Major highways

• U.S. Highway 2
• North Dakota Highway 8
  North Dakota Highway 8
  North Dakota Highway 8 is a north–south highway in North Dakota. The highway is split into two segments. The northern segment is long and runs from SK 9 in Northgate to ND-23 near New Town. The southern segment is long and runs from Lake Sakakawea near Twin Buttes to SD-75 near Hettinger....
  
  
• North Dakota Highway 23
  North Dakota Highway 23
  -External links:* by Chris Geelhart* by Mark O'Neil...
  
  
• North Dakota Highway 31
• North Dakota Highway 1804

National protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

s

• Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge
  Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge
  The Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota and extends from the Canadian border to the neighboring state of Montana. The refuge manages two other refuges and two wetland management districts. The refuge also includes the Lostwood Wilderness which comprises...
  
   (part)
• Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge
  Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge
  The Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The lake is mainly privately owned and is managed from Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge....
  
  

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 6,631 people, 2,560 households, and 1,753 families residing in the county. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 4 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 3,438 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.99% White

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.09% Black

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 29.98% Native American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.21% Asian

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.05% Pacific Islander

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.26% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 3.42% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were Hispanic

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of any race. 37.1% were of Norwegian and 15.4% German ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 2,560 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.80% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.10% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 23.20% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,098, and the median income for a family was $31,864. Males had a median income of $24,750 versus $20,844 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the county was $13,422. About 14.00% of families and 19.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.40% of those under age 18 and 18.30% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Farming and oil. Mountrail County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation

Bakken Formation

The Bakken formation, initially described by geologist J.W. Nordquist in 1953,is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, and Saskatchewan...

 in the Williston Basin

Williston Basin

The Williston Basin is a large intracratonic sedimentary basin in eastern Montana, western North and South Dakota, and southern Saskatchewan known for its rich deposits of petroleum and potash. The basin is a geologic structural basin but not a topographic depression; it is transected by the...

.

Cities

• New Town
  New Town, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 1,367 people, 488 households, and 318 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.6 people per square mile . There were 512 housing units at an average density of 760.9 per square mile...
  
  
• Palermo
  Palermo, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 77 people, 38 households, and 22 families residing in the city. The population density was 35.2 people per square mile . There were 53 housing units at an average density of 24.2 per square mile...
  
  
• Parshall
  Parshall, North Dakota
  Parshall is a city lying within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. It is located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in Mountrail County, North Dakota, in the United States. Its population was 903 at the 2010 census...
  
  
• Plaza
  Plaza, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 167 people, 80 households, and 47 families residing in the city. The population density was 148.7 people per square mile . There were 115 housing units at an average density of 102.4 per square mile...
  
  
• Ross
  Ross, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 48 people, 24 households, and 13 families residing in the city. The population density was 169.6 people per square mile . There were 29 housing units at an average density of 102.5 per square mile...
  
  
• Stanley
  Stanley, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 1,279 people, 576 households, and 332 families residing in the city. The population density was 740.3 people per square mile . There were 664 housing units at an average density of 384.3 per square mile...
  
  
• White Earth
  White Earth, North Dakota
  As of the census of 2000, there were 63 people, 24 households, and 16 families residing in the city. The population density was 42.1 people per square mile . There were 27 housing units at an average density of 18.0 per square mile...
  
  

Note: all incorporated communities in North Dakota are called "cities" regardless of their size.

Unincorporated communities

• Belden
  Belden, North Dakota
  Belden is a ghost town located in Sikes Township in Mountrail County, North Dakota. It is located along North Dakota Highway 8 between Stanley and the former town of Van Hook. The village was founded in 1904, and was reportedly named for W. L...
  
  
• Lostwood
• Lunds Valley
• Old Sanish
• Tagus
  Tagus, North Dakota
  Tagus is a ghost town in Mountrail County, North Dakota, United States. The town was founded in 1900 approximately forty miles west of Minot and along the Great Northern Railway's transcontinental route. It incorporated in 1908 reached a peak population of 140 in 1940...
  
  

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mountrail County, North Dakota