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, county seat of Anaconda City/Deer Lodge County, is located in mountainous southwestern Montana. The Continental Divide passes within 8 miles (13 km) of the community with the local Pintler Mountain range reaching 10,379 feet (3164 m). According to the 2004 US Census the population is 9,088, with a per capita personal income of $21,163 and a median household income of $26,305. It is the ninth biggest city in Montana. Central Anaconda is 5,335 feet (1626 m) above sea level, and is surrounded by the communities of Opportunity and West Valley.
The county area is 741 square miles (1,919 km²), characterized by densely timbered forestlands, lakes, mountains and recreation grounds. The county has common borders with Beaverhead, Butte-Silver Bow, Granite, Jefferson and Powell counties.
Anaconda is a company town founded by Marcus Daly of the Anaconda Company which began its smelting operations here and would build the tallest smokestack in the western U.S to support the company's operations in nearby Butte. The supporting community was named after the company. After a century of copper smelting from the Anaconda Company, Anaconda Smelter Stack closed its operations in 1980. Since an operation for environmental cleanup was put into place by the Environmental Protection Agency and executed with the assistance of ARCO. The multi-million dollar cleanup and investment has resulted in the formation of "Old Works" Golf Course, a championship 18-hole course designed by Jack Nicklaus.