Loma is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Chouteau County, Montana Chouteau County is a county located in the North-Central region of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,895. Its county seat is Fort Benton. The county was established in 1865 as one of the original nine coun ...

, United States. The population was 85 at the 2010 census.

History

James Kipp, of the

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...

founded the first community here in 1831. The

Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation (, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Montana. Tribal members primarily belong ...

laid siege to the fort, and inhabitants quickly abandoned the site. The next year, the American Fur Company established another trading post, Fort McKenzie, a few miles upstream of the old site. During the 1860s, businessmen built a townsite near the confluence of the Marias and the Missouri rivers, called Ophir. On May 25, 1865, the Blackfeet killed 10 men in the developing town.

Geography and climate

Loma is located in central Chouteau County at the confluence of the Marias and Missouri rivers. U.S. Route 87 passes through the community, leading southwest to Fort Benton, the Chouteau County seat, and northeast to Havre. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land. The Loma area's dry climate supports a natural vegetation of low shrubs and grass. Trees, mostly cottonwood, grow on developed land and in floodplains.

World record temperature change

Loma is the location of the most extreme temperature change in a 24-hour period ever recorded in the world. On January 15, 1972, the temperature rose from to , an extreme example of the regional

Chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

in action.Andrew H. Horvitz, et al
A National Temperature Record at Loma, Montana
National Weather Service, 2002. Accessed 2008-11-02.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 92 people, 40 households, and 25 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 47 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.83%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and 2.17% Native American. There were 40 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.00. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,208, and the median income for a family was $26,875. Males had a median income of $18,750 versus $11,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $12,885. There were 13.0% of families and 17.1% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including no under eighteens and 27.8% of those over 64.

References

External links

{{authority control Census-designated places in Chouteau County, Montana Census-designated places in Montana Montana populated places on the Missouri River