# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oregon State Learning Games For Kids - Oregon Symbols, Oregon Trivia. Oregon Videos and Puzzles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learning Games for Kids - Education is part of life. It should be fun and challenging... not boring. Learn while you play games!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Information about Oregon state geography, topography, and climate. Land formations, major rivers, geographic center of Oregon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
oregon usa state flag state symbols quiz printouts state printout map quiz

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oregon: Facts, Map and State Symbols - EnchantedLearning.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Click the full-screen arrows in the upper right to see the whole image.

A small, prehistoric stone knife found here in 2012 has convinced some archaeologists that people have lived in what's now Oregon for at least 15,000 years. Much later Native American tribes including the Paiute, Nez Perce, Shasta, Tillamook, Chinook, and many more lived on the land. Europeans are thought to have arrived in the 1500s. Upon reaching the region, both Spain and Great Britain claimed it for themselves.

In 1803 the United States bought a huge swath of land as part of the Louisiana Purchase. A year later President Thomas Jefferson sent American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to map the newly purchased territory as well as the land beyond, which included the region that's now Oregon.

Starting in the 1840s American settlers arrived by way of the Oregon Trail, a more than 2,000-mile-long route for wagon trains. (Marks that wagon wheels left in the earth, called ruts, can still be seen today.) Soon there were so many Americans here that the European countries gave up their claim to the land, and in 1859 Oregon became the 33rd state.

Experts disagree on how Oregon got its name-and there are many theories. Some think it could've come from the French word ouragan meaning "hurricane," a term used by French explorers to describe a super-windy area of the state. Others believe it may have been derived from the Chinook word oolighan, a type of fish these Native Americans ate.

Oregon was nicknamed the Beaver State because early settlers used to trap these animals for their fur.

GEOGRAPHY AND LANDFORMS
Oregon is bordered by Washington in the north, Idaho in the east, Nevada and California in the south, and the Pacific Ocean in the west. The land can be divided into six areas of lowlands, plateaus, and mountains.

The Columbia Plateau is Oregon's largest geographical region, and it fills almost the entire eastern half of the state. Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America, is here. The canyon is on average 5,500 feet deep-nearly five stacked Eiffel Towers could fit inside!

South of the Columbia Plateau is the Basin and Range Region, which is mostly semi-arid and contains a few steep mountains.

Running north to south through the state are the Cascade Mountains, an area of major highs and lows. These include Mount Hood, Oregon's highest point at 11,245 feet, and Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States at a depth of 1,943 feet.

The Willamette Lowland is a narrow, fertile area in the northwest.

The Coast Range in the west has low, forested mountains, small lakes, and cliffs that follow the Pacific coast.

The Klamath Mountains-a rugged, forested area-cross Oregon's southwest corner. Here you'll find Oregon Caves National Monument.

Once hunted for its fur, the beaver-Oregon's state animal-is common here. Other local mammals include Roosevelt elk, gray wolves, and wolverines. Burrowing owls, snowy plovers, sage grouse, and osprey are some of Oregon's avian residents. Reptiles such as western pond turtles and Oregon alligator lizards creep through the state. Meanwhile spotted frogs, Pacific giant salamanders, and coastal tailed frogs are a few of the area's amphibians.

Oregon's most common type of tree is the Douglas fir (the state tree). Oregon is also known for hemlock, red alder, bigleaf maple, and ponderosa pine. Wildflowers such as creeping Oregon grape, sticky purple geranium, white mule's ears, and heal-all (sometimes used to sooth sore throats) grow in Oregon.

Oregon provides the most softwood lumber in the United States. Sunstone (the official state gem), opal, agate, and jade are also mined here.

Author Beverly Cleary, journalist Ann Curry, Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, and chef James Beard have all lived in Oregon.

At 1,943 feet, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States.

Oregon has the world's only Big Foot trap, located in Siskiyou National Forest. (Though most people don't believe that this creature actually exists.)

Steller sea lions live year-round in the sea caves and caverns of Oregon's coast.

Photos: Jpldesigns, Dreamstime (grape plant); maogg, iStockphoto (quarter); liangpv, iStock Photo (flag); SteveByland, iStockphoto (western meadowlark) kwiktor, iStockphoto (beaver)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Click the full-screen arrows in the upper right to see the whole image. A small, prehistoric stone knife found here in 2012 has convinced some archaeologists that people have lived in what's now Oregon for at least 15,000 years. Much later Native American tribes including the Paiute, Nez Perce, Shasta, Tillamook, Chinook, and many more lived on the land.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oregon Geography - Oregon is located in the Pacific Northwest region of United States of America. Learn about the topography, climate, mountains, and rivers of the state.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
United States Geography for Kids: Oregon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids learn facts and geography about the state of Oregon including symbols, flag, capital, bodies of water, industry, borders, population, fun facts, GDP, famous people, and major cities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Oregon , constituent state of the United States of America . Oregon is bounded to the north by Washington state, from which it receives the waters of the Columbia River ; to the east by Idaho , more than half the border with which is formed by the winding Snake River and Hells Canyon ; to the south by Nevada and California , with which Oregon shares its mountain and desert systems; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean , which produces the moderate climate of Oregon's western lands. The capital is Salem , in the northwestern part of the state.

Admitted to the union as the 33rd state on February 14, 1859, Oregon comprises an area of startling physical diversity, from the moist rainforests, mountains, and fertile valleys of its western third to the naturally arid and climatically harsh eastern deserts. Mountains, plateaus, plains, and valleys of different geologic ages and materials are arrayed in countless combinations, including such natural wonders as the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon Caves National Monument , Crater Lake National Park, the majestic snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Range , and the central Oregon "moon country" (lava fields that served as a training site for astronauts in the U.S. space program in the 1960s). The name Oregon is thought to be Native American in origin.

The forested mountains of western and northeastern Oregon have supplied the traditional core of the state's economy. Its many forest-product plants produce a major portion of the country's softwood lumber , much of its soft plywood, and large quantities of hardboard, pulp, and paper. Nationally, Oregon ranks at or near the top among all states in the production of wood products. In addition, the multipurpose development of the Columbia River system provides huge quantities of electricity, water for irrigation and industry, shipping channels, and water for recreation. The heartland of Oregon, however, is the Willamette River valley, containing the major cities of Portland , Eugene , and Salem and a rich and diversified agriculture. Area 98,379 square miles (254,800 square km). Pop. (2010) 3,831,074; (2016 est.) 4,093,465.

Land

Relief and drainage

Oregon has nine major landform regions, of which the forest-blanketed Coast Range , which borders the Pacific Ocean from the Coquille River northward, is the lowest. Its elevations are generally below 2,000 feet (600 metres), but Mount Bolivar , east of Port Orford , reaches 4,319 feet (1,316 metres).

The Klamath Mountains , which extend from California, lie south of the Coast Range and west of the Cascades. Composed of ancient resistant rocks, they have had a complicated geologic history. They are higher and more rugged than the Coast Range and lack the north-south orientation. The Rogue River, bisecting the area, provides the major drainage. Thick forests grow on these mountains, which also contain rich mineral deposits. Mount Ashland, which reaches 7,532 feet (2,296 metres), is the tallest peak in Oregon's Klamath Mountains.

The Willamette valley is essentially an alluvial plain produced by burying stream-modified lowland with enormous quantities of sediments brought down by tributary streams from the bordering mountains. The low, hilly areas in the central and northern portions are composed of resistant rocks. This valley contains the prime land of the state, about one-tenth of its total acreage, and its soils support intensive agriculture .

The Cascade Range forms a broad lava plateau. The wider western section is deeply eroded by numerous streams fed by heavy precipitation. The eastern section, less dissected, is crowned with a chain of volcanic peaks. Mount Hood , reaching 11,239 feet (3,426 metres) above sea level , is the highest peak in Oregon, and Mount Jefferson, rising to 10,497 feet (3,199 metres), is the second highest.

In the north-central Oregon plateau, known as the Deschutes-Umatilla Plateau, a portion of the Columbia River basin, streams are entrenched and provide some bold relief. The areas lying between the streams are broad, little-dissected, smoothly rolling surfaces that provide the land for Oregon's large wheat ranches.

The Blue-Wallowa mountains comprise two highland masses in the northeastern part of the state. The Blue Mountains , which trend north-south and reach into southern Washington, are made up of eroded plateaus and ranges extending westward from the agriculturally important La Grande and Baker valleys. Basins and valleys, headquarters for large cattle ranches, are scattered through the Blue Mountains. The Wallowa Mountains, east of the La Grande and Baker valleys and near the Idaho border, contain the highest elevations in northeastern Oregon; near Baker City is the highest peak in the Blue Mountains, Rock Creek Butte, which reaches 9,105 feet (2,775 metres) in elevation. The Blue and Wallowa mountains were heavily glaciated and display spectacular scenery.

The area of the High Lava Plains, or High Desert, is located south of the Blue Mountains and eastward from the Cascade Range. It is the youngest and least eroded of the landform regions of Oregon, but the smoothness of the surface is broken by cinder cones, buttes, and craters; other features include immaturity of erosion and localized interior drainage. Low precipitation, short and erratic growing seasons, and the absence of soil in many places result in an arid landscape of skimpy vegetation, with the details of the surface features commonly visible.

The Columbia Plateau marks the northern limit of the Great Basin , part of the Basin and Range Province . In Oregon the Great Basin merges with the High Lava Plains. It has long, narrow, asymmetrical fault block ranges that alternate with wide basins. The highest of these is 9,773-foot (2,979-metre) Steens Mountain, a 30-mile- (48-km-) long fault-block range that rises abruptly from the desert floor west of the Alvord Desert. Small volcanoes are numerous in the western portion, where pumice modifies surface runoff , vegetation, and land use. Irrigation agriculture is practiced in the Upper Klamath Lake area, and hay is grown with irrigation in a number of other basins and valleys, but most of this region is used by range livestock.

The Malheur-Owyhee Upland of southeastern Oregon is generally a high, warped plateau. It contains older lava and has been more eroded than the High Lava Plains. The major drainage system, the Owyhee River , has incised several notable canyons in an area locally called the Rimrock Country. Along the Snake River in the east-central portion of the state, there is highly productive irrigation agriculture to supplement livestock grazing.

Climate

Oregon's climates range from equable, mild, marine conditions on the coast to continental conditions of dryness and extreme temperature, in the interior. Location with respect to the ocean, prevailing wind and storm paths, and topography and elevation are the principal climatic control factors.

The narrow coastal area and the bordering mountain slopes are marine-influenced. Temperatures are moderate: July temperatures average in the upper 50s F (about 14 °C), January temperatures in the low 40s F (about 5 °C). Summers are relatively dry but receive only half the sunshine possible; other seasons are cloudy and wet. Annual precipitation ranges from 60 to 120 inches (1,500 to 3,000 mm) or more.

The lowlands of the Willamette, Umpqua, and middle Rogue rivers are warmer in summer and slightly cooler in winter, and they have less precipitation than the coast. July temperatures average about 70 °F (21 °C), with 65 to 70 percent of the possible sunshine; January averages about 40 °F (4 °C). The rainy season extends from October through April, with precipitation averaging 35 to 40 inches (900 to 1,000 mm), except in the middle Rogue valley, where 20 to 25 inches (500 to 650 mm) is common.

The Cascade Range has copious winter precipitation, including phenomenal snow depth, and short, dry, sunny summers. Above 3,000 feet (900 metres), January average temperatures are below 32 °F (0 °C). Snow begins to fall in October and remains through April, with large patches persisting until July. The higher peaks support snowfields and small glaciers throughout the year. July average temperatures range between 50 and 60 °F (10 and 15 °C).

The north-central Oregon plateau receives 10 to 20 inches (250 to 500 mm) of precipitation annually. Distribution is fairly even, but the majority of the rainy days occur in winter. Summers are sunny, with July temperatures averaging in the low 70s F (about 23 °C). The brisk winters have considerable sunny weather, and January temperatures average in the low 30s F (about 1 °C). The plateau area of central and southeastern Oregon has climatic characteristics similar to the north-central plateau except for somewhat less precipitation and lower temperatures at higher elevations.

The Blue-Wallowa mountains have climates that vary with location. The intermontane basins and valleys are similar to the north-central plateau but with colder winters, while the higher, exposed elevations receive heavy precipitation, much of it in the form of snow during winter.

Plant and animal life

Forests cover more than two-fifths of Oregon. In the eastern two-thirds of the state, ponderosa pine , large sagebrush, and western juniper predominate, along with various annual grasses and wildflowers. On the Blue-Wallowa mountains and the eastern slopes of the Cascades occur great stands of ponderosa pine in association with ground coverings of bitter brush, green manzanita, and herbaceous plants. The western slopes of the Cascade, Klamath, and Coast ranges are heavily forested with stands of Douglas fir , with varying degrees of understory vines and intrusions of other tree growths depending on the age of the stand. In cleared areas of the damp coastal region are found alder and noncommercial deciduous growth. In the alpine zones of the mountains, larch, mountain hemlock, and alpine firs occur in association, and mountain mahogany is found in the Blue Mountains.

Oregon's animal life is related to its climatic zones. Deer and elk flourish in less-populated parts, and antelope are found in the eastern high plateau and bear and fox in the mountain foothills. Oregon's coastal waters are home to sea lions and sea otters.

People

Population composition

Oregonians are predominantly of European descent and are American-born. About one-tenth of the population is made up of Hispanics. There are small numbers of Asians, Native Americans, and African Americans. Roman Catholics form the largest single religious denomination but make up only one-third of all religious adherents. Evangelical Protestants, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ , Lutherans, and Mormons are other large religious denominations.

Settlement patterns

The people are unevenly distributed, the great majority living west of the crest of the Cascade Range in the Willamette valley. Almost one-fourth of all Oregonians live in three cities: Portland , Eugene, and Salem. Portland, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, is the largest city in the state, a leading West Coast port, and the major commercial, industrial, service, and cultural centre of the state. Eugene and Salem , the next largest cities, are important for trade and processing. Salem, the state capital, is among the country's leading food-processing centres. The major cities outside the Willamette valley are Grants Pass , Ashland , and Medford , in the Rogue valley; Bend and Redmond , along the Deschutes River in the Cascade foothills of central Oregon; and Klamath Falls , in the south-central part of the state.

At least five major patterns of land use emerge from the tangle of Oregon's natural landscapes and climates. The forested mountains-the Coast Range, the Cascades, the Klamath, and the Blue-Wallowas-show relatively little evidence of human habitation or modification except for the harvest pattern of clear-cutting in the Douglas fir region, the logging and forest-management roads, and scattered roadside homesites at lower elevations. Most of the few loggers live in the valley towns.

The western valleys, dominated by the Willamette, are Oregon's main centres of population, industry, and transportation. Most people live close to urban centres. The nearly 1,300 wood-product plants that in 1947 were located in valley towns or up tributary valleys into the forested mountains had by the early 21st century dwindled to fewer than 300 large-scale sawmills, plywood plants, and pulp mills.

In the rolling, sparsely populated wheat country of north-central Oregon, ranches commonly exceed 1,500 acres (600 hectares) in the eastern portion and double that size to the west, where wheat-fallow rotation is practiced. In regions of natural erosion, alternate bands of crop and fallow occur. Farmsteads are widely separated, and owners often live in towns.

The growth of natural feed in open range country is relatively poor, and cattle scatter over enormous areas. There are fences, occasional watering places with metal tanks, and ranch steads located at great distances from one another.

Most of the eastern Oregon towns except Pendleton lie in the area of irrigated agriculture, on the eastern slopes of the Cascades or near the Idaho border. Farming is highly mechanized.

Economy

Traditionally, Oregon had a resource-oriented economy, strongly dependent upon its forests and farms. Through diversification, however, various new industries have been established, and tourism, recreation, and trade and service activities have grown. In 1950 the manufacturing of forest products employed nearly two-thirds of the state's workforce; that figure had fallen to about one-fifth by the late 1990s, largely because of the growth of other industries, including biotechnology and the manufacture of plastics and software. Trade with Asian countries accounts for a substantial proportion of the state's export revenue.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

The agricultural land base of Oregon includes both cropland and pastures and rangeland. Livestock products contribute one-third of the total commodity value, led by cattle and calves; dairy and poultry products are also significant. Wheat is the leading crop, but potatoes, barley, pears, apples, and grapes for wine are also important. Oregon is among the leading states in the country in the production of hazelnuts, peppermint, raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries. It produces large export crops of cauliflower, cranberries, hops, onions, plums, prunes, and strawberries. The relative importance of agriculture to Oregon's economy diminished somewhat with the advent of high-technology manufacturing. Cropland was reduced as urban areas expanded into much of the Willamette valley.

Nearly three-fifths of the state's land produces (or is capable of producing) commercial timber. Public agencies control more than half of Oregon's commercial forest and private owners the remainder. Additional forest is reserved for wilderness preservation, recreation, and other exclusionary uses. In the 1980s logging was substantially reduced on federally owned lands in the interest of protecting old-growth forests. The Oregon Forest Practices Act of 1971 was the first of its kind in the country and required that natural resources-including streams and wildlife populations-be protected during logging operations.

The forest industry began as a producer of lumber, and since 1938 Oregon has led the country in softwood lumber production. Products have changed, however, and by the early 21st century only two-fifths of the forest income was from lumber. More than one-third of the logs harvested go into plywood, which accounts for about one-third of the value of forest products. Pulp and paper plants and hardboard and particleboard plants contribute most of the remainder.

Shellfish, along with chinook , silver, chum, and pink salmon , are the most valuable fishery products. However, by the end of the 20th century, because of a marked decline in most wild salmon and shellfish populations, almost all were farm-grown. Other commercially harvested fish include flounder, tuna, ocean perch , and rockfish.

Resources and power

In terms of value, stone and construction sand and gravel make up the bulk of the state's mining output. Quarrying occurs throughout the state, but the greatest quantities of mining products are taken near urban areas. Natural gas production at the Mist Gas Field in northwestern Oregon and industrial minerals production elsewhere in the state also are important to the extractive resources sector of the economy. Moreover, studies have shown that the state likely has additional extractable reserves.

Hydroelectricity provides more than two-thirds of the state's power. The Bonneville Dam, which spans the Columbia between Washington and Oregon, has supplied hydroelectric power to the region since the late 1930s. Natural gas and, to a lesser extent, coal are the other major sources of power.

Manufacturing

Forest-product manufacturing accounted for about one-third of Oregon's economic base at the end of the 20th century. The state supplies about one-tenth of the country's lumber. Metals-related industries-primary metals, fabricated metals, and transportation equipment-were Oregon's manufacturing pacesetters after World War II . In the late 20th century they were surpassed by high-technology industries-machinery, electrical equipment, and instruments. The greatest concentration of metals-related industries is in the Portland metropolitan area . The high-technology industries are concentrated in Portland and the Willamette valley, with a growing presence in the southwestern portion of the state. Nike Corporation, one of the world's largest athletic-wear companies, is headquartered in Beaverton and has been located in the state since its founding in the early 1970s.

Services and taxation

Tourism is a major part of Oregon's overall economy; it experienced notable growth in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Visitors to the state enjoy its scenery and myriad opportunities for recreation, including hiking, skiing, fishing, beachcombing, and windsurfing. One of the state's principal tourist destinations is Mount Hood National Forest , which covers an area of some 1,700 square miles (4,300 square km) and is notable for its scenic views and Timberline Lodge (built on the mountain in 1937). Other attractions include Crater Lake, a spectacularly blue lake within a huge volcanic caldera, and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area , with its many waterfalls, notably the 620-foot- (189-metre-) high Multnomah Falls . The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (part of Siuslaw National Forest) and Newberry National Volcanic Monument (in Deschutes National Forest) are also spectacular areas for viewing wildlife and engaging in recreational activities. Many visitors to Oregon enjoy driving on the state's scenic coastal highway. Tourism supports the many small businesses that provide food, lodging, fuel, and other supplies and services.

Oregon's budget includes general fund revenue derived mostly from personal and corporate income taxes; other sources are property, excise, inheritance, and insurance taxes, as well as revenue from liquor sales. Other revenue comes from the state lottery, federal grants, use taxes, trust funds, licenses, and the sale of services and commodities.

Transportation

In addition to an extensive network of highways and roads under the jurisdiction of the state, the federal government, and counties and municipalities, Oregon has forest development roads, national park roads, and military and Indian reservation roads that are controlled by federal agencies and various local governments. Railroads provide north-south and east-west routes, and light rail serves commuters in the major cities of the Willamette valley. Amtrak provides passenger rail service connecting Klamath Falls and the cities of the Willamette valley with neighbouring states. The largest airport is Portland International Airport; other significant commercial airfields are at Eugene, Medford, Pendleton, Klamath Falls, and Redmond.

Throughout the state's history, water transportation has been important. Six of the port districts are located on the Columbia above the head of deep navigation, where barge traffic is composed principally of grain and petroleum downstream and cement and structural steel upstream. Portland, open to oceangoing vessels, is by far the most important port. The other port districts stretch along the Oregon coast and up the Columbia on the deep-draft channel. Portland, Astoria , Newport , and Coos Bay have regular shipments to and from foreign countries.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

The state constitution was adopted in 1857. Oregon has been in the vanguard of several innovative movements in U.S. government collectively known as the Oregon System. In 1902 the concepts of initiative and referendum were introduced, by which voters are able to initiate and vote upon statutes or constitutional revisions; these were supplemented in 1908 by the system of recall , under which the removal of elected officials can be initiated by the voters. The state was also one of the earliest to impose a state income tax , which it did in 1923.

The state's executive branch is headed by a governor, who is limited to two four-year terms within any 12-year period. The governor supervises the state budget, coordinates the activities of state agencies, boards, and commissions, initiates future planning, and is the focus of federal-state interaction. The governor may veto individual items in appropriation bills. In 1991 Oregon inaugurated its first female governor, Barbara Roberts.

Other state-level elected officials are the secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general , commissioner of labour and industries, and superintendent of public instruction, all of whom serve four-year terms. The bicameral legislature , called the Legislative Assembly , comprises the Senate , with 30 members serving four-year terms, and the House of Representatives, with 60 members serving two-year terms.

The court system is headed by the seven-justice Supreme Court, which has general administrative authority over all other courts. The justices, elected for six-year terms, elect one of their members as chief justice. The Court of Appeals, which is composed of 10 judges elected for six-year terms, has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal appeals, except capital (death-penalty) cases and appeals from the Tax Court; it is also responsible for the review of most state agency administrative acts. District courts became circuit courts in 1998 and act as state trial courts of general jurisdiction. County courts are generally limited to juvenile and probate matters, while justice courts have jurisdiction over traffic, wildlife, and other violations occurring in their counties, as well as some small-claims jurisdiction.

Oregon gives its towns and cities home rule-that is, the right to choose their own form of government. Most cities with populations of more than 5,000 have the council-manager form of government, whereas smaller cities usually are governed by a city council and a mayor. Portland is the only Oregon city with a commission form of government, in which elected commissioners function as the city council and administer city departments.

In 1958 a constitutional amendment authorized Oregon's 36 counties to adopt home-rule charters, and in 1973 a state law granted all counties the power to exercise broad home-rule authority. Only about one-fourth of counties have opted for home rule, but all Oregon counties have significantly more local discretionary authority than those of any other state. In most counties a county judge and two commissioners or a board of commissioners exercise the powers of government. These officials usually are elected for terms of three years.

In 1971 the legislature passed a far-reaching program to deal with the problem of air and water pollution , and in 1973 a mandatory program of land and resource development and conservation was established. In part because of the state's strong emphasis on conservation-a comprehensive recycling plan was established by law in 1983, and the state was the first in the country to pass a bottle-deposit law, in 1971-and because of the passing of liberal laws such as those decriminalizing medical marijuana (1998) and allowing terminally ill patients to end their own lives (1997), Oregon has a reputation of being culturally, if not always politically, progressive. The western cities of Portland, Eugene, and Corvallis tend to be especially liberal, but there is a strong conservative presence in Oregon too, particularly in the eastern and southern parts of the state. Communities whose livelihood depended on logging have opposed some environmental legislation, such as that which protects threatened species (the spotted owl and sucker fish among them) at the expense of the timber industry.

Oregon elections are conducted exclusively by mail, as established by a 1998 referendum. Voters receive their ballots by mail at least two weeks before the election and return them to the elections office anytime, election day being the final deadline. Republicans dominated Oregon's politics through much of the state's history. With post-World War II industrial and population growth, however, Democrats came to outnumber Republicans in registration. Since the late 20th century the governorship has been won consistently by Democrats. During the same period, elections for the state legislature often resulted in a Republican majority, but there have also been Democratic majorities in either or both houses. An unusual number of Oregonians have made their mark in the U.S. Congress by their independent stances. Wayne Morse represented Oregon in the Senate from 1945 to 1969; elected as a Republican, he declared his independence from that party in 1953 (even moving his chair to the centre aisle of the Senate Chamber for a day as a symbolic gesture) and served as an independent for two years before switching his affiliation to the Democratic Party. He is perhaps best remembered as an early and adamant opponent of the Vietnam War . For most of the 20th century, Oregon was in the Republican column in presidential elections (except for those in which Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to the White House), but it swung toward the Democratic Party beginning with the 1988 election and into the early 21st century.

Health and welfare

The Department of Human Resources coordinates the activities of the state's principal social service agencies. Oregon Health and Science University , in Portland, includes schools of medicine, dentistry, and nursing, hospitals and outpatient clinics, and other facilities. The university's Vollum Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research was one of the world's first centres to focus on study of the molecular biology of the brain.

Education

The first free public school system in Oregon was created by the territorial legislature in 1849. In 1951 the legislature established a board of education, appointed by the governor. The constitution provides for an elected superintendent of public instruction.

The state system of higher education includes six general universities-the University of Oregon (1872), in Eugene; Oregon State University (1868), in Corvallis; Eastern Oregon University (1929), in La Grande; Western Oregon University (1856), in Monmouth; Southern Oregon University (1882), in Ashland; and Portland State University (1946). The system also encompasses two specialized universities: the Oregon Institute of Technology (1947), which has several campuses around the state, and Oregon Health and Science University (1887). The state has more than two dozen private colleges and universities, including Reed College (1909), in Portland; Willamette University (1842), in Salem; and Lewis and Clark College (1867), in Portland. Moreover, there are numerous community colleges administered by lay boards, supported by local taxes, and responsive to local needs in their curricula.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oregon | history - geography - state, United States

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oregon , constituent state of the United States of America .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oregon's geography and landforms, including information on the Klamath Mountains, Willamette Lowlands, Cascade Mountains, Mount Hood, Columbia Plateau, Harney Basin, Columbia River - by worldatlas.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Oregon ( ORR-ih-ghən, -⁠gon) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is a part of the Western United States, with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The 42° north parallel delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. The western boundary is formed by the Pacific Ocean.

Oregon has been home to many indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon's Pacific coast in the early to mid-16th century. As early as 1564, the Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as the strait now bearing his name. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traversed Oregon in the early 1800s, and the first permanent European settlements in Oregon were established by fur trappers and traders. In 1843, an autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country, and the Oregon Territory was created in 1848. Oregon became the 33rd state of the U.S. on February 14, 1859.

Today, with 4.2 million people over 98,000 square miles (250,000 km ²), Oregon is the ninth largest and 27th most populous U.S. state. The capital, Salem, is the third-most populous city in Oregon, with 175,535 residents. Portland, with 652,503, ranks as the 26th among U.S. cities. The Portland metropolitan area, which includes neighboring counties in Washington, is the 25th largest metro area in the nation, with a population of 2,512,859. Oregon is also one of the most geographically diverse states in the U.S., marked by volcanoes, abundant bodies of water, dense evergreen and mixed forests, as well as high deserts and semi-arid shrublands. At 11,249 feet (3,429 m), Mount Hood is the state's highest point. Oregon's only national park, Crater Lake National Park, comprises the caldera surrounding Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. The state is also home to the single largest organism in the world, Armillaria ostoyae, a fungus that runs beneath 2,200 acres (8.9 km ²) of the Malheur National Forest.

Oregon's economy has historically been powered by various forms of agriculture, fishing, logging, and hydroelectric power. Oregon is the top lumber producer of the contiguous United States, with the lumber industry dominating the state's economy during the 20th century. Technology is another one of Oregon's major economic forces, beginning in the 1970s with the establishment of the Silicon Forest and the expansion of Tektronix and Intel. Sportswear company Nike, Inc., headquartered in Beaverton, is the state's largest public corporation with an annual revenue of $46.7 billion.

The origin of the state's name is uncertain. The earliest geographical designation "orejón" (meaning "big ear") comes from the Spanish historical chronicle Relación de la Alta y Baja California (1598), written by Rodrigo Montezuma of New Spain; here it refers to the region of the Columbia River as it was encountered by the first Spanish scouts. The "j" in the Spanish phrase "El Orejón" was eventually corrupted into a "g".

Another possible source is the Spanish word oregano, which refers to a plant that grows in the southern part of the region.

It is also possible that the area around the Columbia River was named after a stream in Spain called "Arroyo del Oregón", located in the province of Ciudad Real.

Another early use of the name, spelled Ouragon, was by Major Robert Rogers in a 1765 petition to the Kingdom of Great Britain. The term referred to the then-mythical River of the West (the Columbia River). By 1778, the spelling had shifted to Oregon. Rogers wrote:

...from the Great Lakes towards the Head of the Mississippi, and from thence to the River called by the Indians Ouragon...

One suggestion is that this name comes from the French word ouragan ("windstorm" or "hurricane"), which was applied to the River of the West based on Native American tales of powerful Chinook winds on the lower Columbia River, or perhaps from first-hand French experience with the Chinook winds of the Great Plains. At the time, the River of the West was thought to rise in western Minnesota and flow west through the Great Plains.

Another suggestion comes from Joaquin Miller, who wrote in Sunset magazine in 1904:

The name, Oregon, is rounded down phonetically, from Ouve água-Oragua, Or-a-gon, Oregon-given probably by the same Portuguese navigator that named the Farallones after his first officer, and it literally, in a large way, means cascades: "Hear the waters." You should steam up the Columbia and hear and feel the waters falling out of the clouds of Mount Hood to understand entirely the full meaning of the name Ouve a água, Oregon.

Yet another account, endorsed as the "most plausible explanation" in the book Oregon Geographic Names, was advanced by George R. Stewart in a 1944 article in American Speech. According to Stewart, the name came from an engraver's error in a French map published in the early 18th century, on which the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin) River was spelled "Ouaricon-sint", broken on two lines with the -sint below, so there appeared to be a river flowing to the west named "Ouaricon".

According to the Oregon Tourism Commission, present-day Oregonians pronounce the state's name as "or-uh-gun, never or-ee-gone". After being drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2002, former Oregon Ducks quarterback Joey Harrington distributed "Orygun" stickers to members of the media as a reminder of how to pronounce the name of his home state. The stickers are sold by the University of Oregon Bookstore.

While there is considerable evidence that Paleo-Indians inhabited the region, the oldest evidence of habitation in Oregon was found at Fort Rock Cave and the Paisley Caves in Lake County. Archaeologist Luther Cressman dated material from Fort Rock to 13,200 years ago, and there is evidence supporting inhabitants in the region at least 15,000 years ago. By 8000 BC, there were settlements throughout the state, with populations concentrated along the lower Columbia River, in the western valleys, and around coastal estuaries.

During the prehistoric period, the Willamette Valley region was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from then Lake Missoula, located in what would later become Montana. These massive floods occurred during the last glacial period and filled the valley with 300 to 400 feet (91 to 122 m) of water.

The first Europeans to visit Oregon were Spanish explorers led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, who sighted southern Oregon off the Pacific coast in 1543. Sailing from Central America on the Golden Hind in 1579 in search of the Strait of Anian during his circumnavigation of the Earth, the English explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake briefly anchored at South Cove, Cape Arago, just south of Coos Bay, before sailing for what is now California. Martín de Aguilar, continuing separately from Sebastián Vizcaíno's scouting of California, reached as far north as Cape Blanco and possibly to Coos Bay in 1603. Exploration continued routinely in 1774, starting with the expedition of the frigate Santiago by Juan José Pérez Hernández, and the coast of Oregon became a valuable trade route to Asia. In 1778, British captain James Cook also explored the coast.

French Canadians, Scots, Métis, and other continental natives (e.g. Iroquois) trappers arrived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, soon to be followed by Catholic clergy. Some traveled as members of the Lewis and Clark and Astor Expeditions. Few stayed permanently such as Étienne Lussier, often referred to as the first "European" farmer in the state of Oregon. Evidence of the French Canadian presence can be found in numerous names of French origin such as Malheur Lake, the Malheur, Grande Ronde, and Deschutes Rivers, and the city of La Grande. Furthermore, many of the early pioneers first came out West with the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company before heading South of the Columbia for better farmland as the fur trade declined. French Prairie by the Willamette River and French Settlement by the Umpqua River are known as early mixed ancestry settlements.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled through northern Oregon also in search of the Northwest Passage. They built their winter fort in 1805-1806 at Fort Clatsop, near the mouth of the Columbia River, staying at the encampment from December until March.

British explorer David Thompson also conducted overland exploration. In 1811, while working for the North West Company, Thompson became the first European to navigate the entire Columbia River. Stopping on the way, at the junction of the Snake River, he posted a claim to the region for Great Britain and the North West Company. Upon returning to Montreal, he publicized the abundance of fur-bearing animals in the area.

In the War of 1812, the British gained control of all Pacific Fur Company posts. The Treaty of 1818 established joint British and American occupancy of the region west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. By the 1820s and 1830s, the Hudson's Bay Company dominated the Pacific Northwest from its Columbia District headquarters at Fort Vancouver (built-in 1825 by the district's chief factor, John McLoughlin, across the Columbia from present-day Portland).

In 1841, the expert trapper and entrepreneur Ewing Young died leaving considerable wealth and 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, (halfway 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 before annexation by the government of the United States. It was succeeded by a Second Executive Committee, made up of Peter G. Stewart, Osborne Russell, and William J. Bailey, and this committee was itself succeeded by George Abernethy, who was the first and only Governor of Oregon under the provisional government.

Also in 1841, Sir George Simpson, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, reversed the Hudson's Bay Company's long-standing policy of discouraging settlement because it interfered with the lucrative fur trade. He directed that some 200 Red River Colony settlers be relocated to HBC farms near Fort Vancouver, (the James Sinclair expedition), in an attempt to hold Columbia District.

Starting in 1842-1843, the Oregon Trail brought many new American settlers to the Oregon Country. Oregon's boundaries were disputed for a time, contributing to tensions between the U.K. and the U.S., but the border was defined peacefully in the 1846 Oregon Treaty. The border between the United States and British North America was set at the 49th parallel. The Oregon Territory was officially organized on August 13, 1848.

Settlement increased with the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 and the forced relocation of the native population to Indian reservations in Oregon.

The first Oregon proposition for a railroad in Oregon was made by H.M. Knighton, the original owner of the townsite of St. Helens. Mr. Knighton proposed to make good the claim of his town to the seaport head of navigation on the Columbia river by building a railroad in 1851 from St. Helens through the Cornelius pass and across Washington county to the city of Lafayette, that town being at that time the big town of the Willamette valley. H.M. Knighton, owner of the original townsite at St. Helens, Oregon, proposed in 1850 to build a railroad from that town, then a serious competitor of Portland for supremacy as the metropolis at the head of river navigation, the route of which railroad was to follow through the Cornelius Pass and across Washington County to Lafayette.

Oregon was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859, though no one in Oregon knew it until March 15. Founded as a refuge from disputes over slavery, Oregon had a "whites only" clause in its original state Constitution. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, regular U.S. troops were withdrawn and sent east to aid the Union. Volunteer cavalry recruited in California were sent north to Oregon to keep peace and protect the populace. The First Oregon Cavalry served until June 1865.

Beginning in the 1880s, the growth of railroads expanded the state's lumber, wheat, and other agricultural markets, and the rapid growth of its cities. Due to the abundance of timber and waterway access via the Willamette River, Portland became a major force in the lumber industry of the Pacific Northwest, and quickly became the state's largest city. It would earn the nickname "Stumptown", and would later become recognized as one of the most dangerous port cities in the United States due to racketeering and illegal activities at the turn of the 20th century. In 1902, Oregon introduced direct legislation by the state's citizens through initiatives and referendums, known as the Oregon System.

On May 5, 1945, six civilians were killed by a Japanese balloon bomb that exploded on Gearhart Mountain near Bly. They remained the only people on American soil whose deaths were attributed to an enemy balloon bomb explosion during World War II. The bombing site is now located in the Mitchell Recreation Area.

In 1972, the Oregon Beverage Container Act of 1971, popularly called the Bottle Bill, became the first law of its kind in the United States. The Bottle Bill system in Oregon was created to control litter. In practice, the system promotes recycling, not reusing, and the collected containers are generally destroyed and made into new containers. Ten states currently have similar laws.

In 1994, Oregon became the first U.S. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide through the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. A measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Oregon was approved on November 4, 2014, making Oregon only the second state at the time to have legalized gay marriage, physician-assisted suicide, and recreational marijuana.

Self service gasoline was banned in Oregon from 1951 until August 2023. Although self-serve is now allowed in Oregon, gas stations are not required to offer it and many currently do not.

New Jersey is the only state remaining where self serve gas stations are not allowed.

Oregon is 295 miles (475 km) north to south at longest distance, and 395 miles (636 km) east to west. With an area of 98,381 square miles (254,810 km ²), Oregon is slightly larger than the United Kingdom. It is the ninth largest state in the United States. Oregon's highest point is the summit of Mount Hood, at 11,249 feet (3,429 m), and its lowest point is the sea level of the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon Coast. Oregon's mean elevation is 3,300 feet (1,006 m). Crater Lake National Park, the state's only national park, is the site of the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet (592 m). Oregon claims the D River as the shortest river in the world, though the 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 (0.29 m ²).

Oregon is split into eight geographical regions. In Western Oregon: Oregon Coast (west of the Coast Range), the Willamette Valley, Rogue Valley, Cascade Range and Klamath Mountains; and in Central and Eastern Oregon: the Columbia Plateau, the High Desert, and the Blue Mountains.

Oregon lies in two time zones. Most of Malheur County is in the Mountain Time Zone, while the rest of the state lies in the Pacific Time Zone.

Western Oregon's mountainous regions, home to three of the most prominent mountain peaks of the United States including Mount Hood, were formed by the volcanic activity of the 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 visible from northern Oregon and affecting some areas there.

The Columbia River, which forms much of Oregon's northern border, 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 one of two rivers to cut through the Cascades (the Klamath River in southern Oregon is the other). 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 the result. Plentiful salmon made parts of the river, such as Celilo Falls, hubs of economic activity for thousands of years.

Today, Oregon's landscape varies from rain forest in the Coast Range to barren desert in the southeast, which still meets the technical definition of a frontier. Oregon's geographical center is further west than any of the other 48 contiguous states (although the westernmost point of the lower 48 states is in Washington). Central Oregon's geographical features range from high desert and volcanic rock formations resulting from lava beds. The Oregon Badlands Wilderness is in this region of the state.

Typical of a western state, Oregon is home to a unique and diverse array of wildlife. Roughly 60 percent of the state is covered in forest, while the areas west of the Cascades are more densely populated by forest, making up around 80 percent of the landscape. Some 60 percent of Oregon's forests are within federal land. Oregon is the top timber producer of the lower 48 states.

Antilocapra americana (Pronghorn antelope)

Many species of mammals live in the state, which include opossums, shrews, moles, little pocket mice, great basin pocket mice, dark kangaroo mouse, California kangaroo rat, chisel-toothed kangaroo rat, ord's kangaroo rat,[82] bats, rabbits, pikas, mountain beavers, chipmunks, squirrels, yellow-bellied marmots, beavers (the state mammal), porcupines, coyotes, wolves, foxes[83] black bears, raccoons, badgers, skunks, antelopes, cougars, bobcats, lynxes, deer, elk, and moose.

Marine mammals include seals, sea lions, humpback whales, killer whales, gray whales, blue whales, sperm whales, pacific white-sided dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins.[84]

Notable birds include American widgeons, mallard ducks, great blue herons, bald eagles, golden eagles, western meadowlarks (the state bird), barn owls, great horned owls, rufous hummingbirds, pileated woodpeckers, wrens, towhees, sparrows, and buntings.[85]

Moose have not always inhabited the state but came to Oregon in the 1960s; the Wallowa Valley herd numbered about 60 as of 2013. Gray wolves were extirpated from Oregon around 1930 but have since found their way back; most reside in northeast Oregon, with two packs living in the south-central part. Although their existence in Oregon is unconfirmed, reports of grizzly bears still turn up, and it is probable some still move into eastern Oregon from Idaho.

Oregon is home to what is considered the largest single organism in the world, an Armillaria solidipes fungus beneath the Malheur National Forest of eastern Oregon.

Oregon has several National Park System sites, including Crater Lake National Park in the southern part of the Cascades, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument east of the Cascades, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on the north coast, and Oregon Caves National Monument near the south coast.

Most of Oregon has a generally mild climate, though there is significant variation given the variety of landscapes across the state. The state's western region (west of the Cascade Range) has an oceanic climate, populated by dense evergreen mixed forests. Western Oregon's climate is heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean; the western third of Oregon is very wet in the winter, moderately to very wet during the spring and fall, and dry during the summer. The relative humidity of Western Oregon is high except during summer days, which are semi-dry to semi-humid; Eastern Oregon typically sees low humidity year-round.

Oregon's northeastern portion has a steppe climate, and its high terrain regions have a subarctic climate. Like Western Europe, Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest in general, is considered warm for its latitude, and the state has far milder winters at a given elevation than comparable latitudes elsewhere in North America, such as the Upper Midwest, Ontario, Quebec and New England. However, the state ranks fifth for coolest summer temperatures of any state in the country, after Maine, Idaho, Wyoming, and Alaska.

The eastern two thirds of Oregon, which largely comprise high desert, have cold, snowy winters and very dry summers. Much of the east is semiarid to arid like the rest of the Great Basin, though the Blue Mountains are wet enough to support extensive forests. Most of Oregon receives significant snowfall, but the Willamette Valley, where 60 percent of the population lives, has considerably milder winters for its latitude and typically sees only light snowfall.

Oregon's highest recorded temperature is 119 °F (48 °C), which was set at Prineville on July 29, 1898, and tied at Pendleton on August 10, 1898, and Pelton Dam on June 29, 2021. The lowest recorded temperature is −54 °F (−48 °C) at Seneca on February 10, 1933.

Oregon's population is largely concentrated in the Willamette Valley, which stretches from Eugene in the south (home of the University of Oregon) through Corvallis (home of Oregon State University) and Salem (the capital) to Portland (Oregon's largest city).

Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River, was the first permanent English-speaking settlement west of the Rockies in what is now the United States. Oregon City, at the end of the Oregon Trail, was the Oregon Territory's first incorporated city, and was its first capital from 1848 until 1852, when the capital was moved to Salem. Bend, near the geographic center of the state, is one of the ten fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States.[better source needed ] In southern Oregon, Medford is a rapidly growing metro area and is home to the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, the state's third-busiest airport. To the south, near the California border, is the city of Ashland. Eastern Oregon is sparsely populated, but is home to Hermiston, which with a population of 18,000 is the largest and fastest-growing city in the region.

Graph of Oregon's population growth from 1850 to 2010[100]

Ethnic origins in Oregon

Oregon population by county using 2012 estimates[102]

The 2020 U.S. census determined that the population of Oregon was 4,237,256 in 2020, a 10.60% increase over the 2010 census.

Oregon was the nation's "Top Moving Destination" in 2014, with two families moving into the state for every one moving out (66.4% to 33.6%). Oregon was also the top moving destination in 2013, and the second-most popular destination in 2010 through 2012.

As of the 2020 census, the population of Oregon was 4,237,256. The gender makeup of the state was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. 20.5% of the population were under the age of 18; 60.8% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 18.8% were 65 years of age or older.

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 17,959 homeless people in Oregon.

According to the 2020 census, 13.9% of Oregon's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) and 71.7% non-Hispanic White, 2.0% African American, 1.5% Native American, 4.6% Asian, 1.5% Pacific Islander, and 10.5% two or more races. According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 12.4% of Oregon's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): Mexican (10.4%), Puerto Rican (0.3%), Cuban (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.5%). The five largest ancestry groups for White Oregonians were: German (19.1%), Irish (11.7%), English (11.3%), American (5.3%), and Norwegian (3.8%).

The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic Whites, decreased from 95.8% of the total population in 1970 to 71.7% in 2020, though it increased in absolute numbers.

The center of population of Oregon is located in Linn County, in the city of Lyons. Around 60% of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area.

As of 2009, Oregon's population comprised 361,393 foreign-born residents. Of the foreign-born residents, the three largest groups are originally from countries in: Latin America (47.8%), Asia (27.4%), and Europe (16.5%). Mexico, Vietnam, China, India and the Philippines were the top countries of origin for Oregon's immigrants in 2018.

The Roma first reached Oregon in the 1890s. There is a substantial Roma population in Willamette Valley and around Portland. The majority of Oregon's population predominantly of white (European) ancestry and are American-born. Around one-tenth of Oregon's population is made up of Hispanics. There are also small population of Asians, Native Americans, and African Americans in state.

Oregon has frequently been cited by statistical agencies for having a smaller percentage of religious communities than other U.S. states. According to a 2009 Gallup poll, Oregon was paired with Vermont as the two "least religious" states in the United States.

In the same 2009 Gallup poll, 69% of Oregonians identified themselves as being Christian. The largest Christian denominations in Oregon by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church with 398,738; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 147,965; and the Assemblies of God with 45,492. Oregon also contains the largest community of Russian Old Believers to be found in the United States. Judaism is the largest non-Christian religion in Oregon with more than 50,000 adherents, 47,000 of whom live in the Portland area. Recently, new kosher food and Jewish educational offerings have led to a rapid increase in Portland's Orthodox Jewish population. The Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association is headquartered in Portland. There are an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 Muslims in Oregon, most of whom live in and around Portland.

Most of the remainder of the population had no religious affiliation; the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) placed Oregon as tied with Nevada in fifth place of U.S. states having the highest percentage of residents identifying themselves as "non-religious", at 24 percent. Secular organizations include the Center for Inquiry (CFI), the Humanists of Greater Portland (HGP), and the United States Atheists (USA).

Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Births in table do not sum to 100% because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race.

Projections from the U.S. Census Bureau show Oregon's population increasing to 4,833,918 by 2030, an increase of 41.3% compared to the state's population of 3,421,399 in 2000. The state's own projections forecast a total population of 5,425,408 in 2040.

As of 2015, Oregon ranks as the 17th highest in median household income at $60,834. The gross domestic product (GDP) of Oregon in 2013 was $219.6 billion, a 2.7% increase from 2012; Oregon is the 25th wealthiest state by GDP. In 2003, Oregon was 28th in the U.S. by GDP. The state's per capita personal income (PCPI) in 2013 was $39,848, a 1.5% increase from 2012. Oregon ranks 33rd in the U.S. by PCPI, compared to 31st in 2003. The national PCPI in 2013 was $44,765.

Oregon's unemployment rate was 5.5% in September 2016, while the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.0% that month. Oregon has the third largest amount of food stamp users in the nation (21% of the population).

Oregon's diverse landscapes provide ideal environments for various types of farming. Land in the Willamette Valley owes its fertility to the Missoula Floods, which deposited lake sediment from Glacial Lake Missoula in western Montana onto the valley floor. In 2016, the Willamette Valley region produced over 100 million pounds (45 kt) of blueberries. The industry is governed and represented by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut (Corylus avellana) growing regions, and produces 95% of the domestic hazelnuts in the United States. While the history of the wine production in Oregon can be traced to before Prohibition, it became a significant industry beginning in the 1970s. In 2005, Oregon ranked third among U.S. states with 303 wineries. Due to regional similarities in climate and soil, the grapes planted in Oregon are often the same varieties found in the French regions of Alsace and Burgundy. In 2014, 71 wineries opened in the state. The total is currently 676, which represents growth of 12% over 2013.

In the southern Oregon coast, commercially cultivated cranberries account for about 7 percent of U.S. production, and the cranberry ranks 23rd among Oregon's top 50 agricultural commodities. Cranberry cultivation in Oregon uses about 27,000 acres (110 square kilometers) in southern Coos and northern Curry counties, centered around the coastal city of Bandon. In the northeastern region of the state, particularly around Pendleton, both irrigated and dry land wheat is grown. Oregon farmers and ranchers also produce cattle, sheep, dairy products, eggs and poultry.

was first discovered in the 1990s on the California Central Coast and was quickly found here as well. P. ramorum is of economic concern due to its infestation of Rubus and spp. (including cranberry and blueberry).

es grown in the Willamette Valley are mostly sold directly and do not enter the more distant markets. OSU Extension recommended several peach and nectarine cultivars for Willamette.

An Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) infestation has been sighted in Forest Grove, the first for Western North America. On June 30, 2022, an off-duty invasion biologist noticed an infested tree and the Emerald Ash Borer Readiness and Response Plan for Oregon - finalized in March of the previous year - was quickly enacted by state departments. The public is asked to report sightings to the state Department of Agriculture.

Fish ladder at Bonneville Dam, Multnomah County

Vast forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major timber-producing and logging states, but forest fires (such as the Tillamook Burn), over-harvesting, and lawsuits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the timber produced. Between 1989 and 2011, the amount of timber harvested from federal lands in Oregon dropped about 90%, although harvest levels on private land have remained relatively constant.

Even the shift in recent years towards finished goods such as paper and building materials has not slowed the decline of the timber industry in the state. The effects of this decline have included Weyerhaeuser's acquisition of Portland-based Willamette Industries in January 2002, the relocation of Louisiana-Pacific's corporate headquarters from Portland to Nashville, and the decline of former lumber company towns such as Gilchrist. Despite these changes, Oregon still leads the United States in softwood lumber production; in 2011, 4,134 million board feet (9,760,000 m ³) was produced in Oregon, compared with 3,685 million board feet (8,700,000 m ³) in Washington, 1,914 million board feet (4,520,000 m ³) in Georgia, and 1,708 million board feet (4,030,000 m ³) in Mississippi. The slowing of the timber and lumber industry has caused high unemployment rates in rural areas.

Oregon has one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years. Because of the abundance of waterways in the state, it is also a major producer of hydroelectric energy.

Hells Canyon is one of the largest canyons in the United States.

Tourism is also a strong industry in the state. Tourism is centered on the state's natural features - mountains, forests, waterfalls, rivers, beaches and lakes, including Crater Lake National Park, Multnomah Falls, the Painted Hills, the Deschutes River, and the Oregon Caves. Mount Hood and Mount Bachelor also draw visitors year-round for skiing and other snow activities.

Portland is home to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Portland Art Museum, and the Oregon Zoo, which is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi River. The International Rose Test Garden is another prominent attraction in the city. Portland has also been named the best city in the world for street food by several publications, including the U.S. News & World Report and CNN. Oregon is home to many breweries, and Portland has the largest number of breweries of any city in the world.

The state's coastal region produces significant tourism as well. The Oregon Coast Aquarium comprises 23 acres (9.3 ha) along Yaquina Bay in Newport, and was also home to Keiko the orca whale. It has been noted as one of the top ten aquariums in North America. Fort Clatsop in Warrenton features a replica of Lewis and Clark's encampment at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1805. The Sea Lion Caves in Florence are the largest system of sea caverns in the United States, and also attract many visitors.

In Southern Oregon, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, held in Ashland, is also a tourist draw, as is the Oregon Vortex and the Wolf Creek Inn State Heritage Site, a historic inn where Jack London wrote his 1913 novel Valley of the Moon.

Oregon has also historically been a popular region for film shoots due to its diverse landscapes, as well as its proximity to Hollywood. Movies filmed in Oregon include: Animal House, , The General, The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and . Oregon native Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, has incorporated many references from his hometown of Portland into the TV series. Additionally, several television shows have been filmed throughout the state including Portlandia, , Bates Motel, and . The Oregon Film Museum is located in the old Clatsop County Jail in Astoria. Additionally, the last remaining Blockbuster store is located in Bend.

High technology industries located in Silicon Forest have been a major employer since the 1970s. Tektronix was the largest private employer in Oregon until the late 1980s. Intel's creation and expansion of several facilities in eastern Washington County continued the growth that Tektronix had started. Intel, the state's largest for-profit private employer, operates four large facilities, with Ronler Acres, Jones Farm and Hawthorn Farm all located in Hillsboro.

The spinoffs and startups that were produced by these two companies led to establishment of the so-called Silicon Forest. The recession and dot-com bust of 2001 hit the region hard; many high technology employers reduced the number of their employees or went out of business. Open Source Development Labs made news in 2004 when they hired Linus Torvalds, developer of the Linux kernel. In 2010, biotechnology giant Genentech opened a $400 million facility in Hillsboro to expand its production capabilities. Oregon is home to several large datacenters that take advantage of cheap power and a climate conducive to reducing cooling costs. Google operates a large datacenter in The Dalles, and Facebook built a large datacenter near Prineville in 2010. Amazon opened a datacenter near Boardman in 2011, and a fulfillment center in Troutdale in 2018.

Oregon is also the home of large corporations in other industries. The world headquarters of Nike is located near Beaverton. Medford is home to Harry and David, which sells gift items under several brands. Medford is also home to the national headquarters of Lithia Motors. Portland is home to one of the West's largest trade book publishing houses, Graphic Arts Center Publishing. Oregon is also home to Mentor Graphics Corporation, a world leader in electronic design automation located in Wilsonville and employs roughly 4,500 people worldwide.

Adidas Corporations American Headquarters is located in Portland and employs roughly 900 full-time workers at its Portland campus. Nike, located in Beaverton, employs roughly 5,000 full-time employees at its 200-acre (81 ha) campus. Nike's Beaverton campus is continuously ranked as a top employer in the Portland area-along with competitor Adidas. Intel Corporation employs 22,000 in Oregon with the majority of these employees located at the company's Hillsboro campus located about 30 minutes west of Portland. Intel has been a top employer in Oregon since 1974.

The U.S. Federal Government and Providence Health systems are respective contenders for top employers in Oregon with roughly 12,000 federal workers and 14,000 Providence Health workers.

In 2015, a total of seven companies headquartered in Oregon landed in the Fortune 1000: Nike, at 106; Precision Castparts Corp. at 302; Lithia Motors at 482; StanCorp Financial Group at 804; Schnitzer Steel Industries at 853; The Greenbrier Companies at 948; and Columbia Sportswear at 982.

Oregon is one of only five states that have no sales tax. Oregon voters have been resolute in their opposition to a sales tax, voting proposals down each of the nine times they have been presented. The last vote, for 1993's Measure 1, was defeated by a 75-25% margin.

The state also has a minimum corporate tax of only $150 a year, amounting to 5.6% of the General Fund in the 2005-07 biennium; data about which businesses pay the minimum is not available to the public.[better source needed ] As a result, the state relies on property and income taxes for its revenue. Oregon has the fifth highest personal income tax in the nation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon ranked 41st out of the 50 states in taxes per capita in 2005 with an average amount paid of 1,791.45.

A few local governments levy sales taxes on services: the city of Ashland, for example, collects a 5% sales tax on prepared food.

The City of Portland imposes an Arts Education and Access Income Tax on residents over 18-a flat tax of $35 collected from individuals earning $1,000 or more per year and residing in a household with an annual income exceeding the federal poverty level. The tax funds Portland school teachers, and art focused non-profit organizations in Portland.

The State of Oregon also allows transit district to levy an income tax on employers and the self-employed. The State currently collects the tax for TriMet and the Lane Transit District.

Oregon is one of six states with a revenue limit. The " kicker law" stipulates that when income tax collections exceed state economists' estimates by two percent or more, any excess must be returned to taxpayers. Since the enactment of the law in 1979, refunds have been issued for seven of the eleven biennia. In 2000, Ballot Measure 86 converted the "kicker" law from statute to the Oregon Constitution, and changed some of its provisions.

Federal payments to county governments that were granted to replace timber revenue when logging in National Forests was restricted in the 1990s, have been under threat of suspension for several years. This issue dominates the future revenue of rural counties, which have come to rely on the payments in providing essential services.

55% of state revenues are spent on public education, 23% on human services (child protective services, Medicaid, and senior services), 17% on public safety, and 5% on other services.

Oregon has had a $15 bicycle tax for each new bicycles over $200 since 2018. Oregon is the only state in the nation with a bicycle excise tax.

For health insurance, as of 2018 Cambia Health Solutions has the highest market share at 21%, followed by Providence Health. In the Portland region, Kaiser Permanente leads. Providence and Kaiser are vertically integrated delivery systems which operate hospitals and offer insurance plans. Aside from Providence and Kaiser, hospital systems which are primarily Oregon-based include Legacy Health mostly covering Portland, Samaritan Health Services with five hospitals in various areas across the state, and Tuality Healthcare in the western Portland metropolitan area. In Southern Oregon, Asante runs several hospitals, including Rogue Regional Medical Center. Some hospitals are operated by multi-state organizations such as PeaceHealth and CommonSpirit Health. Some hospitals such Salem Hospital operate independently of larger systems.

Oregon Health & Science University is a Portland-based medical school that operates two hospitals and clinics.

The Oregon Health Plan is the state's Medicaid managed care plan, and it is known for innovations. The Portland area is a mature managed care and two-thirds of Medicare enrollees are in Medicare Advantage plans.

Elementary, middle, and high school

In the 2013-2014 school year, the state had 567,000 students in public schools. There were 197 public school districts, served by 19 education service districts.

In 2016, the largest school districts in the state were: Portland Public Schools, comprising 47,323 students; Salem-Keizer School District, comprising 40,565 students; Beaverton School District, comprising 39,625 students; Hillsboro School District, comprising 21,118 students; and North Clackamas School District, comprising 17,053 students.

On May 8, 2019, educators across the state protested to demand smaller class sizes, hiring more support staff, such as school counselors, librarians, and nurses, and the restoration of art, music, and physical education classes. The protests caused two dozen school districts to close, which equals to about 600 schools across the state.

Especially since the 1990 passage of Measure 5, which set limits on property tax levels, Oregon has struggled to fund higher education. Since then, Oregon has cut its higher education budget and now ranks 46th in the country in state spending per student. However, 2007 legislation funded the university system far beyond the governor's requested budget though still capping tuition increases at 3% per year. Oregon supports a total of seven public universities and one affiliate. It is home to three public research universities: The University of Oregon (UO) in Eugene and Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, both classified as research universities with very high research activity, and Portland State University which is classified as a research university with high research activity.

UO is the state's highest nationally ranked and most selective public university by U.S. News & World Report and . OSU is the state's only land-grant university, has the state's largest enrollment for fall 2014, and is the state's highest ranking university according to Academic Ranking of World Universities, Washington Monthly, and QS World University Rankings. OSU receives more annual funding for research than all other public higher education institutions in Oregon combined. The state's urban Portland State University has Oregon's second largest enrollment.

The state has three regional universities: Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Southern Oregon University in Ashland, and Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. The Oregon Institute of Technology has its campus in Klamath Falls. The quasi-public Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) includes medical, dental, and nursing schools, and graduate programs in biomedical sciences in Portland and a science and engineering school in Hillsboro. The state also supports 17 community colleges.

Oregon is home to a wide variety of private colleges, the majority of which are located in the Portland area. The University of Portland, a Catholic university, is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross. Reed College, a rigorous liberal arts college in Portland, was ranked by as the 52nd best college in the country in 2015.

Other private institutions in Portland include Lewis & Clark College; Multnomah University; Portland Bible College; Warner Pacific College; Cascade College; the National University of Natural Medicine; and Western Seminary, a theological graduate school. Pacific University is in the Portland suburb of Forest Grove. There are also private colleges further south in the Willamette Valley. McMinnville is home to Linfield College, while nearby Newberg is home to George Fox University. Salem is home to two private schools: Willamette University (the state's oldest, established during the provisional period) and Corban University. Also located near Salem is Mount Angel Seminary, one of America's largest Roman Catholic seminaries. The state's second medical school, the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Northwest, is located in Lebanon. Eugene is home to three private colleges: Bushnell University, New Hope Christian College, and Gutenberg College.

A writer in the Oregon Country book A Pacific Republic, written in 1839, predicted the territory was to become an independent republic. Four years later, in 1843, settlers of the Willamette Valley voted in majority for a republican form of government. The Oregon Country functioned in this way until August 13, 1848, when Oregon was annexed by the United States and a territorial government was established. Oregon maintained a territorial government until February 14, 1859, when it was granted statehood.

Oregon state government has a separation of powers similar to the federal government. It has three branches:

Governors in Oregon serve four-year terms and are limited to two consecutive terms, but an unlimited number of total terms. Oregon has no lieutenant governor; in case the office of governor is vacated, ArticleV, Section 8a of the Oregon Constitution specifies that the Secretary of State is first in line for succession. The other statewide officers are Treasurer, Attorney General, and Labor Commissioner. The biennial Oregon Legislative Assembly consists of a thirty-member Senate and a sixty-member House. The state supreme court has seven elected justices, currently including the only two openly gay state supreme court justices in the nation. They choose one of their own to serve a six-year term as Chief Justice.

The debate over whether to move to annual sessions is a long-standing battle in Oregon politics, but the voters have resisted the move from citizen legislators to professional lawmakers. Because Oregon's state budget is written in two-year increments and, there being no sales tax, state revenue is based largely on income taxes, it is often significantly over or under budget. Recent legislatures have had to be called into special sessions repeatedly to address revenue shortfalls resulting from economic downturns, bringing to a head the need for more frequent legislative sessions. Oregon Initiative 71, passed in 2010, mandates the legislature to begin meeting every year, for 160 days in odd-numbered years, and 35 days in even-numbered years.

Oregonians have voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1988. In 2004 and 2006, Democrats won control of the State Senate, and then the House. Since 2023, Oregon has been represented by four Democrats and two Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since 2009, the state has had two Democratic U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. Oregon voters have elected Democratic governors in every election since 1986, most recently electing Tina Kotek over Republican Christine Drazan and Independent Betsy Johnson in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

The base of Democratic support is largely concentrated in the urban centers of the Willamette Valley. The eastern two-thirds of the state beyond the Cascade Mountains typically votes Republican; in 2000 and 2004, George W. Bush carried every county east of the Cascades. However, the region's sparse population means the more populous counties in the Willamette Valley usually outweigh the eastern counties in statewide elections.

In the 2002 general election, Oregon voters approved a ballot measure to increase the state minimum wage automatically each year according to inflationary changes, which are measured by the consumer price index (CPI). In the 2004 general election, Oregon voters passed ballot measures banning same-sex marriage and restricting land use regulation. In the 2006 general election, voters restricted the use of eminent domain and extended the state's discount prescription drug coverage.

In the 2020 general election, Oregon voters approved a ballot measure to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of street drugs such as cocaine and heroin, becoming the first state in the country to do so after the drugs were originally made illegal. There has been mixed success of the ballot measure after three years of implementation and calls for change. Drug overdose deaths have continued to rise, inline with other states. Funds allocated to treatment and other services have not increased the success of these alternate outcomes. In January 2024 the Oregon State legislature began to consider moves that would reverse some of the provisions in the ballot measure. The state also approved a ballot measure to create a legal means of administering psilocybin for medicinal use.

Like all U.S. states, Oregon is represented by two senators. Following the 1980 census, Oregon had five congressional districts. After Oregon was admitted to the Union, it began with a single member in the House of Representatives ( La Fayette Grover, who served in the 35th United States Congress for less than a month). Congressional apportionment increased the size of the delegation following the censuses of 1890, 1910, 1940, and 1980. Following the 2020 census, Oregon gained a sixth congressional seat. It was filled in the 2022 Congressional Elections. A detailed list of the past and present Congressional delegations from Oregon is available.

The United States District Court for the District of Oregon hears federal cases in the state. The court has courthouses in Portland, Eugene, Medford, and Pendleton. Also in Portland is the federal bankruptcy court, with a second branch in Eugene. Oregon (among other western states and territories) is in the 9th Court of Appeals. One of the court's meeting places is at the Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland, a National Historic Landmark built-in 1869.

Party registration in Oregon, 1950-2006

Party registration by Oregon county (February 2023)

Political opinions in Oregon are geographically split by the Cascade Range, with Western Oregon being more liberal and Eastern Oregon being conservative. In a 2008 analysis of the 2004 presidential election, a political analyst found that according to the application of a Likert scale, Oregon boasted both the most liberal Kerry voters and the most conservative Bush voters, making it the most politically polarized state in the country.

While Republicans typically win more counties by running up huge margins in the east, the Democratic tilt of the more populated west is usually enough to swing the entire state Democratic. In 2008, for instance, Republican Senate incumbent Gordon H. Smith lost his bid for a third term, even though he carried all but eight counties. His Democratic challenger, Jeff Merkley, won Multnomah County by 142,000 votes, more than double the overall margin of victory.

During Oregon's history, it has adopted many electoral reforms proposed during the Progressive Era, through the efforts of William S. U'Ren and his Direct Legislation League. Under his leadership, the state overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure in 1902 that created the initiative and referendum for citizens to introduce or approve proposed laws or amendments to the state constitution directly, making Oregon the first state to adopt such a system. Today, roughly half of U.S. states do so.

In following years, the primary election to select party candidates was adopted in 1904, and in 1908 the Oregon Constitution was amended to include recall of public officials. More recent amendments include the nation's first doctor-assisted suicide law, called the Death with Dignity Act (which was challenged, unsuccessfully, in 2005 by the Bush administration in a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court), legalization of medical cannabis, and among the nation's strongest anti-urban sprawl and pro-environment laws.[citation needed ] More recently, 2004's Measure 37 reflects a backlash against such land-use laws. However, a further ballot measure in 2007, Measure 49, curtailed many of the provisions of 37.

Of the measures placed on the ballot since 1902, the people have passed 99 of the 288 initiatives and 25 of the 61 referendums on the ballot, though not all of them survived challenges in courts (see Pierce v. Society of Sisters, for an example). During the same period, the legislature has referred 363 measures to the people, of which 206 have passed.

Oregon pioneered the American use of postal voting, beginning with experimentation approved by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1981 and culminating with a 1998 ballot measure mandating that all counties conduct elections by mail. It remains one of just two states, the other being Washington, where voting by mail is the only method of voting.

In 1994, Oregon adopted the Oregon Health Plan, which made health care available to most of its citizens without private health insurance.

Oregon is the only state that does not have a mechanism to impeach executive officeholders, including the governor. Removing an executive office holder would require a recall election. It is one of four states that requires two-thirds of members of the House and Senate be present to establish a quorum. It is one of a minority of states that does not have a lieutenant governor. The Secretary of State is the first in line of succession to replace the governor in event of a vacancy. This last occurred in 2015, when Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned amid allegation of influence peddling and Secretary of State Kate Brown became governor. Brown won a special election in 2016 to retain the position, and won a full four-year term in 2018.

In the U.S. Electoral College, Oregon cast seven votes through the 2020 presidential election. Under apportionment of Congress under the 2020 U.S. census, Oregon added a sixth congressional seat. Under the Electoral College formula of votes equaling the number of U.S. House seats plus the two U.S. Senators, Oregon will cast eight votes in the 2024 election. Oregon has supported Democratic candidates in the last nine elections. Democratic incumbent Barack Obama won the state by a margin of twelve percentage points, with over 54% of the popular vote in 2012. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton won Oregon by 11 percentage points. In the 2020 election, Joe Biden won Oregon by 16 percentage points over his opponent, Donald Trump.

In a 2020 study, Oregon was ranked as the easiest state for citizens to vote in.

Oregon is home to three major professional sports teams: the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, the Portland Thorns FC of the NWSL and the Portland Timbers of MLS.

Until 2011, the only major professional sports team in Oregon was the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the Blazers were one of the most successful teams in the NBA in terms of both win-loss record and attendance. In the early 21st century, the team's popularity declined due to personnel and financial issues, but revived after the departure of controversial players and the acquisition of new players such as Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, and still later Damian Lillard. The Blazers play in the Moda Center in Portland's Lloyd District, which also is home to the Portland Winterhawks of the junior Western Hockey League.

The Portland Timbers play at Providence Park, just west of downtown Portland. The Timbers have a strong following, with the team regularly selling out its games. The Timbers repurposed the formerly multi-use stadium into a soccer-specific stadium in fall 2010, increasing the seating in the process. The Timbers operate Portland Thorns FC, a women's soccer team that has played in the National Women's Soccer League since the league's first season in 2013. The Thorns, who also play at Providence Park, have won two league championships, in the inaugural 2013 season and also in 2017, and have been by far the NWSL's attendance leader in each of the league's seasons.

Eugene and Hillsboro have minor-league baseball teams: the Eugene Emeralds and the Hillsboro Hops both play in the High-A High-A West. Portland has had minor-league baseball teams in the past, including the Portland Beavers and Portland Rockies, who played most recently at Providence Park when it was known as PGE Park. Salem also previously had a Class A Short Season Northwest League team, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes that was not included in the 2021 Minor League Baseball reorganization. The Volcanoes ownership later formed the amateur Mavericks Independent Baseball League, which is fully based in Salem.

The Oregon State Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks football teams of the Pac-12 Conference meet annually in the Oregon-Oregon State football rivalry. Both schools have had recent success in other sports as well: Oregon State won back-to-back college baseball championships in 2006 and 2007, winning a third in 2018; and the University of Oregon won back-to-back NCAA men's cross country championships in 2007 and 2008.

1. ^

2. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.

3. ^ "2022 Shareholder Letter for Nike, Inc" (PDF). Nike, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2023.

4. ^ Where does the name "Oregon" come from? Archived October 24, 2018, at the Wayback Machine from the online edition of the Oregon Blue Book.

5. ^ Elliott, T.C. (June 1921). "The Origin of the Name Oregon". Oregon Historical Quarterly. XXIII (2): 99-100. ISSN 0030-4727. OCLC 1714620. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015 - via Google Books.

6. ^ Miller, Joaquin (September 1904). "The Sea of Silence". Sunset. XIII (5): 395-396 - via Internet Archive.

7. Banks, Don (April 21, 2002). ^ "Harrington confident about Detroit QB challenge". Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Sports Illustrated.

8. ^ Von der Porten, Edward (January 1975). "Drake's First Landfall". Pacific Discovery, California Academy of Sciences. 28 (1): 28-30.

9. ^ Cogswell, Philip Jr. (1977). Capitol Names: Individuals Woven Into Oregon's History. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. pp. 9-10.

10. Joseph Gaston, 1912, The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912, vol.1, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. Qtd. in Topinka ^ This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

11. Chards Henry Carey, 1922, History of Oregon, vol.1, Pioneer Historical Publishing Company . in Topinka ^ This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

12. ^ McClintock, Thomas C. (July 1, 1995). "James Saules, Peter Burnett, and the Oregon Black Exclusion Law of June 1844". The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. 86 (3): 122.

13. ^ Mahoney, Barbara (July 1, 2009). "Oregon Voices: Oregon Democracy: Asahel Bush, Slavery, and the Statehood Debate". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 110 (2): 202. doi:10.1353/ohq.2009.0099. S2CID 159872966.

14. ^ Congressional Record Vol. 155 Part 1: Proceedings and Debates of the 111th Congress: First Session. Government Printing Office. p. 935. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021 - via Google Books.

15. ^ Hamilton, John (2016). Oregon. ABDO. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-680-77443-6.

16. ^

17. ^ "Certified Population Estimates for Oregon and Its Counties" (PDF). Portland State University Population Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2013.

18. ^ "2011 United Van Lines Migration Study". United Van Lines. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. The Western United States is also represented on the high-inbound list with Oregon (60.8%) and Nevada (56.9%) both making the list. Oregon is number two for inbound migration for the second year in a row.

19. ^ "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Oregon". United States Census Bureau.

20. ^ "The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress" (PDF).

21. ^ "Population of Oregon: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts".[permanent dead link ]

22. ^ Journal, Statesman. "Oregon Demographics and Housing 2020 Decennial Census". Statesman Journal.

23. "^ Americans under age1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot Archived July 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". The Plain Dealer. June 3, 2012.

24. ^ According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon's population as of 2017 is 4,190,713; with the MSA being 2,453,168, this leaves 59%~ of Oregon's population residing within the metro.

25. ^ "Immigrants in Oregon" (PDF).

26. ^ "Most Common Languages in Each County". Oregon.gov. 2022.

27. ^ "Most Common Languages in Each County". Oregon.gov. 2022.

28. Binus, Joshua. ^ "The Oregon History Project: Russian Old Believers". Archived October 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved March 14, 2008.

29. ^ Kosmin, Barry A; Keysar, Ariela (December 23, 2009). "American Religious Identification Survey" (PDF). Hartford: Trinity College. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011.

30. Wentz, Patty (February 11, 1998). ^ "He's back". Archived September 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Willamette Week. Retrieved March 14, 2008.

31. ^ Martin, Joyce A.; et al. (January 15, 2015). "Births: Final Data for 2013" (PDF). National Vital Statistics Reports. 64 (4): 1-65. PMID 25603115. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2017.

32. ^ Hamilton, Brady E.; et al. (December 23, 2015). "Births: Final Data for 2014" (PDF). National Vital Statistics Reports. 64 (12): 1-64. PMID 26727629. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 14, 2017.

33. ^ Martin, Joyce A.; et al. (January 5, 2017). "Births: Final Data for 2015" (PDF). National Vital Statistics Reports. 66 (1): 1. PMID 28135188. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2017.

34. ^ "Data" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

35. ^ "Data" (PDF). www.cdc.gov.

36. McNab, W. Henry; Avers, Peter E (July 1994). ^ Ecological Subregions of the United States. Chapter 24. Archived February 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine U.S. Forest Service and Dept. of Agriculture.

37. ^ "Industry Facts" (PDF). Oregon Winegrowers Association.[permanent dead link ]

38. ^ Ellis, Michael A.; Converse, Richard H.; Williams, Roger N.; Williamson, Brian, eds. (1991). Compendium of Raspberry and Blackberry Diseases and Insects. St. Paul, Minn., US: APS Press (American Phytopathological Society). pp. vi+100. ISBN 0-89054-121-3. LCCN 91-76318. OCLC 24875558.

39. ^ Anderson, Pamela K.; Cunningham, Andrew A.; Patel, Nikkita G.; Morales, Francisco J.; Epstein, Paul R.; Daszak, Peter (2004). "Emerging infectious diseases of plants: pathogen pollution, climate change and agrotechnology drivers". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 19 (10). Cell Press: 535-544. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2004.07.021. ISSN 0169-5347. PMID 16701319. S2CID 12006626.

40. Rizzo, David M.; Garbelotto, Matteo; Hansen, Everett M. (September 1, 2005). "Phytophthora ramorum: Integrative Research and Management of an Emerging Pathogen in California and Oregon Forests". Annual Review of Phytopathology. 43 (1). Annual Reviews: 309-335. doi:10.1146/annurev.phyto.42.040803.140418. ISSN 0066-4286. PMID 16078887. S2CID 33214324.

41. ^

42. ^ "Oregon Forest Facts & Figures 2013", p. 12

43. ^ Energy Information Administration (April 29, 2010). "State Energy Profiles-Oregon". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010.

44. ^ "Oregon Governor's Budget" (PDF). State of Oregon. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2017.

45. ^ Cain, Brad (March 2, 2006). "Kicker tax rebate eyed to help school and state budgets". KATU.

46. ^

47. ^ "Oregon State University" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2015.

48. Allen, Cain (2006). ^ "A Pacific Republic" Archived August 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Oregon History Project. Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved June 17, 2016.

49. ^ "November 2, 2004, General Election Abstract of Votes: STATE MEASURE NO. 36" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013.

50. ^ Bradbury, Bill (November 6, 2007). "Official Results-November 6, 2007 Special Election". Elections Division. Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013.

51. ^

52. ^

53. ^

54. ^ J. Pomante II, Michael; Li, Quan (December 15, 2020). "Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020". Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy. 19 (4): 503-509. doi:10.1089/elj.2020.0666. S2CID 225139517.

55. Beseda, Jim (August 12, 2010). ^ "Oregon State baseball: Coach Pat Casey praises ex-Beaver Darwin Barney" Archived September 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. The Oregonian (Portland, OR). Retrieved October 8, 2010.

56. ^

57. ^ "Oregon Laws". Senate Concurrent Resolution. Oregon Legislature. 2005. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011.

Ambrose, Stephen E. (1997). Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (1st Touchstone ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-82697-4.

Carey, Charles Henry (1922). History of Oregon: Volume 1. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co.

Clucas, Richard A., Mark Henkels, and Brent Steel, eds. Oregon politics and government: progressives versus conservative populists (U of Nebraska Press, 2005). online

Evans, Tony Howard (1966). Oregon Progressive Reform, 1902-1914. University of California Press. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021.

Hemming, John (2008). Atlas of Exploration. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534318-2.

Johnson, Sidona V. (1904). A Short History of Oregon. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co. p. 332. A Short History of Oregon: Early Discoveries--The Lewis and Clark.

McLagan, Elizabeth (1980). A Peculiar Paradise: A History of Blacks in Oregon, 1788-1940 (2nd ed.). Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press in Cooperation with Oregon Black Pioneers. ISBN 9780870712210. OCLC 1341845615. OL 4110324M.

Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (1988). Historia de las comunicaciones y los transportes en México (in Spanish). Vol. 5. Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oregon ( ORR-ih-ghən , -⁠gon ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is a part of the Western United States, with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho.