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ABOUT - Oregon, Salem  Climate | Destinations | Events | Food | Foreign Visitors | History | Language| Lodging | Maps | Money | Parks | Recreation | Resorts | Road Conditions | Seasons | Tours | Contact Us |Travel | Load Thumbnails | Tips | Warnings! ||--Your "State Tourism Ad" Here!

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State Data:  Nicknames: Beaver State, Webfoot.  Motto: "The Union."  (The territorial motto was "Alis Volat Propriis (She Flies With Her Own Wings.")  State Flower: Oregon Grape.  The name "Oregon" has several possible origins, French, Spanish, Indian, among a few.  The name was used in 1767 for this region and first appeared in print in 1778. Area: 96,700 sq. miles.  Main Rivers:  Columbia, Snake, Deschutes, Willamette, McKenzie, Umpqua, Rogue, John Day, Nehalem, Coquille, Malheur, Burnt, Powder, Grande Ronde, Klamath, Sprague, Williamson.  Mountain Ranges: Paralleling the Oregon coast are the  coast range with elevations up to 4,000 feet; the Cascade Mountains are about 90 miles further inland, they also parallel the coast, with Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, 3 Fingered Jack,  Bachelor, and Diamond Peak reaching up to 10,000 ft.; Blue Mts. are in the northeast corner of the state; Steen's Mts. in the southeast section; the high desert east of the Cascades includes many rugged and mountainous tablelands.  

Topography:  Oregon has about 400 miles of coastline, with many sandy beaches and small bays.  Large natural lakes include:  Klamath, Malheur, Summer, Warner, and Harney.  National forest land includes about 15 million acres of mountainous Pine and desert Juniper.  The lumber industry processes Douglas Fir, Ponderosa pine, hemlock, Sitka spruce, red cedar, and  Port Orford cedar.  There are some miscellaneous softwoods and hardwoods.  Agriculture:  Wheat, oats, barley, hay, flax, potatoes, hops, apples, pears, prunes, strawberries, apricots, and nuts.  Livestock includes cattle and sheep, poultry, and dairy.  Corvallis has the U.S. Agricultural College and Experiment Station.  Oregon State University is located in Corvallis and the University of Oregon in the city of Eugene.  Several other colleges make Oregon their home including: Reed College, and Willamette Law School.    Manufacturing includes:  Electronics, Wood products including furniture, paper, grain, dairy, meats, canned fruits and vegetables, foundry and machine shop products, printing and publishing, railroad, canned fish (salmon), and clothing.  Geology:  Oregon's northwest and southwest sections are highly mineralized with: Gold, silver, copper, lead, building stone, sand, gravel, cement, iron, mercury, and platinum.  Leading Cities:  Portland, Salem (capital), Albany, Corvallis, Eugene, Astoria, Newport, Bend, Klamath Falls, Medford, Oregon City, Pendleton, LaGrande, and Baker City. 

Climate-  Humid, mild, and uniform along the coast: dry and variable eastward.  Oregon has large variations in climate.  On the coast temperatures are cooler but more stable.  As you move into the coast mountains you will see more rainfall and clouds.  The Willamette (will-am-ette) Valley between the coast range and the Cascades it is generally wet in the winter and dry in the summer.  Summer showers are more frequent in the Willamette Valley than on the East side of the Cascades.  The Eastern half of Oregon is covered with pine forests and desert.     

Destinations-  Contact us to add your destination link here!Salmon & Steel-head Fishing at its' best. See the Umpqua River in Oregon for the ultimate vacation! Click Here!  Crater Lake Natl. Park, Oregon Coast, Cascade Mountains, Columbia River, Oregon Desert, The Oregon Trail.   

Events- / BOOKINGS /   Search the State Website (Click Here!) The holidays in the U.S. include Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Memorial day is  (May 30th) but usually is celebrated on the first Monday of that week.  Independence day is the 4th of July, Labor Day is on the first Monday in September.  Thanksgiving is traditionally on the 22nd of November, and Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December.  Oregon specific holidays are determined by the area.  In Albany, Oregon they have the Oregon timber festival on the 4th of July.  Lebanon has the Strawberry Celebration about the same time.  Most county seats in Oregon have a County Fair, some with rodeos and entertainment.  Most states have a state fair many showing entries from winners at county fairs.  

Food- The larger metro areas have a wide selection of cultural cuisine. On the east side of the Cascades you will find traditional American food.  Chinese food also seems to be popular in rural Oregon.  

Foreign Visitors-  Foreigners entering the United States must carry two documents: A valid Passport, expiring not less than 6 months prior to the scheduled end of their visit to the U.S.; and a tourist visa obtainable at any American consulate at no charge. Anyone applying for an immigrant's visa must obtain a screening test for the AIDS-HIV virus.  This test does not apply to tourists.  Any visitor with a medical condition that requires treatment with narcotics or with paraphernalia must carry a valid, signed prescription from their doctor.  Travel insurance is optional in the US but required by most car rental companies.  See our link on money conversion for foreign guests.

History-  The Oregon trail opened up much of Oregon in the 1850's.  Also about that time gold miners from California, looking for new Bonanzas,  were discovering the riches of the Illinois and Rogue river area.  Much of the gold credited with being found in California was actually coming from Southwestern Oregon.  One nugget from the Illinois river was weighed at 840 oz..  Gold at that time was about  $12.-$15. an ounce.  The band of gold from California was covered with cinder and pumice from the explosion of Crater Lake.  From Crater Lake to Bend, cinder and pumice, abound and gold is hard to locate but it reappears in the Prineville area and continues into Idaho.  In northeastern Oregon, the Burnt River and the Sumpter Valley, are filled with large dredge piles from mining operations in the last part of the 1800' and early 1900'. Sumpter got its' name from Ft. Sumter but the post office added the "p" to prevent addressing problems.   Three floating dredges were used in the valley digging to a depth of 16 feet.  Dredging and hydraulic mining (washing hillsides down with giant water cannons) was common destroying many natural areas. In southwestern Oregon- Jacksonville was a famous mining town with very rich pocket gold right in the town sight.  Most of the buildings in Jacksonville are undermined.   History of the Eastern desert area is fragmented but some records do exist.  In 1843 wagon trains were common at Ft. Boise. The outpost, at that time, was located on the confluence of the Boise and Snake river near the current town of Parma, Idaho.  One wagon train met a trapper, "Joe Meeks",  who convinced them that a better trail to the Willamette Valley would be through the Central Oregon Desert, instead of the rut worn Oregon trail to The Dalles and down the Columbia River on rafts.  The "Harron" train led by Meeks went up the Malheur River toward Castle Rock.  (Sarah Chambers) death was documented by Harron and her marker was found at Castle Rock in the 1900's.  Near Malheur Lake the train became divided and split to look for water.  One of the splits found golden rocks that were placed in a blue bucket.  When this train learned of the Crooked River George in their path "Joe Meeks" fled for his life!  Upon reaching The Dalles the gold rocks were found to be malleable, (the metal was bendable, without rupturing,  when pounded with a hammer).  This was an early test for real gold!  Oregon tales of gold usually include the "Blue Bucket Mine" story. (Other books:  "Terrible trail- Meeks' cutoff 1843 & The Oregon Desert by Rube Long.)   One of the earliest Hudson Bay Outposts in Oregon is on the Bank of the Umpqua River near the Southern Oregon Coast in the small community of Elkton. "Fort Umpqua"  was established because of the rich trapping, and hunting and fishing in the area.  The legacy continues today as the Umpqua rivers is one of the last little known high producing coast rivers of Oregon.  Salmon & Steel-head Fishing at its' best. See the Umpqua River in Oregon for the ultimate vacation! Click Here!

Language-  Most people speak English!  In some farm communities there are some people that speak Spanish!

Lodging & Links-  Contact us to add your lodging link here!

Money-  US Currency - Currency conversion from: www.oanda.com/convert/cheatsheet

Parks- Search State Parks,  Crater Lake National Park, Oregon Dunes, (WorldTourist Search Page-Nat. Parks)   

Recreation- Summer:  Hiking, boating, swimming, prospecting, hunting, fishing, float trips, motorcycling, and hang-gliding are but a few of the activities.  Winter:  Skiing, snowmobile, and ice skating are the main actives. 

Resorts-  Contact us to add your Resort link here!

Seasons- There are four distinct seasons in Oregon.  Summer, fall, winter, and spring!  Central Oregon has about 2 months (July and August) of 80 degree temperatures.  I have seen the hottest day in the year also be the coldest night.  When the sun goes down cool mountain air drops the temperature quickly.  Some areas, further east, into Idaho,  remain hot throughout the night.    

Tours-  Contact us to add your tour company here!

Travel-  Automobile is the main mode of transportation.  Larger metro areas have public transportation. Rural service is getting harder to find!  Most larger communities have an airport.  Because of the distances involved the bicycle has not taken off in the United States like most European communities.  The size of a state is often the size of a country in Europe.    

Tips-  A warm jacket is often necessary in Oregon.  Except for the very hottest part of summer a blizzard can hit most mountain areas anytime, so be prepared!  Breakfast and Lunch are reasonable ($3.-$7) Dinner can be if you shop around!  Lodging prices vary too, most are $30-$70. a day!  The general food service tip is from 10 - 20% depending on the quality of service! 

Warnings-  Blizzard conditions in the mountains into late spring and early fall.  On the coast rip tides will pull you out into deep water quickly!  Sneaker waves are always possible.  Rolling surf logs are very dangerous.  Keep a close eye on what is going on around you is the best advise! 

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