Home Page of Big Sky Fishing.Com Montana Scenic Drives Photographs of Montana View the Web Cams of Montana

The Montana Hi-Line

Cut Bank, Montana

Downtown Cut Bank, Montana
Photo Use Policy

Cut Bank, Montana, is a nice little town. Cut Bank is the county seat and largest city of Glacier County, with a population of 3100 people. The downtown area of Cut Bank is packed full of stores of one kind of another, the downtown area is clean and well-kept, plus, at least during the summer, the downtown area can be a real busy place. Cut Bank has been helped out a bit economically over the years by the oil and gas industry.

The oil and gas industry in the Cut Bank area dates back to the 1920’s, when the first well was discovered north of town. Soon additional wells were discovered and the first commercial well went into production in 1931. Following this, an oil boom occurred in town, leading to a huge influx of people to explore, service and maintain the oil and gas wells. By the time 1940 rolled around, the area around Cut Bank had more than 500 oil wells and 78 gas wells. Moreover, additional industries were also built to take advantage of the nearby oil and gas resources.

The 1960’s were another boom time for Cut Bank. During the 1960’s, advances in extraction methods allowed older wells to pump significantly more oil. This led to the creation of a large network of pipelines, with Cut Bank serving as the hub.

Today, the area around Cut Bank is full of small oil and gas wells, giving a much needed boost to this area’s economy. Although the oil and gas industry is in decline now due to declining production and a lack of new discoveries, the oil and gas industry still provides a much needed boost to the local economy as it provides steady employment to many people who service and maintain the wells.

Another View of Cut Bank, Montana
Photo Use Policy

Yet, despite the oil and gas development, the area around Cut Bank is still predominantly agricultural. Wheat is the primary crop. Dry land farming is the primary agriculture practice here, with only a small portion of agricultural land being irrigated. Planted in the spring, spring wheat is then harvested in August and September. Winter wheat is planted during the fall following the spring wheat harvest, and remains dormant during the winter months. Winter wheat is then harvested in late July through mid-August, depending on the weather.

Next Page : Shelby, Montana

Related Articles

Copyright 2002 - 2018 Big Sky Fishing.Com