Glendive

Town and administrative headquarters of Dawson County, east Montana; population (2000) 4,700. It is situated on the Yellowstone River, 116 km/72 mi northeast of Miles City and 48 km/30 mi west of the North Dakota state border. As Fort Canby, the town was intended to protect Northern Pacific Railway workers in the 19th century. It became a railhead in 1881 for shipping cattle and farm products. Gas, oil, and coal discoveries in the 1950s made it a supply centre for Williston Basin industries. Frontier Gateway Museum is 2 km/1 mi to the east, and Makoshika State Park, with its rugged badlands, is 5 km/3 mi to the south.