Oregon
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Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest of the western United States. The Columbia River delimits much of Oregon's northern border with Washington, while the Snake River delimits much of the state's eastern border with Idaho. The 42 degree northern parallel path borders the southern border with California and Nevada. Oregon has been home to many indigenous peoples for thousands of years.

In the early to mid-16th century, the first European traders, explorers and settlers started exploring Oregon on the Pacific coast. In 1565, the Spaniards began sending ships from the Philippines to navigate the Kuroshio River, a vast circular route through the northern part of the Pacific. Juan de Fuca had done detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest by 1592, including the Oregon coast and the Oregon Strait which bears his name.

Nehalem Valley tells the story of the discovery of objects such as beeswax pieces and a silver vase with lid, which is connected to the wreck of the San Francisco Xavier of 1707. The Spanish ship 250, which had not landed for many years after reaching Cape Mendocino in California, landed in a wreck in Oregon.

In 1843, an autonomous government was formed in Oregon County, and in 1848 the Oregon Territory was founded. Oregon became the 33rd state in the USA on February 14, 1859.

Oregon is the ninth largest state and 27th most populous in the United States, with more than 4 million people on an area of 250,000 square kilometers today. The Portland metropolitan region, which includes the cities of Vancouver and Washington North, ranks 25th in the country with a population of 2453,168. The capital, Salem, is the state's most populous city with 169,798 inhabitants. Portland ranks 26th out of all U.S. cities with 647,805.

Oregon is one of the most biodiverse states in the USA, characterized by volcanoes, lush waters, dense evergreen mixed forests, high deserts and semi-arid bushland. At 3,429 m, Mount Hood, a stratovolcano, is Oregon's highest point. Crater Lake National Park in Oregon National Park features a caldera surrounded by craters and lakes, the deepest lakes in the United States, and the state contains the largest organism in the world, the Armillaria ostoyae fungus, which covers 8.9 km2 of the Malheur National Forest.

With its diverse landscape and waterways, Oregon is driven by various forms of agriculture, fishing and hydropower. Technology is one of its most important economic forces starting with the creation of Silicon Forest in the 1970s and the expansion of Tektronix and Intel. Sporting goods company Nike, Inc., based in Beaverton, Oregon, is the state's largest public company with annual revenue of $30.6 billion. Oregon is the leading timber producer in the contiguous United States, and the timber industry dominated Oregon's economy throughout the 20th century.

Oregon is the ninth largest state in the United States. With an area of 250,810 km2, it is the third largest in the country. Oregon is 475 km from north to south and has a long distance of 636 km from east to west.

The highest point in Oregon is Mount Hood's summit at 3,429 m, and its lowest point is the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon coast. Its mean height is 3,300 feet (1,006 m). Crater Lake National Park is the deepest lake in the United States, Oregon's only national park.

Oregon claims that D River is the shortest river in the world; the state of Montana claims the same for its River Roe. Oregon is home to Mill Ends Park near Portland, the smallest park in the United States with 0.29 m2.

Oregon is in two time zones. Most of Malheur County is in the mountain time zone while the rest of the state is in the Pacific time zone. Oregon is divided into eight geographical regions. Western Oregon or Oregon Coast is the West Coast Range, Willamette Valley, Rogue Valley, Cascade Range, Klamath Mountains, Central and Eastern Oregon, Columbia Plateau, High Desert and Blue Mountains.

Largest Public Corporations Headquartered in Oregon (December 2016)

No. Corporation Headquarters Market cap (billions US$)

1. Nike Beaverton 91.35
2. FLIR Systems Wilsonville 4.77
3. Portland General Electric Portland 4.05
4. Columbia Sportswear Beaverton 4.03
5. Umpqua Holdings Corporation Portland 3.68
6. Lithia Motors Medford 2.06
7. Northwest Natural Gas Portland 1.7
8. The Greenbrier Companies Lake Oswego 1.25

Largest cities or towns in Oregon

1 Portland Multnomah 647,805
2 Salem Marion 169,798
3 Eugene Lane 168,916
4 Gresham Multnomah 111,053
5 Hillsboro Washington 106,894
6 Beaverton Washington 97,514
7 Bend Deschutes 94,520
8 Medford Jackson 81,780
9 Springfield Lane 62,353
10 Corvallis Benton 57,961