D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 1 9
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MONTANA BELT BUCKLES
THROW PILLOWS RUSTIC BARNWOOD SIGNS
MONTANA WILDFLOWER
FLAMELESS CANDLES
MONTANA GIFT PACKS
NECKLACES
MONTANA T-SHIRTS
G E T T O K N O W
A C O U N T Y
P H I L L I P S C O U N T Y
P
HILLIPS COUNTY IS IN THAT PART OF MON-
TANA SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE BIG
OPEN. Named for a notorious rancher and state
senator Benjamin D. Phillips, its northern boundary is
the Canada-U.S. border with Saskatchewan. e Missouri
River defines its southern border. e Bears Paw Moun-
tains make up the southwestern portion of the county. e
Milk River runs east to west through the north-central
portion. Malta is the county seat.
Not often visited, the county is the second-largest in Montana with a popu-
lation of 4,253 in 2010. Its background includes Indians, robbers, homesteaders,
and loners. e town of Zortman with its Mining Company is here, dating
from prospecting days. Rapscallions, including Kid Curry and Butch Cassidy,
hung out here. Ranchers could move their cattle in unfenced territory.
e shortgrass prairie is rarely interrupted by trees but it is full of wildlife.
It includes five national protected areas—these wildlife refuges: Bowdoin, part
of the Charles M. Russell, Hewitt Lake and UL Bend. Part of the Upper Mis-
souri River Breaks National Monument and Fort Belknap Indian reservation
(consisting of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes) lie within its borders.
Other recreational features include: a dinosaur museum that features
Leonardo (one of the oldest intact skeletons and one of only four in the
world that is mummified) and Phillips County Motor Sports Dragstrip. Af-
ter exploring, you can relax at the Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs, the only hot
springs in the northern tier of Montana. You may also water ski or indulge in
aqua therapy. See Maltachamber.com.
MALTA
PHOTOS BY TODD KLASSY
Switchback trail
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