How well do you know Oregon?
Oregon stretches from a rugged coast to volcanic peaks and high desert. Six questions, from easy to hard, with explanations.
Did you know?
- A mountain hemlock log, nicknamed the Old Man of the Lake, has floated upright in Crater Lake since at least 1896. Wind moves it around the lake, and it can travel several miles in a single day.
- Portland is one of the few US cities with an extinct volcano inside its city limits. Mount Tabor, a volcanic cinder cone, is now a popular park with reservoirs, trails and views of downtown.
- Sandals woven from sagebrush bark found in Fort Rock Cave in central Oregon are about 9,000 to 10,000 years old. They are among the oldest known shoes in the world.
From the coast to the high desert
Oregon is a state of dramatic contrasts. Its Pacific coast is lined with sea cliffs, sand dunes and small fishing towns, while the Cascade Range divides the green, farm-rich west from the dry high desert of the east. Most Oregonians live in the Willamette Valley, home to Portland, Salem and Eugene, where fertile soil and a mild climate support a wide range of crops.
The Oregon Trail
In the mid-1800s, hundreds of thousands of people traveled the western trails, many heading for Oregon's fertile valleys. The journey was long and difficult, with river crossings, mountain passes and disease. Wagon ruts from the trail can still be seen in places today.
A coast for everyone
Oregon's 1967 Beach Bill confirmed public access to the state's ocean beaches, so nearly all of the coastline is open to visitors. The coast features tide pools, lighthouses and the Oregon Dunes, some of the largest coastal sand dunes in North America.
Volcanic peaks
The Cascades in Oregon include Mount Hood, the state's highest peak, as well as the Three Sisters and many smaller cones. Mount Hood has snow year-round, and skiers can find open runs on its glacier even in summer.
The high desert
East of the Cascades, rainfall drops sharply. Here are sagebrush plains, canyons and the colorful Painted Hills, part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, where scientists have found fossils of plants and animals spanning millions of years.
Farming the valley
Besides hazelnuts, the Willamette Valley produces berries, Christmas trees, grass seed and grapes. Oregon is one of the country's leading producers of Christmas trees, shipping them across the United States and abroad.
The City of Roses
Portland's nickname comes from its love of roses. The International Rose Test Garden, founded in 1917, grows thousands of rose bushes and tests new varieties, and the city holds a Rose Festival every year.