Encyclopedia > Oregon

Oregon is a state located in the western United States bordering the Pacific Ocean, California, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Its northern border lies along the Columbia River and the east along the Snake River. Two north-south mountain ranges - the Coastal Range[?] and the Cascade Mountain Range - form the two "walls" of the Willamette Valley, one of the most fertile and agriculturally productive regions in the world. Oregon is known for its rain, but only the western half of the state is notably rainy; east of the Cascades the climate is much more arid.

Oregonians are proud of their state's wealth of beautiful forests and streams, and place great importance on proper use of their environment, yet struggle to balance this need with the desire to achieve progress. The state has pioneered many of the nation's environmental firsts, such as one of the first bottle bills, but has also suffered under the rapid pace of logging its forests.

USS Oregon was named in honor of this state.

Table of contents

1 History

2 Law and Government

3 Geography

4 Economy

5 Demographics

6 Important Cities and Towns

7 Education

7.1 Colleges and Universities

8 Professional Sports Teams

9 Miscellaneous Information

10 External links

History

Oregon was originally home to a number of Native American tribes, including the Bannock, Chinook, Klamath, and Nez Perce. James Cook explored the coast in 1778 in search of the Northwest Passage. The Lewis and Clark Expedition travelled through the region during their expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase, at the direction of Thomas Jefferson. They built their winter fort at Fort Clatsop[?], near the mouth of the Columbia River. Exploration by Lewis and Clark (1805-1806) and Britain's David Thompson (1811) publicized the abundance of fur in the area. In 1811, New York financier John Jacob Astor established Fort Astoria[?] at the mouth of the Columbia River with the intention of starting a chain of Pacific Fur Company[?] trading posts along the river. Fort Astoria was the the first permanent white settlement in Oregon. In the War of 1812 the British gained control of all of the Pacific Fur Company posts.

By the 1820s and 1830s the British Hudsons 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.

The Oregon Trail infused the region with new settlers, starting in 1842-43, as the United States sought to wrest control of the area from Great Britain. This controversy was resolved in 1846 after a period of sabre rattling where it seemed that the United States and the United Kingdom would go to war a third time in 75 years. Cooler heads prevailed, however, and the United States-Canada boundary was set at the 49th parallel[?].

In the 1880s, railroads enabled marketing of the state's lumber and wheat, and 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 have helped fuel the development of the west, and the periodic fluctuations in the nation's building industry has severely impacted the state's economy on multiple occasions.

The state has a long history of polarizing conflicts: Native Americans vs. English fur trappers, English vs. settlers from the U.S., ranchers vs. farmers, wealthy growing cities vs. established but poor rural areas, loggers vs. environmentalists, white supremicists vs. anti-racists, and native-Oregonians vs. Californians (or outsiders in general). The state ballots frequently experience the extremes of the political spectrum - anti-gay, pro-religious measures on the same ballot as liberal drug decriminalization[?] measures.

Law and Government

Oregon's Governor serves a four-year term. The legislature consists of a thirty member Senate and sixty member House. Senators serve four year terms, and Representatives two. At the national level, Oregon is represented by two senators and five representatives. It has seven electoral votes.

Geography See: List of Oregon counties

Highest point: Mount Hood, 11,239 ft (3,428 m)

Lowest point: sea level.

Economy

The Willamette Valley is very fertile, and coupled with Oregon's famous rains, gives the state a wealth of agricultural products. Apples and other fruits, cattle, dairy products, potatoes, and peppermint are all valuable products. Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut[?] growing regions. Her forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major lumbering states, but overharvesting and law suits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the amount of timber produced since the later 1980s. In recent years, processing, publishing, and manufacturing have become much more dominant.

High technology industries and services have been a major employer since the 1970s, first with Tektronix[?] being the largest private employer in Oregon until the late 1980s, then with Intel's creation and expansion of several plants in eastern Washington County; however, with the recession of 2001, many high technology employers have either reduced the number of their employees or gone out of business.

Oregon has had one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years. Tourism is also strong in the state; Oregon's evergreen mountain forests, waterfalls, pristine lakes (including Crater Lake National Park), and scenic beaches draw visitors year round.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, the population of Oregon is 3,421,399. Its population grew 20.4% (579,062) from its 1990 levels. According to the 2000 census, 86.6% (2,961,623) identified themselves as White, 8% (275,314) as Hispanic or Latino, 1.6% (55,662) as black, 3% (101,350) as Asian, 1.3% (45,211) as American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2% (7,976) as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 4.2% (144,832) as other, and 3.1% (104,745) identified themselves as belonging to two or more races.

6.5% of its population were reported as under 5, 24.7% under 18, and 12.8% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.4% of the population.

Important Cities and Towns

Oregon City was the first state capital, as well as the site of the first public library established west of the Rocky Mountains, stocked with only 300 volumes.

For a more exhaustive list of cities, see List of cities in Oregon

Education

Colleges and Universities

Professional Sports Teams

Minor League Baseball Teams

Miscellaneous Information FACTS

Population: (2000) 3,421,399, a 20.4% increase over 1990

State Bird: Western meadowlark[?]

State Flower: Oregon grape

State Tree: Douglas fir

State Insect: Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly[?] (Papilio oregonius)

Abbreviation: Oreg. Ore. OR