1 Michael's family was on vacation in Montana. They were traveling from Yellowstone in the southwest corner to Glacier Park in the northwest corner of the state. Michael was reading in a tourist pamphlet he had picked up at the restaurant they had just stopped at for lunch. "Hey Dad, what's the big deal about the Continental Divide?"
2 "That's the height of land that separates the waters running west into the Pacific Ocean from those that run east to the Atlantic Ocean. The Continental Divide winds through Montana."
3 Michael thought back to the time his family had driven to south eastern Montana, when they'd gone to the largest city in Montana, Billings. It almost seemed as if it were in another state. It was so different from his grandparents' home near Missoula. He was used to seeing lots of evergreen trees and having mountains on the horizon. Over in Billings, he remembered, the sky seemed so vast—that's why Montana is called "The Big Sky Country," his mom had explained. The grassy plains in that part of the state were certainly impressive.
4 Michael remarked, "This sure looks different than Billings."
5 "There are two major land regions in Montana," his mom answered. "One is the Great Plains and the other, where grandma and grandpa live, is the Rocky Mountains." His mom continued, "Did you know Montana is the 4th largest state?"
