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Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon borders
the Pacific Ocean on the west, Washington on the north, Idaho on the east,
and California and Nevada on the south. The Columbia and Snake Rivers form,
respectively, much of its northern and eastern borders. Between two north-south
mountain ranges in western Oregon—the Pacific Coast Range and the Cascade
Mountain Range—lies the Willamette Valley, the most densely populated
and agriculturally productive region of the state.
Oregon
has one of the most diverse landscapes of any state in the U.S. It is well
known for its tall, dense forests; its accessible, scenic Pacific coastline;
and its rugged, glaciated Cascade volcanoes. Other areas include semiarid
scrublands, prairies, and deserts that cover approximately half the state
in eastern and north-central Oregon.
By
the 1820s and 1830s, the British Hudson's Bay Company dominated the Pacific
Northwest. John McLoughlin, who was appointed the Company's Chief Factor of
the Columbia District, built Fort Vancouver in 1825.
In 1841, the master trapper and entrepreneur Ewing Young died with considerable wealth, with no apparent heir, and no system to probate his estate. A meeting followed Young's funeral at which a probate government was proposed. Doctor Ira Babcock of Jason Lee's Methodist Mission was elected Supreme Judge. Babcock chaired two meetings in 1842 at Champoeg (half way between Lee's mission and Oregon City) to discuss wolves and other animals of contemporary concern. These meetings were precursors to an all-citizen meeting in 1843, which instituted a provisional government headed by an executive committee made up of David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Joseph Gale. This government was the first acting public government of the Oregon Country prior to American annexation.
The Oregon Trail infused the region with new settlers, starting in 1842–43, after the United States agreed to jointly settle the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom. The border was resolved in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty after a period during which it seemed that the United States and the United Kingdom would go to war for a third time in 75 years. Cooler heads prevailed, and the Oregon boundary dispute between the United States and British North America was set at the 49th parallel. The Oregon Territory was officially organized in 1848.
Settlement increased due to the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, in conjunction with the forced relocation of the native population to Indian reservations in Oregon. The state was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, regular U.S. troops were withdrawn and sent east. Volunteer cavalry were recruited in California and were sent north to Oregon to keep peace and protect the populace. The First Oregon Cavalry served until June 1865.
In the 1880s, the proliferation of railroads assisted in marketing of the state's lumber and wheat, as well as the more rapid growth of its cities.
Industrial expansion began in earnest following the construction of the Bonneville Dam in 1943 on the Columbia River. The power, food, and lumber provided by Oregon helped fuel the development of the West, although the periodic fluctuations in the nation's building industry have hurt the state's economy on multiple occasions.
The state has a long history of polarizing conflicts: Native Americans vs. British fur trappers, British vs. settlers from the U.S., ranchers vs. farmers, wealthy growing cities vs. established but poor rural areas, loggers vs. environmentalists, white supremacists vs. anti-racists, social progressivism vs. small-government conservatism, supporters of social spending vs. anti-tax activists, and native Oregonians vs. Californians (or outsiders in general). Oregonians also have a long history of secessionist ideas, ranging from varying parts of the population on all sides of the political spectrum attempting to form other states and even other countries. (See: State of Jefferson, State of Klamath, State of Shasta, Cascadia and Ecotopia.) Oregon state ballots often include politically conservative proposals (e.g. anti-gay, pro-religious measures) side-by-side with politically liberal ones (e.g. drug decriminalization), illustrating the wide spectrum of political thought in the state.
Oregon's geography may be split roughly into six areas: the Coast Range, the Willamette Valley, the Cascade Mountains the Klamath Mountains, the Columbia River Plateau, and the Basin and Range Region.
The state varies from rainforest in the Coast Range to barren desert in the southeast, which still meets the technical definition of a frontier.
Oregon is 295 miles (475 km) north to south at longest distance, and 395 miles (636 km) east to west at longest distance. In terms of land and water area, Oregon is the ninth largest state, covering 97,073 square miles (251,418 km²).Its highest point is the summit of Mount Hood, at 11,239 feet (3,428 m), and its lowest point is sea level of the Pacific Ocean. Its mean elevation is 3,300 feet (1,006 m).
Crater Lake National Park is the state's only national park, and the site of Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,943 feet (592 m). Similar federally owned, protected recreation areas that are entirely in Oregon include: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and Oregon Caves National Monument.
Areas that are partly in Oregon and partly in neighboring states include the California National Historic Trail, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, the Nez Perce National Historical Park, and the Oregon National Historic Trail.
Oregon claims the D River is the shortest river in the world, though the American state of Montana makes the same claim of its Roe River. Oregon is also home to the smallest park in the world, Mill Ends Park in Portland.
The climate of the state is largely influenced by the Pacific Ocean, although much less so in the east than near the ocean. Generally, the climate is mild, although extreme weather can and does happen. Precipitation in the state varies widely with a low of 8 annual inches in some eastern plateaus and close to 200 inches on some western coastal slopes. Often, it is assumed that Oregon is a wet, soggy state, but this is essentially only true for the valley and coast. Central and Eastern Oregon are considered "high desert."
Metropolitan areas by population
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