Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, Washington on the north, Idaho on the east, and California and Nevada on the south. The Columbia and Snake Rivers form, respectively, much of its northern and eastern borders. Between two north-south mountain ranges in western Oregon—the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Mountain Range—lies the Willamette Valley, the most densely populated and agriculturally productive region of the state.
Oregon has one of the most diverse landscapes of any state in the U.S. It is well known for its tall, dense forests; its accessible and scenic Pacific coastline; and its rugged, glaciated Cascade volcanoes. Other areas include semiarid scrublands, prairies, and deserts that cover approximately half the state in eastern and north-central Oregon.
Oregon's population in 2000 was about 3.5 million, a 20.3% increase over 1990. It is estimated to have reached 3.7 million by 2006. Oregon's population is largely concentrated in the Willamette Valley, which stretches from Eugene through Salem and Corvallis to Portland, Oregon's largest city.
The origin of the name Oregon is unknown. One account, advanced by George R. Stewart in a 1944 article in American Speech, was endorsed as the "most plausible explanation" in the book Oregon Geographic Names. According to Stewart, the name came from an engraver's error in a French map published in the early 1700s, on which the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin) River was spelled "Ouaricon-sint", broken on two lines with the -sint below, so that there appeared to be a river flowing to the west named "Ouaricon".
Mount Hood, a dormant stratovolcano, reflected in the waters of Trillium Lake. At 11,249 feet (3,429 m), Mount Hood is the highest mountain in Oregon and the fourth-highest in the Cascade Range. It is considered an active volcano, but no major eruptive events have been catalogued since systematic record keeping began in the 1820s.
Steve "Pre" Prefontaine (1951–1975) was an American Olympic runner born in Coos Bay, Oregon. Prefontaine was primarily a long distance runner, and at one point held the American record in every running event from the 2000 meters to the 10,000 meters. Prefontaine had one leg longer than the other (a common condition that does not affect running speed), and due to this he was told to give up on his dream of being the fastest runner on earth. He is considered one of the greatest American runners of all time, having inspired a running boom during the 1970s. He is known for his extremely aggressive "front-running" racing style and always believing in giving a full effort. Prefontaine died at the age of 24 in a car accident. Prefontaine set 19 National High School track records. Following high school, Prefontaine enrolled at the University of Oregon in order to continue his running under coach Bill Bowerman, who would later co-found Blue Ribbon Sports, the precursor to the Nike shoe company. After his freshman year, in which he finished 3rd in the NCAA National Cross Country meet, he suffered only two more defeats in college (both in the mile), winning three Division I NCAA Cross Country championships and four straight three-mile titles in Track and Field.He set the American record in the 5000 meter race, the event that took him to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich where he finished fourth.
Willamette University is a private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the western United States. Willamette has approximately 2,500 students in four schools, the undergraduate College of Liberal Arts, the graduate level College of Law, Atkinson Graduate School of Management, and the School of Education. The campus is located on 69 acres (250,000 m²) directly south of the Oregon State Capitol. Buildings on campus include Eaton Hall, Smullin/Walton Hall, Collins Hall, Olin Hall, G. Herbert Smith Auditorium, the Fine Arts building, the Hatfield Library, the Mary Stuart Rogers auditorium, Putnam University Center, Gatke Hall, Lausanne Hall, Goudy Commons, Kaneko Commons and Willamette's oldest building, Waller Hall. The university is a NCAA Division III school with the Bearcat as mascot. The university was founded as the Oregon Institute in the days of the Oregon Country by the missionary Jason Lee, who had arrived in the territory in 1834. On February 1, 1842, by-laws were adopted, a board of trustees was elected and thus the school was officially established. The original building of the institute was a three-story frame structure first occupied in 1844. At the time, it was one of the largest structures in the Pacific Northwest. It housed the first session of the state legislature to meet in Salem after the capital was moved there in 1851. The name of institution was changed to "Wallamet University" in 1852.
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Only when I began studying chemical engineering at Oregon Agricultural College did I realize that I myself might discover something new about the nature of the world.
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- See also: Good articles relating to Oregon
- Featured articles
- 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, a Washington volcano not far from the Oregon border
- 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack, occurred in The Dalles, Oregon
- Frank Black, front man for the rock band The Pixies
- D. B. Cooper, missing air hijacker of plane bound from Portland
- Exploding whale, a beached whale in Florence that was blown up with unexpected results in 1970
- Hanford Site, a nuclear production complex in neighboring Washington that has impacted Oregon's economy and environment
- Johnson Creek, a tributary of the Willamette River in Portland.
- New Carissa, an ocean freighter that wrecked near Coos Bay in 1999
- Oregon State Capitol, the principal building of Oregon's government
- Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter based in Portland in the late 1990s
- Featured lists
- Featured pictures
Oregon-related lists
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Culture
Education
Economy
Geography
Government
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History
Law
Media
Natural history
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People
Protected areas
Transportation
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- Current Featured Article candidates:
- To Improve to Featured standard: Oregon, Portland, Oregon State University, List of Oregon State University alumni, List of Oregon State University faculty and staff, Governor of Oregon, Columbia River
- Current Good Article nominees: Sho Dozono, Mark Hatfield, Thomas H. Tongue, Celilo Falls, Fern Hobbs, Hatfield Government Center (MAX station), Portland City Hall
- To Improve and nominate at WP:GOOD: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel), Reed College, Mount Mazama, Mount Hood
- To Expand: History of Oregon, Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, Celilo Falls, Samuel Hill, Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Victor G. Atiyeh, Oregon Ballot Measure 37 (2004) (add info about Measure 49 of 2007), A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Oregon State Fair, History of Portland, Government of Oregon,
- To Clean up: List of Portlanders, Eugene, University of Oregon, List of counties in Oregon, Oregon Health & Science University, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Oregon Bottle Bill, Hells Canyon, Transportation in Portland, Oregon, Oregon State Hospital, Oregon term limits legislation, Maywood Park, Oregon – interesting article, needs sources, Gary Snyder (needs inline sources), Tom Potter
- Review recent changes:
- To Merge: See: Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Oregon#Merge proposals
- To Split: Oregon Health & Science University (split off hospital from school)
- To Destub: Oregon Republican Party, KFXX (AM), Oregon Centennial, Ash Island, Scotts Mills earthquake, Politics of Oregon, Mount Hood Jazz Festival, Oregon Health Plan, Siuslaw National Forest, Woodburn Dragstrip, OGA Golf Course, Hatfield Marine Science Center
- To Deorphan:
- To Create: Land use planning in Oregon (draft), Geography of Oregon, Economy of Oregon, Climate of Oregon, Oregon land use regulation, Loren Parks, Dan Gardner, Wascopam Mission, Cascades Massacre, Ross Island (Oregon), Delta Park, High priority list, Oregon Sesquicentennial
- To De-redlink: Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
- Lists to de-redlink: List of Registered Historic Places in Oregon, List of high schools in Oregon, List of Oregon State Parks, List of highway route numbers in Oregon, List of named state highways in Oregon
- Lists to complete: List of cities and unincorporated communities in Oregon
- Wanted Pics/Graphics: Mount Hood Meadows, Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum (exterior and interior), Fort Rock Cave (the Fort Rock sandals)
- Wanted New Pics: Mt. Tabor (statue, view from top), Siskiyou Mountains, Pilot Butte, Oregon hairy triton, Gill Coliseum, Portland Rose Festival (Grand Floral Parade, CHAMP car race), Portland Saturday Market, Portland International Raceway
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Associated Wikimedia
Coordinates: 44° N 120.5° W
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