About Oregon

Oregon-English.ogg|Oregon (ˈɔɹəgən) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It joined the Union on February 14 1859 as the 33rd state. Previously, the region was part of the Oregon Territory that was created in 1848 after Euro-American settlement began in earnest in the 1840s. The state lies on the Pacific coast between Washington on the north and California and Nevada on the south; Idaho lies to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers form much of its northern and eastern boundaries, respectively. Salem, the state's third most populous city, is the state capital, while the most populous city is Portland.

The valley of the Willamette River in western Oregon is the most densely populated and agriculturally productive region of the state and is home to 8 of the 10 most populous cities. 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 largest private employer is Intel, located in the Silicon Forest area in Portland's western suburbs. Nike is the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in the state. The state has 197 public school districts, with Portland Public Schools as the largest. There are 17 community colleges, and seven publicly financed colleges in the Oregon University System. Oregon Health & Science University, the state's only medical school, is affiliated with the system. Oregon State University in Corvallis and the University of Oregon in Eugene are the two flagship universities of the state, while Portland State University has the largest enrollment. Willamette University in Salem is the oldest college in Oregon.

Major highways include Interstate 5 which runs the entire north-south length of the state, Interstate 84 that runs east-west, U.S. Route 97 that crosses the middle of the state, U.S. Route 101 that travels the entire coastline, and U.S. Route 26 that runs east-west, among many other highways. Portland International Airport is the busiest commercial airport in the state, run by the Port of Portland, the busiest port in Oregon. Rail service includes Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway freight service, Amtrak passenger service, as well as light rail and street car routes in the Portland metro area.

Oregon has a diverse landscape with tall, dense forests that stretch a third of the way across the state in the north and halfway across the state in the south; and its accessible and scenic Pacific coastline and its rugged, glaciated Cascade volcanoes. Other areas include semi-arid scrublands, prairies, and deserts that cover approximately half the state in eastern and north-central Oregon, and sparser pine forests in the northeast. Mount Hood is the highest point in the state at 11,239 feet (3,425 m) above sea-level. Crater Lake National Park is the only National Park in Oregon.