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Visitor information about
Oregon State. Oregon State is one of
only three States on the Pacific Coast of the 48 contiguous States.
Oregon’s Demographics
Oregon
has about 360 miles (measured on US-101) of Pacific Coast beaches and is
the 10th
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largest
state in the United States. The
total area of the State is 97,132 square miles and it has a population of
over 3,000,000. Oregon was the 33
state formed in the United States and became a state on February 14, 1859.
From the Pacific Coast, to the Coastal Mountain Range,
to the Willamette Valley, to the Cascade Mountains, and then to the high
desert of eastern Oregon, Oregon has many diverse climates and areas for
the visitor.
Oregon’s Ocean Beaches
Oregon is divided into three distinct regions due mainly
to mountain ranges. The Pacific
Coast with its ocean beaches and beautiful scenery is up against the
coastal mountain range that divides it from the Willamette Valley.
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The towers of the Convention center in Portland reaching for the sky
as seen from Interstate-5.
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The falls in the Willamette River
at Oregon
City, south of Portland. This is
where most settlers first arrived in Oregon at the end of the Oregon Trail.
The Alsea Bay Bridge in Waldport
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Oregon’s Pacific Coast varies from steep rugged cliffs
that plunge straight into the ocean to wide sandy beaches made for
sunbathers and children armed with shovels and buckets with visions of sand
castles in their mind.
The Willamette Valley
The area between the Coastal Mountain Range and the Cascade
Mountains is a beautiful valley with the Willamette River running through
it. The Willamette River Valley runs
from Eugene, about in the center of the State north and south, all the way
north to Portland where it empties into the Columbia River.
The Willamette Valley is warmer and dryer than the
Pacific Coast because of the Coastal Mountains. However, the Willamette Valley is very
fertile because of the influence of the higher Cascade Mountains to the
east that cause the higher level clouds that go over the Coastal Mountains
to drop their moisture in the form of rain in the Willamette Valley.
In recent years the Willamette Valley has become famous
as a grape growing region. In a relatively
short time the wine industry has become one of the major crops in the
region.
The major Oregon cities of Portland, Salem, and Eugene
are in the Willamette Valley.
Interstate-5 also goes down the Willamette Valley.
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The Cascade
Mountains
The Cascade Mountains run through Oregon
from north at the Columbia River south to the California State Line. They really are the division between the
wet western side of the state and the dryer high desert side of the State
in Eastern Oregon.
Nearly all of the Cascades in Oregon are National
Forests. In the north it is the Mt.
Hood National Forest. In the center
of the State it is the Willamette National Forest and in the south it is
the Umpqua National Forest and the Rogue River National Forest.
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A waterfall in the Umpqua National Forest
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A hill in south
central Oregon.
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The High Desert Country
Much of
Eastern Oregon, that portion of Oregon that lies east of the Cascade
Mountains, is high desert.
The reason
it is desert is that the Cascade Mountain Range squeezes most of the water
out of the clouds from the Pacific Ocean on their way eastward.
The thick
rich Douglas Fir forests of the Cascades give way to baron hills like the
one shown in the photo to the left.
Where there is enough moisture the forests are pine because it can
handle the lack of moisture and heat.
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A little Oregon History
Before the arrival of the European Settlers arrived in
what is now the State of Oregon;
there were over 100 Native American tribes located in the area.
In 1792 Captain Robert Grey discovered the Columbia
River which forms most of the northern border between Oregon and Washington
State to the north.
Lewis and Clark traveled up the Missouri and down the
Columbia Rivers to reach the Pacific Coast at the mouth of the Columbia and
winter over in Oregon in 1806-1807.
A little Oregon History
Before the arrival of the European Settlers arrived in what
is now the State of Oregon; there were over 100 Native American tribes
located in the area.
In 1792 Captain Robert Grey discovered the Columbia
River which forms most of the northern border between Oregon and Washington
State to the north.
Lewis and Clark traveled up the Missouri and down the
Columbia Rivers to reach the Pacific Coast at the mouth of the Columbia and
winter over in Oregon in 1806-1807.
From their encampment at Fort Clatsop on the Columbia
River they traveled to what is now the City of Seaside to produce sea salt
for their return trip. There is a
replica of the salt works in Seaside.
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Sunset over the pacific
at the beach in Bandon
Yaquina Head Lighthouse
north of Newport
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Yaquina Bay Bridge
At Newport
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There is so much for the
tourist to enjoy in Oregon at it would take a lifetime to experience it
all. No matter your form of transportation
or the season, there is always something unique to encounter in Oregon.
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