Oregon, OR

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

The state lies on the Pacific coast between Washington on the north and California and Nevada on the south; Idaho lies to the east.

The Columbia and Snake rivers form much of its northern and eastern boundaries, respectively.

The valley of the Willamette River in western Oregon is 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 and 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.

Oregon's population in 2000 was about 3.5 million, a 20.3% increase over 1990. It is estimated to have reached 3.7 million by 2006.

Origin of the name

The origin of the name "Oregon" is unknown. One account, advanced by George R. Stewart in a 1944 article in American Speech, was endorsed as the "most plausible explanation" in the book Oregon Geographic Names.

According to Stewart, the name came from an engraver's error in a French map published in the early 1700s, on which the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin) River was spelled "Ouaricon-sint", broken on two lines with the -sint below, so that there appeared to be a river flowing to the west named "Ouaricon".

Other theories find the roots in the Spanish language, from words like Orejón ("big ear") or Aragón. The pronunciation of the name "Oregon" is a matter of local pride.

Geography

Oregon's geography may be split roughly into seven areas: Oregon Coast—west of the Coast Range Willamette Valley Rogue Valley Cascade Mountains Klamath Mountains Columbia River Plateau Basin and Range Region The mountainous regions of western Oregon were formed by the volcanic activity of Juan de Fuca Plate, a tectonic plate that poses a continued threat of volcanic activity and earthquakes in the region.

The most recent major activity was the 1700 Cascadia earthquake; Washington's Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, an event which was visible from Portland.

The Columbia River, which constitutes much of the northern border of Oregon, also played a major role in the region's geological evolution, as well as its economic and cultural development.

The Columbia is one of North America's largest rivers, and the only river to cut through the Cascades. About 15,000 years ago, the Columbia repeatedly flooded much of Oregon during the Missoula Floods; the modern fertility of the Willamette Valley is largely a result of those floods.

Plentiful salmon made parts of the river, such as Celilo Falls, hubs of economic activity for thousands of years. In the 20th century, numerous hydroelectric dams were constructed along the Columbia, with major impacts on salmon, transportation and commerce, electric power, and flood control.

Today, Oregon's landscape 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).

The highest point in Oregon is the summit of Mount Hood, at 11,239 feet (3,428 m), and its lowest point is sea level of the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon coast.

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).

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 Mill Ends Park (in Portland), the smallest park in the world at 452 square inches (about 3 square feet, or 0.29 m²).

Climate

Oregon's climate—especially in the western part of the state—is heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean.

The climate is generally mild, but periods of extreme hot and cold can affect parts of the state.

Precipitation in the state varies widely: the deserts of eastern Oregon, such as the Alvord Desert (in the rain shadow of Steens Mountain), get as little as 200 mm (8 inches) annually, while some western coastal slopes approach 5000 mm (200 inches) annually.

Oregon's population centers, which lie mostly in the western part of the state, are generally wet and soggy, while the high deserts of Central and Eastern Oregon are much drier.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Oregon".