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. With an area of 254,806sq.km, Oregon is the 9th largest and the 27th most populous state in the USA. Located in the northwestern part of the state, along the Williamette River is Salem – the capital and the 2nd largest city of Oregon. Agricultural food processing, natural resources mining, business services, and manufacturing industries are the main economic sectors in Salem. The city of Salem has been nicknamed the “Cherry City” due to its robust cherry industry since 1847.
In 1846 the British offered to divide Oregon by giving most of the border land between the USA and what is now Canada.7 President Polk accepted this, and so now the Americans had power over Oregon as well as the other states. The above outline map represents the State of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The above blank map represents the State of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
Maps of Oregon
Mount Ashland, which reaches 7,532 feet (2,296 metres), is the tallest peak in Oregon’s Klamath Mountains. 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. 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.
- 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 major drainage system, the Owyhee River, has incised several notable canyons in an area locally called the Rimrock Country.
- Mountain men (people who knew a lot about living in mountainous places) had found a passway over the Rocky Mountains, and they named it the South Pass.
- 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.
- With an area of 98,381 square miles (254,810 km2), Oregon is slightly larger than the United Kingdom.
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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 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).
In 1836 a missionary named Marcus Whitman crossed through the pass with his wife to Oregon. This proved that it was possible for others with women and families to go too, and because of this, Oregon suddenly became the place pioneers wanted to make a trip to. To the west of the state lies Oregon’s Coast Range, hugging the Pacific coast. Steep cliffs, low, forested mountains, and small lakes are scattered throughout this area. To the south of the Columbia Plateau is Oregon’s Basin and Range Region, consisting of a semi-arid climate with sagebrush. The land has various flat basins, interrupted by isolated mountain ranges.
Cascade Mountains
Largely known for its nature, Oregon is home to one national park, 11 national forests, 361 state parks, and 21 national wildlife refuges. 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. Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States, lies in the southwest, just east of the Rogue River. In total, there are approximately 1,400 named lakes in the state. The Columbia Plateau marks the northern limit of the Great Basin, part of the Basin and Range Province.
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 Columbia River flows along most of the border with Washington. The highest mountain is Mount Hood (11,237 feet or 3,425 metres high), part of the Cascade Range of mountains.
- Another famous Cascade Mountain in Oregon is Mount Mazama, better known as Crater Lake.
- Spanning a total area of 98,379 square miles (254,800 square kilometers), Oregon is the ninth-largest state in the country.
- It also serves as the country’s major port, handling the trade and distribution of wheat and automobile equipment.
- The Blue and Wallowa mountains were heavily glaciated and display spectacular scenery.
- It contains older lava and has been more eroded than the High Lava Plains.
How to recognize an official Oregon website
Situated in the northwestern part of the state, at the confluence of Columbia and Williamette Rivers is Portland – the largest and the most populous city of Oregon. High-tech industries, agricultural food processing, electronics manufacturing, public health-care services are some of the main drivers of Portland’s economy. It also serves as the country’s major port, handling the trade and distribution of wheat and automobile equipment. 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.
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The above map can be downloaded, printed and used for geography education purposes like map-pointing and coloring activities. The Oregon First Partner Handbook is intended to provide basic guidance to a new Governor and their spouse or domestic partner upon taking office and serve as a resource to Governors and their families, staff, and the public at large. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Most of Malheur County is in the Mountain Time Zone, while the rest of the state lies in the Pacific Time Zone. In the 1840s, American travelers began arriving on the land of Oregon by the Oregon Trail. In 1846, Britain ceded the Oregon territory to the US, with Oregon officially becoming the 33rd state 13 years later in 1959.
Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Areas
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. 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 Blue and Wallowa mountains were heavily glaciated and display spectacular scenery.
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 Klamath Mountains
Another famous Cascade Mountain in Oregon is Mount Mazama, better known as Crater Lake. The State of Oregon is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is bordered by the state of Washington in the north; by Idaho in the east; by Nevada in the southeast; by California in the south; and by the Pacific Ocean in the west. The Cascade Mountains, in northern Oregon, consist of varying high and low points.
Oregon, also nicknamed, “The Beaver State”, is located in the Pacific Northwest United States. It shares its northern border with oregon tax rate Washington, its eastern border with Idaho, its southern border with Nevada and California, and its western coastline with the Pacific Ocean. 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.
