Montana may be up near the Canadian border, but some of its landscapes look like they'd fit in just as well in southern Arizona. Pacific weather systems flowing in from the west tend to get ripped up by the mountains in the western third of the state. This means little rain makes it past the ranges, turning central and eastern Montana into semi-arid desert-type environments, including badland, dune and shrubland. Arctic cold fronts coming south from Canada don't bring in enough moisture, either; precipitation in much of central and eastern Montana averages less than 16 inches per year, with some areas getting as little as 6 inches.
Sand Dunes
Sand dunes seem like they belong in California's Mojave Desert or the Sahara, but spots in Montana's northeast and southwest corners have what the state of Montana calls active and stabilized dunes. Wind pushes dunes of sand along through sagebrush-dotted landscapes. Wildfires are an occasional threat along with grazing. The total land area covered by this ecological system is only 78 square kilometers, or about 30 square miles.
Sagebrush Shrubland
Sagebrush is the chief plant form in the southwestern and south central portions of Montana. Low sagebrush shrubland, covering much of the southwest, typically lies in shallow soil on top of limestone. The state of Montana notes the soil there is often clay, preventing plant roots from growing well. Big sagebrush shrubland, in south-central Montana, is dry, dusty and relatively flat with few hills. The sagebrush doesn't recover well after fires, and the state notes only about 25 percent of the area is covered by plants.
Badlands
Badlands, dry areas with a particularly tough, jumbled geography, reign over the eastern half of the state, especially near Fort Peck Lake and the Missouri River, and eastern portions of the Yellowstone River. Shale badland forms a small section of this, in the south central portion near the Wyoming border. These areas are nearly completely barren, with much of the land swept away by storms. Western Great Plains badlands cover the majority of the state outside of the mountains. Very little vegetation exists; the state of Montana puts the figure at less than 10 percent coverage. Two recreational areas capitalize on the desolation of the badlands: Makoshika State Park, near the border with North Dakota, and the Terry Badlands Wilderness Study Area, near the town of Terry, southwest of Makoshika along Interstate 94. Makoshika is an abundant source of fossils, although you can't take any home yourself if you find them -- you must report them to the park without removing them.
Salt Desert Scrub
A very small area in two counties in the south, Big Horn and Carbon, contain an ecological system called Mixed Salt Desert Scrub. This is a dry area-- less than a foot of precipitation annually -- with reddish soil and mainly low vegetation. The soil is rather poor. Grazing and off-road vehicle use are the main threats to the area.
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