The American state where Zefram Cochrane built and launched the Phoenix in 2063, site of humanity's first contact with the Vulcans and, two centuries later, of Christopher Pike's snowbound ranch.
Montana is a region of North America on Earth with an outsized place in the history of the Federation. In Star Trek: First Contact, Zefram Cochrane converts a nuclear missile into the warp ship Phoenix at a camp near Bozeman, and on 5 April 2063 a Vulcan survey ship lands there in response to his flight.
The same landing is replayed with a darker outcome at the start of the Enterprise story In a Mirror, Darkly, where Cochrane shoots the first Vulcan to step out.
In the pilot of Strange New Worlds, Christopher Pike has withdrawn to his home at Bear Creek in the Montana snow, riding and brooding over his future, until Robert April recalls him to the Enterprise. The Lower Decks episode Grounded visits a theme park built around Cochrane's launch site, where tourists can ride a replica Phoenix.