BUTTE

officially Butte-Silver Bow city, seat (1881) of Silver Bow county, southwestern Montana, U.S., on the western slope of the Continental Divide. Butte was laid out in 1886 and was named for Big Butte, a nearby conical peak. The rich mineral deposits of the area attracted settlers; placer gold was discovered in 1864, and silver was first successfully treated there in 1875. Economic expansion was slow until the arrival of the railroads in the 1880s. Copper production, developed by the Anaconda Company, began there in 1882 and by 1900 was yielding half the nation's output; zinc, lead, and manganese are also found in quantity. The decline in mining and the increased use of machinery after 1940 brought an economic labour slump, resulting in a 20-year economic plan (the Greater Butte Project) and the inauguration of open-pit mining in the area. Light industry and livestock sales now supplement mining. The city of Butte and Silver Bow county merged in 1977, officially creating the city of Butte-Silver Bow. The Montana Tech of the University of Montana (1893) is in Butte. Tourism provides an additional source of income, based on displays of mining and smelting operations, nearby Columbia Gardens, Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, Deerlodge National Forest (headquartered in Butte), and the Beef Trail Ski Area. Inc. 1879. Pop. (1990) 33,941; (1994 est.) 34,813.