The Montana state seal is a round picture designed to show Montana's history and natural beauty. At the top, a sunrise shines over snowy mountains. Waterfalls, the Missouri River, mountains, hills, trees, and cliffs are shown behind three tools. A pick, a shovel, and a plow are symbols of Montana's mining and farming, past and present. The plow stands for Montana's farming history. Montana farmers grow apples, wheat, mint, sugar beets, cherries, and other crops.
When Montana changed from a territory to a state in 1889, the seal changed, too. Montana's first seal had a buffalo where the trees are now, and the falls and river were different, but it was very close to this one.