. What U.S. national park, located in the northwest corner of Montana, has the nickname "Crown of the Continent?"
Answer: Glacier National Park
52. 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
53. When Glacier National Park was officially christened as a National Park in 1910, what man was the US President?
Answer: William Howard Taft
54. According to data from the 2020 U.S. Census, which of Montana's 20 largest cities had the highest share of Native Americans, at approximately 16% of all city residents?
Answer: Polson
55. The lowest point in Montana is where which river exits the state in the northwest, at the Montana/Idaho border?
Answer: Kootenai River
56. 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
57. 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
58. Montana is the 3rd least densely populated state in the United States. What is the *most* densely populated?
Answer: New Jersey
59. 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
60. 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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