Great Seal of Montana

The Great Falls of the Missouri River appear in the center of the seal's landscape. Located near present-day Great Falls, Montana, these waterfalls were first documented by Meriwether Lewis on June 13, 1805, and required the Corps of Discovery to complete an 18-mile portage around them, one of the most difficult segments of the entire expedition.

The Rocky Mountains form the background of the seal. Montana sits at the northern end of the Rocky Mountain chain, and the Continental Divide runs through the western portion of the state. The mountains contained the gold and silver deposits that drove the territory's founding.

The sun rises over the mountains on the seal. The rising sun was a common element in territorial and early state seals of the 1860s, associated with growth, new settlement, and opportunity.

A plow appears in the foreground of the seal, representing agriculture. Montana's river valleys -- the Yellowstone, Missouri, and Flathead -- supported farming and ranching from the earliest years of American settlement in the region.

A crossed pick and shovel appear alongside the plow in the foreground. These are the standard tools of placer and hard-rock mining, and they represent the gold and silver extraction that created Montana Territory.

'Oro y Plata' is Spanish for 'Gold and Silver.' It is Montana's official state motto and appears on the seal. The choice of Spanish is uncommon among U.S. state mottoes -- most use Latin or English -- and it names the commodities directly rather than stating an abstract principle.