Oregon

Oregon is located in the Northwest region of the United States of America, between Washington and Northern California on the Pacific Ocean Coast. Oregon also shares an eastern border with Nevada and Idaho.

Oregon is known for it diverse landscape with its scenic coastal areas to its dense forests that boast some of the tallest redwood trees in the world. Oregon is also home to Mount Hood, with a peak reaching 11,239 feet. Oregon is dotted with ancient Volcanoes with some still active today. Other areas of Oregon are arid and desert like, which cover nearly half of the state. Oregon's nickname is the Beaver State.

The first people in the Oregon area were the Native Americans. The tribes that lived in this area included the Quinault, Quileute, Chinook and Tillamooks. There was some limited exploration of the Pacific Northwest by Europeans up until the early 1800s. At that time, explorers started looking for the Northwest Passage.

A vote in 1843 held in Oregon gave the United States full administration rights. Although there were only about 700 residents of the territory at that time, the Oregon Trail had begun to bring more settlers from the East. By the 1860s, much of the Pacific Northwest territory was populated.http://www.oregoncitylink.com/history.htm

The western mountain regions of Oregon were formed by the volcanic activity from the Juan de Fuca Plate, which still poses a threat for earthquakes and volcanic activity in Oregon today. Some recent activity was the 1700 Cascadia earthquake with a magnitude 8.7 and was seen from Portland. Washington's Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980.http://www.oregongeology.org/sub/earthquakes/volcanoeshist.htm

1. Oregon Coast—west of the Coast Range
2. Willamette Valley
3. Rogue Valley
4. Cascade Mountains
5. Klamath Mountains
6. Columbia River Plateau
7. Basin and Rangehttp://geography.howstuffworks.com/united-states/geography-of-oregon.htm/printable

• Portland: 566,141
• Eugene: 153,231
• Salem: 155,719
• Gresham: 102,295
• Hillsboro: 95,316
• Beaverton: 93,219
• Bend: 76,621
• Medford: 73,486
• Springfield: 57,336http://www.citypopulation.de/USA-Oregon.html

• State Flower: Oregon-grape
• State Song: "Oregon, My Oregon"
• State Bird: Western Meadowlark
• State Tree: Douglas-fir
• State Fish: Chinook salmon
• State Animal: American Beaver
• State Dance: Square dance
• State Insect: Oregon Swallowtailhttp://www.netstate.com/states/symb/or_symb.htm

• Oregon.com: Team Listing