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Missoula, Montana

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Missoula, Montana viewed from the top of Mount Sentinel in 1999.

Missoula, nicknamed the Garden City ([1]), is a city in western Montana, United States, and it is the county seat of Missoula CountyTemplate:GR. As of the United States 2000 Census, it had a total population of 57,053, making it the second-largest city in Montana, behind Billings. Missoula is the home of the University of Montana. It is the birthplace of Jeannette Rankin (1880 - 1973). The state flower of Montana, the bitterroot, grows only near Missoula. Local newspapers include the Missoulian and the Missoula Independent.

Geography

Location of Missoula, Montana
Location of Missoula, Montana

Missoula is located at 46°51'45" North, 114°0'42" West (46.862633, -114.011593)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 61.9 km² (23.9 mi²). 61.6 km² (23.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.46% water. Missoula is located in a deep valley surrounded by mountains and is cut by three major rivers, the Clark Fork River, the Bitterroot River and the Blackfoot River. The city is the namesake and center of the large, ancient Glacial Lake Missoula, which caused catastrophic floods across the northwest in the last ice age. Missoula is currently the second most populous city in Montana. Billings is the only city that has a larger population. Missoula is often considered the capital of Western Montana.

Demographics

The Clark Fork River flows through downtown Missoula. (2003)

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 57,053 people, 24,141 households, and 12,336 families residing in the city. (A 2004 estimate puts the city's population at 61,790.) The population density is 925.6/km² (2,397.1/mi²). There are 25,225 housing units at an average density of 409.2/km² (1,059.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 93.57% White, 0.36% African American, 2.35% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. 1.76% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 24,141 households out of which 24.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% are married couples living together, 10.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 48.9% are non-families. 33.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.23 and the average family size is 2.88.

In the city the population is spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 20.7% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $30,366, and the median income for a family is $42,103. Males have a median income of $30,686 versus $21,559 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,166. 19.7% of the population and 11.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.5% of those under the age of 18 and 9.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Politics

Missoula holds the highest-percentage Democratic voting district in the state, and in the 2000 presidential election, it had one of the highest percentages of votes in the country for left-wing candidate Ralph Nader. NORML's state office is in Missoula and it holds a yearly Hemp Festival. The city is home to community gardens run by Garden City Harvest and Missoula Urban Demonstration Project, which seek to improve both urban environments and agricultural practices. Other organizations that call Missoula home include the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, Working for Equality and Economic Liberation (a low-income and welfare advocacy group), and the Western Montana Gay & Lesbian Community Center.

Other points & pieces of interest

  • Local ski areas: Montana Snowbowl and Marshall Mountain (closed).
  • Notable Missoulians include underground rock legend Steve Albini, comedian Dana Carvey, Pearl Jam bass guitarist Jeff Ament, and filmmaker David Lynch.
  • Mike Mansfield, former US Senator and US Ambassador to Japan, and his wife Maureen called Missoula home for many years. The University of Montana's Maureen and Mike Mansfield Memorial Library is named in their honor.
  • The University of Montana is the largest University in Montana, having a total enrollment of over 12,000 students. It also is considered a major cultural hub of Montana being that it promotes various foreign exchange programs and relations.
  • The university has a major football team, the Grizzlies that have won numerous national championships in their division.
  • The Washington Grizzly Stadium is the largest, and one of the most expensive stadiums in the Big Sky Conference. It has, at times, held up to 20,000 people.
  • Griz games, as they are affectionately called in Missoula, draw much support from the community, and local economy.
  • Many visitors of the campus have complimented it's "green" beauty along with the towering Mount Sentinel bordering the East side of the campus.

The city has won various arbor awards from the National Arbor Day Foundation.

  • The University District of town contains hundreds of imported trees that were planeted decades ago. They now stand inumerable alongside most of the streets in Missoula
  • Lolo Peak stands to the Southwest of Missoula. It is covered with snow for the majority of the year.
  • There were plans for developing a major, internationally recognized ski resort on Lolo Peak, and Carlton Ridge. This is very controversially being that constructing a ski resort would require the clearing of thousands of acres of the Lolo National Forest, along with a wildlife refuge.
  • The International Wildlife Film Festival, the largest animal-themed film festival in the world, is held annually in Missoula at the historic Wilma Theatre.
  • Missoula and the nearby Blackfoot River are the setting for Norman MacLean's autobiographical novel "A River Runs Through It".
  • Local breweries include Big Sky Brewing, Bayern Brewing and Kettle House Brewing.
  • Missoula is home to the largest of the U.S. Forest Service's smokejumper bases. Free tours of the base are popular with tourists during the summer wildfire season.
  • A walking bridge over the downtown railroad yards of the Montana RailLink railroad is a popular destination for railfans.
  • The city appears or is mentioned in every novel written by author Chuck Palahniuk, who penned the cult favorite Fight Club.
  • Robert Jordan, the fictional main character in Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, was a Spanish professor at the University of Montana, and lived in Missoula.
  • Missoula is home to a diverse and influencial music scene. Because of the number of bands and individuals, such as Deranged Diction who started in Missoula who later moved to Seattle and went on to other bands such as Green River, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, Silkworm, and Love Battery, Missoula is oftentimes regarded as being the "true" birthplace of the grunge movement.
  • Missoula Children's Theatre is an international touring program which visits nearly 1000 communities per year. The Children's Theatre routinely has residencies in all fifty states, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, and many other countries.
  • Missoula is the headquarters of the Northern Region of the United States Forest Service,which manages the National Forests and Grasslands in northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and northwest South Dakota. It is also the headquarters of the Lolo National Forest and the Missoula Ranger District. Missoula is almost completely surrounded by various forests.
  • The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has its headquarters in Missoula.

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