Oregon

This article is about the U.S. State. For other uses of the term, see Oregon (disambiguation).

State of Oregon

Flag of Oregon (front) Seal of Oregon Nickname(s): Beaver State
Official language(s)	None
Capital	Salem
Largest city	Portland
Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude	Ranked 9th 255,026 km² 420 km 580 km 2.4 42°N to 46°15'N 116°45'W to 124°30'W
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 28th 3,421,399 13.76/km² (39th)
Elevation  - Highest point  - Mean  - Lowest point	3,259 m 1,005 m 0 m
Admission to Union	February 14, 1859 (33rd)
Governor	Ted Kulongoski (D)
U.S. Senators	Ron Wyden (D) Gordon Smith (R)
Time zone(s)	Pacific: UTC-8/-7 Mountain: UTC-7/-6 (all but majority of Malheur County is in Pacific)
Abbreviations	OR Ore. US-OR
Web site	www.oregon.gov

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States bordering the Pacific Ocean, California, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Its northern border lies along the Columbia River and the east along the Snake River. Two north-south mountain ranges - the Coastal Range and the Cascade Mountain Range - form the two boundaries of the Willamette Valley, one of the most fertile and agriculturally productive regions in the world.

Oregon has some of the most diverse landscapes of the fifty states. It is well known for its forests and its Pacific coastline. Less well known are the semiarid scrublands, prairies, and deserts that cover approximately half the state in eastern and north-central Oregon.

The state's name is properly pronounced /ˈɔr.ə.g(ə)n/. The pronunciation /ˈɔr.ə.ˌgɑn/ is also common, but considered incorrect by residents, who have been known to sport T-shirts and bumper stickers spelling the name "Orygun" in order to educate visitors.

Its population in 2000 was 3,421,399, a 20.4% increase over 1990. The Census Bureau estimated Oregon's population to have reached 3,594,586 by 2004.

History

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

By the 1820s and 1830s, the British Hudson's Bay Company dominated the Pacific Northwest. John McLoughlin, who was appointed the Company's Chief Factor of the Columbia District, built Fort Vancouver in 1825.

In 1841 the master trapper and entrepreneur Ewing Young died with considerable wealth, with 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 - half way between Lees Mission and Oregon City, to discuss wolves and other vermin. These meetings were precursors to an all citizen meeting in 1843, which instituted a provisional government headed by an executive council - made up of David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Joseph Gale.

The Oregon Trail infused the region with new settlers, starting in 1842–43, after the U.S. agreed to jointly settle the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom. The border was resolved in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty after a period where it seemed that the United States and the United Kingdom would go to war for a third time in 75 years. Cooler heads prevailed, and the Oregon boundary dispute between the United States and British North America was set at the 49th parallel. The Oregon Territory was officially organized in 1848.

Settlement increased due to the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, in conjunction with the forced relocation of the native population to Indian Reservations in Oregon. The state was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, regular troops were withdrawn and sent east. Volunteer cavalry were recruited in California and were sent north to Oregon to keep peace and protect the populace. The First Oregon Cavalry served until June 1865.

In the 1880s, railroads enabled marketing of the state's lumber and wheat as well as the more rapid growth of its cities.

Industrial expansion began in earnest following the construction of the Bonneville Dam in 1943 on the Columbia River. The power, food, and lumber provided by Oregon have helped fuel the development of the west, and the periodic fluctuations in the nation's building industry have hurt the state's economy on multiple occasions.

The state has a long history of polarizing conflicts: Native Americans vs. British fur trappers, British vs. settlers from the U.S., ranchers vs. farmers, wealthy growing cities vs. established but poor rural areas, loggers vs. environmentalists, white supremacists vs. anti-racists, supporters of social spending vs. anti-tax activists, and native Oregonians vs. Californians (or outsiders in general). Oregonians also have a long history of secessionist ideas, ranging from varying parts of the population on all sides of the political spectrum attempting to form other states and even other countries. (See: State of Jefferson, State of Klamath, State of Shasta and Cascadia.) Oregon state ballots often include politically conservative proposals (e.g. anti-gay, pro-religious measures) side-by-side with politically liberal ones (e.g. drug decriminalization), illustrating the wide spectrum of political thought in the state.

Naming

The origin of the state's name is something of a mystery. The earliest known use of this proper noun was in a 1765 petition by Major Robert Rogers to the Kingdom of Great Britain. The petition referred to Ouragon and asked for money to finance an expedition in search of the Northwest Passage.

Why Rogers used the name has led to many theories, which include:

• During the time of the Hudsons Bay Company and the voyages of Robert Gray, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest referred to the Columbia River as the great "Ouragon" Since the Columbia River is perhaps the most significant geographic feature of the region, it is plausible that the name was anglicized to Oregon and thence became known as such.
• George R. Stewart argued in a 1944 article in American Speech that the name came from an engraver's error in a French map published in the early 1700s, naming the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin River). This theory was endorsed in Oregon Geographic Names as "the most plausible explanation."
• Other sources cite the use & prevalence of the term, not as an indigenous word, but to the French Canadian word "ouragan" meaning "storm" or "hurricane." Referring to the tumultuous & torrential Columbia river; among the most dangerous river inlets in the world.
• The term *Ouragon" *In 2001, Scott Byram, (currently the archaeologist for the Coquille Indian Tribe), and David G. Lewis published an article in the Oregon Historical Quarterly argued that the name Oregon came from the word oolighan, referring to grease made from fish, which the Native Americans of the region traded in. Those trade routes brought the term eastward. [1]
• In a 2004 article for the Oregon Historical Quarterly, Professor Thomas Love and Smithsonian linguist Ives Goddard argue that Rogers chose the word based on exposure to either of the Algonquian words wauregan and olighin, both meaning "good and beautiful".

Less supported theories are based on it having a Spanish etymology. The theory that it comes from oregano, was dismissed years ago by Henry W. Scott, an early editor of Oregonian. He wrote that it was "a mere conjecture absolutely without support. More than this, it is completely disproved by all that is known of the name." Others have speculated that the name is related to the kingdom of Aragon: the major part of the Spanish soldiers that conquered the West Coast from California to Vancouver Island in the 18th century were, in fact, from Catalonia, an ancient kingdom of the Crown of Aragon.

In 1778, Jonathan Carver used Oregon to label the Great River of the West in his book Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America. The poet William Cullen Bryant took the name from Carver's book and used it in his poem Thanatopsis to refer to the recent discoveries of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; this use helped establish it in modern use.

Geography

Oregon's geography may be split roughly into six areas:

• the Coast Range,
• the Willamette Valley,
• the Cascade Mountains
• the Klamath Mountains,
• the Columbia Plateau, and
• the Basin and Range Region.

The state varies from rain forest in the Coast Range to barren desert in the southeast, which still meets the technical definition of a frontier.

Oregon is 295 miles (475 km) north to south at longest distance, and 395 miles (475 km) east to west at longest distance. In terms of land and water area, Oregon is the ninth largest state, covering 97,073 square miles (254,418 km²).

Its highest point is the summit of Mount Hood, at 11,239 ft (3,428 m). As a West Coast state, its lowest point is sea level. Its mean elevation is 3,300 ft (1 km).

Crater Lake National Park is Oregon's only national park, and home to Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,932 ft. Similar federally-owned, protected recreation areas that are entirely in Oregon include: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Newberry National Volcanic Monument, and Oregon Caves National Monument.

Areas that are partly in Oregon and partly in neighboring states include: California National Historic Trail, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, Lewis and Clark National Historical Parks, Nez Perce National Historical Park, Oregon National Historic Trail.

Law and government

State government

Oregon state government has a separation of powers similar to the federal government. It has three branches, called departments by the state's constitution:

• a legislative department (the Oregon Legislative Assembly),
• an executive department which includes an "administrative department" and has Oregon's governor serving as chief executive, and
• a judicial department, headed by the Oregon Supreme Court.

Governors in Oregon serve four-year terms and are term limited to two consecutive terms, but an unlimited number of total terms. The Secretary of State serves as Lieutenant Governor for statutory purposes. The other constitutional officers are Treasurer, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Labor Commissioner. The Legislative Assembly consists of a thirty-member Senate and sixty-member House. Senators serve four-year terms, and Representatives two. The state supreme court has seven elected justices, including the only openly gay state supreme court justice in the nation, Rives Kistler. They choose one of their own to serve a six-year term as Chief Justice. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the United States Supreme Court.

Oregon is one of the few states whose legislature is biennial. 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 its revenue is based largely on income taxes, it is often significantly over- or under-budget. Recent legislatures have had to be called into special session repeatedly to address revenue shortfalls resulting from economic downturns, bringing to a head the need for more frequent legislative sessions.

The state maintains formal relationships with the nine federally-recognized tribal governments in Oregon:

• Burns Paiute Tribe
• Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
• Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
• Confederated Tribes of Siletz
• Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
• Coquille Tribe
• Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians
• Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon

Oregon adopted many electoral reforms proposed during the Progressive Era, due to 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 processes for citizens to directly introduce or approve proposed laws or amendments to the state constitution. 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 progressive innovations include the nation's only doctor-assisted suicide law, called the Death with Dignity law (which was challenged in 2005 by the Bush administration in the U.S. Supreme Court, in contrast to the Republicans' traditional support of states' rights), legalization of medical marijuana, and among the nation's strongest anti-sprawl and pro-environment laws.

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

Oregon has been a pioneer in the use of vote-by-mail:

• 1981 The Oregon Legislature approves experimentation with vote-by-mail for local elections.
• 1987 Vote-by-mail becomes permanent, with the majority of Oregon's counties making use of it.
• 1995 Oregon becomes the first state to conduct a federal primary election totally by mail.
• 1996 Ron Wyden, Bob Packwood's replacement, is elected by mail with a 66% turnout.
• 1998 Through a voter initiative, Oregonians confirm their overwhelming support for vote-by-mail.
• 2000 Oregon becomes the first state in the nation to conduct a presidential election entirely by mail. About 80% of registered voters participated.

Oregon is currently seen as a moderate Democratic-leaning Blue State which has voted for the party in every election since 1988. The politics of the state are largely similar to those of neighboring Washington.

The distribution, sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages are regulated in the state by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. Thus, Oregon is an Alcoholic beverage control state.

Entering the Union at a time when the status of "Negroes" was very much in question, and wishing to stay out of the looming conflict between the Union and Confederate States, Oregon banned Negroes from moving into the State in the vote to adopt its Constitution (1858). This ban was not officially lifted until 1925; in 2002, additional language now considered racist was struck from the Oregon Constitution by the voters of Oregon.

Federal government

Oregon is represented at the federal level by two senators and five representatives, which translates into seven electoral votes.

Overall, Oregon leans toward the Democratic Party. It has supported Democratic candidates in the last five elections. John Kerry narrowly won the state in 2004 by a margin of 4 percentage points with 51.4% of the vote. Republicans dominate the eastern, central, and southern regions of the state, as well as the southwest and the southern outer suburbs of Portland. Essentially the Willamette Valley is dominated by Democrats while the rest of Oregon is dominated by Republicans. This divide is due to very real cultural and economic differences often with ties to land use issues. The Democratic Party of Oregon is pro-environmental and seen as supportive of urban opinions, while the Republican Party of Oregon is seen as pro-rancher and pro-logger and supportive of rural opinions.

Economy

The Willamette Valley is very fertile and, coupled with Oregon's famous rain, gives the state a wealth of agricultural products. Apples and other fruits, cattle, dairy products, potatoes, and peppermint are all valuable products. Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut growing regions, 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 and Oregon is home to at least four wine appellations. Due to regional similarities of climate and soil, the grapes planted in Oregon are often the same varieties found in the French region of Alsace.

Vast forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major timber production 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 amount of timber produced. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, timber harvested from federal lands dropped some 96% from 1989 from 4,333 million to 173 million board feet (10,000,000 to 408,000 m³) in 2001. While the 1980s saw an unsustainable amount of timber harvested, the drop in timber harvested is still significant, as the total amount of timber harvested in 2001 is less than half of that in the late 1970s. Even the shift in recent years towards finished goods such as paper and building materials has not slowed the decline of the timber industry. Examples include Weyerhaeuser's acquisition of Willamette Industries in January, 2002, the announcement by Louisiana Pacific in September, 2003 that they will relocate their corporate headquarters from Portland to Nashville, and the experiences of small lumber towns like Gilchrist. Despite these changes, Oregon still leads the United States in softwood lumber production; in 2001, according to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, 6,056 million board feet (14,000,000 m³) was produced in Oregon, against 4,5257 mbf. in Washington, 2,731 in California, 2,413 in Georgia, and 2,327 in Mississippi. The effect of the forest industry crunch is still massive unemployment in rural Oregon and is a bone of contention between rural and urban Oregon.

High technology industries and services 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 plants in eastern Washington County continued the growth that Tektronix had started. The spinoffs and startups that were produced by these two companies led to the establishment of the Portland metropolitan area as the Silicon Forest. The recession and dot-com bust of 2001 in the Silicon Valley has led to similar results in the Silicon Forest; many high technology employers have either reduced the number of their employees or gone out of business. OSDL made news in 2004 when they hired Linus Torvalds, developer of the Linux kernel. Oregon also is the home of non-technology-based companies such as shoemaker Nike, whose world headquarters is located in Beaverton.

Oregon had one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years. Tourism is also strong in the state; Oregon's evergreen mountain forests, waterfalls, pristine lakes (including Crater Lake National Park), and scenic beaches draw visitors year round. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, held in Ashland, is a tourist draw near its Californian border which complements the area's scenic beauty and opportunity for outdoor activities.

Oregon is home to a number of smaller breweries.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census year	Population
1850	12,093
1860	52,465
1870	90,923
1880	174,768
1890	317,704
1900	413,536
1910	672,765
1920	783,389
1930	953,786
1940	1,089,684
1950	1,521,341
1960	1,768,687
1970	2,091,385
1980	2,633,105
1990	2,842,321
2000	3,421,399

As of 2005, Oregon has an estimated population of 3,641,056, which is an increase of 49,693, or 1.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 219,620, or 6.4%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 75,196 people (that is 236,557 births minus 161,361 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 150,084 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 72,263 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 77,821 people. As of 2004, Oregon's population included 309,700 foreign-born (accounting for 8.7% of the state population) and an estimated 90,000 illegal aliens (2.5% of the state population). [edit] Race and ancestry The racial makeup of the state: 83.5% White 8.0% Hispanic 1.6% Black 3.0% Asian 1.3% Native American (U.S. Census) 3.1% Mixed race

The largest reported ancestry groups in Oregon are: German (20.5%), English (13.2%), Irish (11.9%), American (6.2%), and Mexican (5.5%).

Most Oregon counties are inhabited principally by residents of British ancestry, with a high proportion of German-Americans in the northwest. There are large numbers of Mexicans in Malheur and Jefferson counties.

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

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Oregon are:

• Christian – 75%
  • Protestant – 55%
    • Baptist – 6%
    • Lutheran – 6%
    • Methodist – 4%
    • Presbyterian – 3%
    • Episcopal – 2%
    • Pentecostal – 2%
    • Church of Christ – 2%
    • Other Protestant or general Protestant – 30%
  • Roman Catholic – 15%
  • LDS – 4%
  • Other Christian – 1%
• Other Religions – 1%
• Non-Religious – 24%

Although most people from Oregon still identify themselves (at least nominally) as Christians, Oregon has the lowest church membership of all 50 states. While some parts of the USA have church membership rates as high as 80%, it runs only about 12% in Oregon. Nearly one in four Oregonians identify themselves as non-religious, giving Oregon one of the highest percentages of non-religious people in the nation. "Non-religious" is an umbrella term which is sometimes synonymous with or includes elements of atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, freethought, humanism, secular humanism, heresy, logical positivism, and even apathy.

2000-2003 population trends

Estimates released September 2004 show double-digit growth in Latino and Asian American populations since the 2000 Census. About 60% of the 138,197 new residents come from ethnic and racial minorities. Asian growth is located mostly in the metropolitan areas of Portland, Salem, and Eugene; Hispanic population growth is across the state.

Major cities and towns

Map of Oregon - PDF

Further information: List of cities in Oregon

The capital is Salem and the largest city is Portland. Eugene, home of the University of Oregon is the third largest city, having recently been surpassed by Salem.

Oregon City was the first incorporated city west of the Rockies and later, the first capital of the Oregon Territory, from 1848 to 1852, when the territory capital was moved to Salem, Oregon. It was also the end of the Oregon Trail and the site of the first public library established west of the Rocky Mountains, stocked with only 300 volumes.

Education

Colleges and universities

• Concordia University, Portland
• Corban College (formerly known as Western Baptist College)
• Eastern Oregon University
• Eugene Bible College
• George Fox University
• Gutenberg College
• Lewis & Clark College
• Linfield College
• Marylhurst University
• Mount Angel Seminary
• Multnomah Bible College and Seminary
• National College of Naturopathic Medicine
• Northwest Christian College
• Oregon Health and Science University
• Oregon Institute of Technology
• Oregon State University
• Pacific Northwest College of Art
• Pacific University
• Portland State University
• Reed College
• Southern Oregon University
• University of Oregon
• University of Portland
• Warner Pacific College
• Western Oregon University
• Western States Chiropractic College
• Willamette University

Community colleges

• Blue Mountain Community College
• Central Oregon Community College
• Clackamas Community College
• Chemeketa Community College
• Klamath Community College*
• Lane Community College
• Linn-Benton Community College
• Mount Hood Community College
• Portland Community College
• Rogue Community College
• Southwestern Oregon Community College
• Treasure Valley Community College
• Umpqua Community College
• Clatsop Community College

Professional sports teams

• Portland Trailblazers of the National Basketball Association
• Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League
• Portland Timbers of the USL First Division
• Portland Lumberjax of the National Lacrosse League
• Farm clubs of Major League Baseball:
  • Eugene Emeralds, a single-A club in the Northwest League
  • Portland Beavers, a triple-A club in the Pacific Coast League
  • Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, a single-A club in the Northwest League

Broadcasting

• List of television stations in Oregon
• List of radio stations in Oregon
• Oregon Public Broadcasting
• Jefferson Public Radio

State symbols

State flower: Oregon-grape (since 1899)

State song: Oregon, My Oregon (written in 1920 and adopted in 1927)

State bird: Western meadowlark (chosen by the state's children in 1927)

State tree: Douglas-fir (since 1939)

State fish: Chinook salmon (since 1961)

State rock: Thunderegg (like a geode but formed in a rhyolitic lava flow; since 1965)

State animal: Beaver (since 1969)

State dance: Square Dance (Adopted in 1977)

State insect: Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio oregonius; since 1979)

State gemstone: Oregon sunstone, a type of feldspar (since 1987)

State nut: Hazelnut (since 1989)

State seashell: Oregon hairy triton (Fusitriton oregonensis, a gastropod in the cymatiidae family; since 1991)

State mushroom: Pacific Golden Chanterelle (since 1999)

State beverage: Milk (since 1997)

State fruit: Oregon Pear (since 2005)

State motto: Alis Volat Propriis, Latin for “She Flies With Her Own Wings” (since 1987; This was the original motto of Oregon, but had been changed to “The Union” in 1957.[2])

State hostess: Miss Oregon (since 1969)

State team: Portland Trail Blazers of 1990–1991 (since 1991)

Trivia

• Before Oregon officially became a U.S. territory in 1848, the provisional government briefly encouraged the minting of $5 and $10 dollar "Beaver Coins" in order to make up for the lack of U.S. currency. Thus Oregon has the distinction of being one of the few U.S. areas to mint its own currency.
• Oregon is the only state in the United States with a flag that features a different obverse and reverse. It is one of the few official flags in the world that do so. The "front" of the flag shows the state seal, while the "back" features a small beaver, in honor of the official state animal.
• Oregon has the smallest park in the world: Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon.
• Oregon has no sales tax.
• Abbreviations for the state include OR (postal), Ore., and Oreg.
• Oregon is one of two states that prohibits self service at its gas stations. The other is New Jersey.
• Movies wholly or partially filmed in Oregon include National Lampoon's Animal House, Kindergarten Cop, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Paint Your Wagon, The Hunted, Sometimes a Great Notion, The Goonies, Elephant, Bandits, The Ring 2, Short Circuit, Come See The Paradise, The Shining, Drugstore Cowboy, and The Postman.
• Oregon claims the D River is the shortest river in the world, while the American state of Montana makes the same claim of the Roe River. The Guinness Book of Records officially declared that the two rivers are the same length and can both claim the honor.
• The Kingsmen, who made the song Louie, Louie famous, are from Portland. There was an unsuccessful effort to make Louie, Louie Oregon's official state song.[3]
• In 1970 the Oregon Highway Division (now Oregon Department of Transportation) exploded a dead beached whale on a beach just outside Lane County. The results were not as expected and KATU news reporter Paul Linnman captured the results on film of the exploding whale. The footage has since become an internet meme.
• Herbert Hoover lived with his uncle in Newberg, Oregon for six years after his parents died.
• Simpsons creator Matt Groening grew up in Portland's affluent Northwest district and attended Lincoln High School. Portland references from the show include character names Flanders, Lovejoy, Powell, Quimby, and Terwilliger (all streets in Portland), as well as the proximity of a scenic gorge (presumably the Columbia River Gorge) and nuclear power plant (Trojan Nuclear Power Plant).
• Napoleon Dynamite star Jon Heder grew up in Salem and attended South Salem High School and graduated in 1995.

See also

• Wikitravel Entry
• Music of Oregon
• List of bands from Oregon

References

• Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 186—includes a list of official state symbols

External links

• State of Oregon website
• Oregon Blue Book, the online version of the state's official directory and fact book
• Oregon Historical Society
• Oregon History Project
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Oregon Newspapers
• Oregon or the Grave
• Oregon Employment State and County Data
• Oregon Economic Community & Development Department
• www.yansa.net Pronunciation of Oregon places
• County Maps Oregon Full color county maps. List of cities, towns, county seats

Commercial websites

• http://www.oregonlive.com
• http://www.traveloregon.com/index.cfm
• http://www.oregoncitylink.com
• http://www.johann-sandra.com/oregondir.htm
• http://www.stateoforegon.com
• http://www.all-oregon.com
• Oregon News
• Welcome to Oregon, from Essentix, Inc. of Portland
• Oregon geography page, from NSTATE, LLC, a Wolfeboro, New Hampshire company
• Photos of Oregon - Terra Galleria
• Oregon Lighthouses, from David Goforth
• Oregon Wines, from Canvas Dreams of Beaverton, Oregon
• Oregon Trail

	State of Oregon Flag | Governors | Congress | Ballot measures | Parks | Fair | Flower | Trail | Music | Breweries | Rivers
Pacific NW regions:	Columbia River Gorge and Plateau | Treasure Valley | Inland Empire
Intrastate regions:	Eastern | Western | Mount Hood Corridor | Coast | Willamette Valley
Major metros:	Eugene | Medford | Portland | Salem (capital)
Smaller cities:	Albany | Ashland | Astoria | Beaverton | Bend | Brookings | City of The Dalles | Coos Bay | Corvallis | Dallas | Florence | Grants Pass | Gresham | Hermiston | Hood River | Klamath Falls | La Grande | Lebanon | McMinnville | Monmouth | Newberg | Newport | Ontario | Pendleton | Prineville | Redmond | Roseburg | Saint Helens | Silverton | Tigard | Tualatin | Woodburn
Counties:	Baker | Benton | Clackamas | Clatsop | Columbia | Coos | Crook | Curry | Deschutes | Douglas | Gilliam | Grant | Harney | Hood River | Jackson | Jefferson | Josephine | Klamath | Lake | Lane | Lincoln | Linn | Malheur | Marion | Morrow | Multnomah | Polk | Sherman | Tillamook | Umatilla | Union | Wallowa | Wasco | Washington | Wheeler | Yamhill

Political divisions of the United States
States	Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Federal district	District of Columbia
Insular areas	American Samoa | Guam | Northern Mariana Islands | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands
COFA	Republic of the Marshall Islands | Republic of Palau | Federated States of Micronesia
Minor outlying islands	Baker Island | Howland Island | Jarvis Island | Johnston Atoll | Kingman Reef | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Palmyra Atoll | Wake Island

ang:Oregon

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