Great Falls

Great Falls, city (1990 pop. 55,097), seat of Cascade co., N central Mont., second largest city in the state, at the confluence of the Missouri and Sun rivers and near the falls that give the city its name; inc. 1888. As the center of extensive hydroelectric power development, Great Falls is popularly called the "Electric City." A copper reduction plant and flour mills are there. The surrounding area has deposits of coal, natural gas, silver, and lead. The city is a trade center for a farm and livestock district irrigated by the Sun River project. Industries include printing, publishing, and meatpacking and the manufacture of feeds and fabricated metal products. The log cabin of the cowboy artist Charles Russell is preserved as part of a museum complex. Outside the city is Giant Springs, which discharges a large flow of water into the Missouri River. The College of Great Falls and the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind are in the city, which also serves as the headquarters for Lewis and Clark National Forest. Tourists are drawn to the annual rodeo and state fair. Malmstrom Air Force Base is nearby.