Anaconda

Anaconda (ănəkŏnˈdə) [key], city (1990 pop. 10,278), seat of Deer Lodge co., SW Mont.; inc. 1887. Marcus Daly chose this place (1883) for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company's processing operations, and in the 1890s tried unsuccessfully to make it Montana's capital. The city's famed high-stacked smelter was closed in 1980 as the copper industry declined. Tourism, spurred by a Jack Nicklaus–designed golf course (1997), is now important.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.