Oregon: Basic Facts and State Overview

Oregon is a state of extraordinary geographic diversity — from rain-drenched temperate rainforest on the coast to high desert east of the Cascades. With 4.3 million residents and 98,379 square miles, it is the 27th most populous and ninth-largest state.

Capital and Major Cities
Salem is the capital (180,000). Portland is the largest city (650,000; metro 2.5 million), followed by Eugene (175,000), Salem, Gresham (115,000), Hillsboro (110,000), and Bend (115,000). The Portland-Vancouver metro spans the Oregon-Washington border.

Nickname and Motto
Oregon is "The Beaver State" — beavers were central to the fur trade that first brought Euro-American settlers in large numbers. The state motto is "She Flies with Her Own Wings." The state flower is the Oregon grape; the state tree is the Douglas fir.

Geography
Oregon has five major geographic regions: the Coast Range (short, forested mountains along the coast), the Willamette Valley (Oregon's agricultural heartland, home to 70% of its population), the Cascade Range (a chain of volcanoes running north-south, including Hood, Jefferson, and the South Sister), the Columbia Plateau (high desert basalt east of the Cascades), and the Basin and Range (southeast Oregon's high desert).

Economy
Oregon's economy is diverse — technology (Nike HQ, Intel's largest manufacturing site, Adidas North America, several major semiconductor facilities), agriculture (the Willamette Valley produces specialty crops: hazelnuts, wine grapes, grass seed, cherries), timber, and tourism. Oregon has no sales tax (one of five states with none), which drives cross-border shopping from Washington. Portland's Pearl District and Silicon Forest tech corridor make it a significant tech hub.

Notable Facts
Oregon's coastline is entirely public — the Oregon Beach Bill (1967) guarantees public access to all 363 miles of Pacific coast. Crater Lake (1,943 feet deep) is the deepest lake in the US. Oregon's forests cover 30 million acres — the Douglas fir forests of the western slope are among the most productive timber-growing ecosystems in the world.