Oregon

In the western part of the United States, the state of Oregon found in the Pacific Northwest. The majority of the northern border between Oregon and Washington is formed by the Columbia River, while the majority of the eastern boundary between Oregon and Idaho is formed by the Snake River. The southern border with California and Nevada is denoted by the 42nd degree of the northern parallel.

For thousands of years, Oregon has been the home of a number of different indigenous tribes. Exploration of the area that is now the Pacific coast of Oregon was initially undertaken by European merchants, explorers, and settlers about the middle of the 16th century. The Spanish started sending ships to the northeast from the Philippines as early as 1564. These ships rode the Kuroshio Current in a large round path over the northern section of the Pacific Ocean. Juan de Fuca conducted extensive mapping and investigations of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest in the year 1592. These studies included the Oregon coast as well as the strait that is now called the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Spanish ships, numbering 250 in as many years, would often not land before reaching Cape Mendocino in California; nonetheless, several Spanish ships landed or crashed in what is now Oregon. There is a strong possibility that the crash of the San Francisco Xavier in 1707 is related to the stories told by the Nehalem people about foreigners and the finding of goods such as bits of beeswax and a silver vase with a lid.

In the year 1843, an independent government was established in what is now known as the Oregon Country, and in the year 1848, the Oregon Territory was established. On February 14, 1859, Oregon attained its status as the 33rd state of the United States. Oregon is now the ninth biggest and 27th most populated state in the United States, with a population of 4 million people spread out across a land area of 98,000 square miles (250,000 km2). Salem, the state's capital, has a total population of 169,798 people, making it the state's second-most populated city. With a population of 647,805, Portland comes in at number 26 on the list of cities in the United States. With a total population of 2,453,168 people, the metropolitan region that encompasses Portland, Oregon, and the city of Vancouver, Washington, which is located to the north, is ranked as the 25th biggest metropolitan area in the United States.

Volcanoes, many bodies of water, lush evergreen and mixed forests, high deserts, and semi-arid shrublands make Oregon one of the most geographically varied states in the United States. Oregon is also one of the states with the highest percentage of area that is semi-arid. Mount Hood, a stratovolcano, stands at an elevation of 11,249 feet (3,429 metres) and is the highest peak in the state. It is located in the caldera that surrounds Crater Lake, which is the deepest lake in the United States. Armillaria ostoyae is a fungus that runs under 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of the Malheur National Forest and holds the record for being the single biggest organism in the world. It may be found in the state of Oregon.

Agriculture in its many forms, fishing, and the generation of hydroelectric power are the primary drivers of Oregon's economy, which benefits greatly from the state's varied topography and network of waterways. In addition, Oregon is the leading producer of timber in the contiguous United States. In fact, the lumber sector was the primary contributor to Oregon's economy during the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970s with the formation of the Silicon Forest and the rise of Tektronix and Intel, technology has become another one of Oregon's key economic engines. This trend began in the state. Nike, Inc., which manufactures athletic apparel and has its headquarters in Beaverton, is the biggest publicly traded business in the state and has annual sales of $30.6 billion.