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This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see Oregon (disambiguation).
Oregon (IPA: /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.U.S. Census Bureau - State & County QuickFacts - Oregon. Retrieved on 2007-05-11. 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.
Contents |
Map of Oregon Country
Although there is considerable evidence that humans lived in the Pacific Northwest 15,000 years ago, the first record of human activity in the Oregon area came from archaeologist Luther Cressman\'s 1938 discovery of sage bark sandals near Fort Rock Cave that places human habitation in Oregon as early as 13,200 years ago.Robbins, William G. (2005). Oregon: This Storied Land. Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0987595-286-0. By 8000 B.C. there were settlements across the state, with the majority concentrated along the lower Columbia River, in the western valleys, and around coastal estuaries.
By the 16th century Oregon was home to many Native American groups, including the Bannock, Chasta, Chinook, Kalapuya, Klamath, Molalla, Nez Perce, Takelma, and Umpqua.Oregon History: Great Basin. Oregon Blue Book. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.Oregon History: Northwest Coast. Oregon Blue Book. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde: Culture. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.Oregon History: Columbia Plateau. Oregon Blue Book. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
James Cook explored the coast in 1778 in search of the Northwest Passage. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled through the region during their expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase. They built their winter fort at Fort Clatsop, near the mouth of the Columbia River. Exploration by Lewis and Clark (1805–1806) and the United Kingdom\'s David Thompson (1811) publicized the abundance of fur-bearing animals in the area. Also in 1811, New Yorker John Jacob Astor financed the establishment of Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River as a western outpost to his Pacific Fur Company.Loy, Willam G.; Stuart Allan, Aileen R. Buckley, James E. Meecham (2001). Atlas of Oregon. University of Oregon Press, 12–13. ISBN 0-87114-102-7. ; this was the first permanent Caucasian settlement in Oregon.
In the War of 1812, the British gained control of all of the Pacific Fur Company posts. By the 1820s and 1830s, the Hudson\'s Bay Company dominated the Pacific Northwest from its Columbia District headquarters at Fort Vancouver (built in 1825 by the District\'s Chief Factor John McLoughlin across the Columbia from present-day Portland).
In 1841, the master trapper and entrepreneur Ewing Young died leaving considerable wealth and no apparent heir, and no system to probate his estate. A meeting followed Young\'s funeral at which a probate government was proposed. Doctor Ira Babcock of Jason Lee\'s Methodist Mission was elected Supreme Judge. Babcock chaired two meetings in 1842 at Champoeg (half way between Lee\'s mission and Oregon City) to discuss wolves and other animals of contemporary concern. These meetings were precursors to an all-citizen meeting in 1843, which instituted a provisional government headed by an executive committee made up of David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Joseph Gale. This government was the first acting public government of the Oregon Country before annexation by the government of the United States.
The Oregon Trail brought many new settlers to the region, starting in 1842–1843, after the United States agreed with the United Kingdom to jointly settle the Oregon Country. For some time, it seemed that these two nations would go to war for a third time in 75 years (see Oregon boundary dispute), but the border was defined peacefully in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty. The border between the United States and British North America was set at the 49th parallel. The Oregon Territory was officially organized in 1848.
Settlement increased because of the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, in conjunction with the forced relocation of the native population to Indian reservations in Oregon. The state was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, regular U.S. troops were withdrawn and sent east. Volunteer cavalry were recruited in California and sent north to Oregon to keep peace and protect the populace. The First Oregon Cavalry served until June 1865.
In the 1880s, the proliferation of railroads assisted in marketing of the state\'s lumber and wheat, as well as the more rapid growth of its cities.
Industrial expansion began in earnest following the construction of the Bonneville Dam in 1943 on the Columbia River. Hydroelectric power, food, and lumber provided by Oregon helped fuel the development of the West, although the periodic fluctuations in the U.S. building industry have hurt the state\'s economy on multiple occasions.
The state has a long history of polarizing conflicts: American Indians vs. British fur trappers, British vs. U.S. settlers, ranchers vs. farmers, wealthy growing cities vs. established but poor rural areas, loggers vs. environmentalists, white supremacists vs. anti-racists, social progressivism vs. small-government conservatism, supporters of social spending vs. anti-tax activists, and native Oregonians vs. Californians (or outsiders in general). Oregonians also have a long history of secessionist ideas, with people in various regions and on all sides of the political spectrum attempting to form other states and even other countries. (See: State of Jefferson, Cascadia and Ecotopia.) Oregon state ballots often include politically conservative proposals (e.g. anti-gay, pro-religious measures) side-by-side with politically liberal ones (e.g. drug decriminalization), illustrating the wide spectrum of political thought in the state.
The origin of the name "Oregon" is unknown. One account, advanced by George R. Stewart in a 1944 article in American Speech, was endorsed as the "most plausible explanation" in the book Oregon Geographic Names. According to Stewart, the name came from an engraver\'s error in a French map published in the early 1700s, on which the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin) River was spelled "Ouaricon-sint", broken on two lines with the -sint below, so that there appeared to be a river flowing to the west named "Ouaricon". Other theories place the word\'s roots in the Spanish language, from words like Orejón ("big ear") or Aragón.
The pronunciation of the name "Oregon" is a matter of local pride; Oregonians (pronounced /ˌɒrɨˈgoʊniɨnz/)Oregon (English). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved on 2006-09-14. pronounce the name [ˈɔɹɨgən] or [\'ɔɹ.gɛn], and dutifully correct those from elsewhere, who often change the word\'s first and final syllables.The accepted pronunciation follows from the horse-hoarse merger, which encompasses the majority of native Oregonians.
| Entity | Location |
|---|---|
| Crater Lake National Park | Southern Oregon |
| John Day Fossil Beds National Monument | Eastern Oregon |
| Newberry National Volcanic Monument | Central Oregon |
| Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument | Southern Oregon |
| Oregon Caves National Monument | Southern Oregon |
| California National Historic Trail | Southern Oregon, California |
| Fort Vancouver National Historic Site | Western Oregon, Washington |
| Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail | IL, MO, KS, IA, NE, SD, ND, MT, ID, OR, WA |
| Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks | Western Oregon, Washington |
| Nez Perce National Historical Park | MT, ID, OR, WA |
| Oregon National Historic Trail | MO, KS, NE, WY, ID, OR |
Oregon\'s geography may be split roughly into seven areas:
An aerial View of Crater Lake in Oregon
The mountainous regions of western Oregon were formed by the volcanic activity of Juan de Fuca Plate, a tectonic plate that poses a continued threat of volcanic activity and earthquakes in the region. The most recent major activity was the 1700 Cascadia earthquake; Washington\'s Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, an event which was visible from Portland.
Nearly half of Oregon\'s land is held by the National Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management.http://www.wildlandfire.com/docs/2007/western-states-data-public-land.htm
Mount Hood, with Trillium Lake in the foreground.
The Columbia River, which constitutes much of the northern border of Oregon, also played a major role in the region\'s geological evolution, as well as its economic and cultural development. The Columbia is one of North America\'s largest rivers, and the only river to cut through the Cascades. About 15,000 years ago, the Columbia repeatedly flooded much of Oregon during the Missoula Floods; the modern fertility of the Willamette Valley is largely a result of those floods. Plentiful salmon made parts of the river, such as Celilo Falls, hubs of economic activity for thousands of years. In the 20th century, numerous hydroelectric dams were constructed along the Columbia, with major impacts on salmon, transportation and commerce, electric power, and flood control.
Southern view of the Oregon coast from Ecola State Park, with Haystack Rock in the distance.
Today, Oregon\'s landscape varies from rainforest in the Coast Range to barren desert in the southeast, which still meets the technical definition of a frontier.
The highest point in Oregon is the summit of Mount Hood, at 11,239 feet (3,428 m), and its lowest point is sea level of the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon coast. Its mean elevation is 3,300 feet (1,006 m). Crater Lake National Park is the state\'s only National Park, and the site of Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,943 feet (592 m).Crater Lake National Park. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2006-11-22. Oregon claims the D River is the shortest river in the world,D River State Recreation Site. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved on 2007-05-11. though the American state of Montana makes the same claim of its Roe River.World\'s Shortest River. Travel Montana. Retrieved on 2007-05-11. Oregon is also home to Mill Ends Park (in Portland),Mill Ends Park. Portland Parks and Recreation. Retrieved on 2007-05-11. the smallest park in the world at 452 square inches (about 3 square feet, or 0.29 m²).
Oregon is home to what is considered the largest single organism in the world, an Armillaria ostoyae fungus beneath the Malheur National Forest of eastern Oregon.Beale, Bob. 10 April 2003. Humungous fungus: world\'s largest organism? at Environment & Nature News, ABC Online. Accessed January 2 2007.
| Ten Most Populous Cities in OregonPopulation Research Center. Portland State University (June 17, 2007). | ||
|---|---|---|
| City | Population | |
| 1. Portland | 562,690 | |
| 2. Salem | 149,305 | |
| 3. Eugene | 148,595 | |
| 4. Gresham | 97,745 | |
| 5. Hillsboro | 84,445 | |
| 6. Beaverton | 84,270 | |
| 7. Bend | 75,290 | |
| 8. Medford | 73,960 | |
| 9. Springfield | 57,065 | |
| 10. Corvallis | 53,900 | |
Oregon\'s population is largely concentrated in the Willamette Valley, which stretches from Eugene (home of the University of Oregon, third largest city in Oregon) through Salem (the capital, second largest) and Corvallis (home of Oregon State University) to Portland (Oregon\'s largest city.)2004 Population Report (PDF). Portland State University Population Research Center. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.
Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River, was the first permanent English-speaking settlement west of Rockies. Oregon City was the Oregon Territory\'s first incorporated city, and its first capital (from 1848 until 1852, when the capital was moved to Salem.) It was also the end of the Oregon Trail and the site of the first public library established west of the Rocky Mountains, stocked with only 300 volumes. Bend, near the geographic center of the state, is one of the ten fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States.50 Fastest-Growing Metro Areas Concentrated in West and South. U.S. Census Bureau 2005. Retrieved October 16 2007. To the Southern part of the state, the Medford area is a rapidly growing metro area and culturally rich part of the state. It home to The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, the third busiest airport in the state. Further to the south, near the California-Oregon border, is the community of Ashland, home of the Tony Award winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Oregon\'s climate—especially in the western part of the state—is heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean. The climate is generally mild, but periods of extreme hot and cold can affect parts of the state. Precipitation in the state varies widely: the deserts of eastern Oregon, such as the Alvord Desert (in the rain shadow of Steens Mountain), get as little as 200 mm (8 inches) annually, while some western coastal slopes approach 5000 mm (200 inches) annually. Oregon\'s population centers, which lie mostly in the western part of the state, are generally wet and soggy, while the high deserts of Central and Eastern Oregon are much drier.
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astoria | 48/37 | 51/38 | 53/39 | 56/41 | 60/45 | 64/50 | 67/53 | 68/53 | 68/50 | 61/44 | 53/40 | 48/37 |
| Bend | 40/23 | 44/25 | 51/27 | 57/30 | 65/36 | 73/41 | 81/46 | 81/46 | 72/39 | 62/32 | 46/28 | 40/23 |
| Brookings | 55/42 | 56/42 | 58/42 | 60/44 | 63/47 | 67/50 | 68/52 | 68/53 | 68/51 | 65/48 | 58/45 | 55/41 |
| Burns | 35/14 | 40/19 | 49/25 | 57/29 | 66/36 | 75/41 | 85/46 | 84/44 | 75/35 | 62/26 | 45/21 | 35/15 |
| Eugene | 46/33 | 51/35 | 56/37 | 61/39 | 67/43 | 73/47 | 82/51 | 82/51 | 77/47 | 65/40 | 52/37 | 46/33 |
| Medford | 47/31 | 54/33 | 58/36 | 64/39 | 72/44 | 81/50 | 90/55 | 90/55 | 84/48 | 70/40 | 53/35 | 45/31 |
| Pendleton | 40/27 | 46/31 | 55/35 | 62/40 | 70/46 | 79/52 | 88/58 | 87/57 | 77/50 | 64/41 | 48/34 | 40/28 |
| Portland | 46/37 | 50/39 | 56/41 | 61/44 | 67/49 | 73/53 | 79/57 | 79/58 | 74/55 | 63/48 | 51/42 | 46/37 |
| Salem | 47/34 | 51/35 | 56/37 | 61/39 | 68/44 | 74/48 | 82/52 | 82/52 | 77/48 | 64/41 | 52/38 | 46/34 |
The flags of the United States and Oregon flown side-by-side in downtown Portland.
The Oregon Country functioned as an independent republic[citation needed] with a three-person executive office and a chief executive until August 13,1848, when Oregon was annexed by the United States, at which time a territorial government was established. Oregon maintained a territorial government until February 14, 1859, when it was granted statehood. Oregon Secretary of State. A Brief History of the Oregon Territorial Period. State of Oregon. Retrieved on 2006-08-09. Oregon was the last state to enter the union before the outbreak of the Civil War.[citation needed]
Oregon state government has a separation of powers similar to the federal government. It has three branches, called departments by the state\'s constitution:
Governors in Oregon serve four year terms and are limited to two consecutive terms, but an unlimited number of total terms. Oregon has no Lieutenant Governor; in the event that the office of Governor is vacated, Article V, Section 8a of the Oregon Constitution specifies that the Secretary of State is first in line for succession.Constitution of Oregon (Article V). Oregon Blue Book. State of Oregon (2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-12. The other statewide officers are Treasurer, Attorney General, Superintendent, and Labor Commissioner. The biennial Oregon Legislative Assembly consists of a thirty-member Senate and a sixty-member House. The state supreme court has seven elected justices, currently including the only two openly gay state supreme court justices in the nation. They choose one of their own to serve a six-year term as Chief Justice. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.
The debate over whether to move to annual sessions is a long-standing battle in Oregon politics, but the voters have resisted the move from citizen legislators to professional lawmakers. Because Oregon\'s state budget is written in two year increments and, having no sales tax, its revenue is based largely on income taxes, it is often significantly over- or under-budget. Recent legislatures have had to be called into special session repeatedly to address revenue shortfalls resulting from economic downturns, bringing to a head the need for more frequent legislative sessions.
The state maintains formal relationships with the nine federally recognized tribal governments in Oregon:
Oregonians have voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate in every election since 1988. In 2004 and 2006, Democrats won control of the state Senate and then the House. Since the late 1990s, Oregon has been represented by four Democrats and one Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, and by one U.S. Senator from each party. Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski defeated Republicans in 2002 and 2006, defeating conservative Kevin Mannix and the more moderate Ron Saxton respectively.
The base of Democratic support is largely concentrated in the urban centers of the Willamette Valley. In both 2000 and 2004, the Democratic Presidential candidate won Oregon, but did so with majorities in only eight of Oregon\'s 36 counties. The eastern two-thirds of the state beyond the Cascade Mountains often votes Republican, in 2000 and 2004 George W. Bush carried every county east of the Cascades. However, the region\'s sparse population means that the more populous counties in the Willamette Valley usually carry the day in statewide elections.
Oregon\'s politics are largely similar to those of neighboring Washington, for instance in the contrast between urban and rural issues.
In the 2004 general election, Oregon voters passed ballot measures banning gay marriage, and restricting land use regulation. In the 2006 general election, voters restricted the use of eminent domain and extended the state\'s discount prescription drug coverage.See Summary of 2006 ballot measures
The distribution, sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages are regulated in the state by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. Thus, Oregon is an Alcoholic beverage control state. While wine and beer are available in most grocery stores, comparatively few stores sell hard liquor.
For more details on this topic, see History_of_Oregon#Racial_discrimination.
Entering the Union at a time when the status of "Negroes" was very much in question, and wishing to stay out of the looming conflict between the Union and Confederate States, Oregon banned African Americans from moving into the state in the vote to adopt its Constitution (1858). This ban was not officially lifted until 1925; in 2002, additional language now considered racist was struck from the Oregon Constitution by the voters of Oregon.
The historical policies of racial discrimination have had longterm effects on Oregon\'s population. A 1994 report from an Oregon Supreme Court task force found minorities more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted, incarcerated and on probation than "similarly situated nonminorities."Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Oregon Justice System. The Oregon Supreme Court Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Issues in the Judicial System. Accessed 8 March, 2008. The report does not place blame on individuals, but instead points out the problems of institutional racism. The report recommends multicultural training of the existing justice system personnel and also recommends diversifying the perspectives, backgrounds and demographics of future hires.
Like all U.S. states, Oregon is represented by two U.S. Senators. Since the 1980 census Oregon has had five Congressional districts.
After Oregon was admitted to the Union, it began with a single member in the House of Representatives (La Fayette Grover, who served in the 35th United States Congress for less than a month). Congressional apportionment led to the addition of new members following the censuses of 1890, 1910, 1940, and 1980. A detailed list of the past and present Congressional delegations from Oregon is available.
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon hears Federal cases in the state. Oregon (among other western states and territories) is in the 9th judicial circuit.
Oregon adopted many electoral reforms proposed during the Progressive Era, through the efforts of William S. U\'Ren and his Direct Legislation League. Under his leadership, the state overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure in 1902 that created the initiative and referendum processes for citizens to directly introduce or approve proposed laws or amendments to the state constitution, making Oregon the first state to adopt such a system. Today, roughly half of U.S. states do so. State Initiative and Referendum Summary. State Initiative & Referendum Institute at USC. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. In following years, the primary election to select party candidates was adopted in 1904, and in 1908 the Oregon Constitution was amended to include recall of public officials. More recent amendments include the nation\'s only doctor-assisted suicide law,Eighth Annual Report on Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (PDF). Oregon Department of Human Services (March 9, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-11. called the Death with Dignity law (which was challenged, unsuccessfully, in 2005 by the Bush administration in a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court), legalization of medical marijuana, and among the nation\'s strongest anti-sprawl and pro-environment laws. More recently, 2004\'s Measure 37 reflects a backlash against such land use laws. However, a further ballot measure in 2007, Measure 49, curtailed many of the provisions of 37.
Of the measures placed on the ballot since 1902, the people have passed 99 of the 288 initiatives and 25 of the 61 referendums on the ballot, though not all of them survived challenges in courts (see Pierce v. Society of Sisters, for an example). During the same period, the legislature has referred 363 measures to the people, of which 206 have passed.
Oregon pioneered the American use of postal voting, beginning with experimentation authorized by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1981 and culminating with a 1998 ballot measure mandating that all counties conduct elections by mail.
In the U.S. Electoral College, Oregon casts seven votes. Oregon has supported Democratic candidates in the last five elections. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won the state in 2004 by a margin of four percentage points, with 51.4% of the popular vote.
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The Oregon State Quarter features Crater Lake.
A grain elevator in Halsey storing grass seed, one of the state\'s largest crops.
Land in the Willamette Valley owes its fertility to the Missoula Floods, which deposited lake sediment from Lake Missoula in western Montana onto the valley floor.McNab, W. Henry; Peter E. Avers (July 1994). "Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest (chapter 24)", Ecological Subregions of the United States. U.S. Forest Service and Dept. of Agriculture. This soil is the source of a wealth of agricultural products, including potatoes, peppermint, hops, and apples and other fruits.[citation needed]
Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut growing regions, and produces 95% of the domestic hazelnuts in the United States. While the history of the wine production in Oregon can be traced to before Prohibition, it became a significant industry beginning in the 1970s. In 2005, Oregon ranked third among U.S. states with 303 wineries.Industry Facts (PDF). Oregon Winegrowers Association. Retrieved on 2006-11-23. Due to regional similarities in climate and soil, the grapes planted in Oregon are often the same varieties found in the French regions of Alsace and Burgundy. In the northeastern region of the state, particularly around Pendleton, both irrigated and dryland wheat is grown. Oregon farmers and ranchers also produce cattle, sheep, dairy products, eggs and poultry.
Vast forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation\'s major timber production and logging states, but forest fires (such as the Tillamook Burn), over-harvesting, and lawsuits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the amount of timber produced. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, between 1989 and 2001 the amount of timber harvested from federal lands dropped some 96%, from 4,333 million to 173 million board feet (10,000,000 to 408,000 m³), although harvest levels on private land have remained relatively constant.Oregon Forest Facts: 25-Year Harvest History. Oregon Forest Resources Institute. Retrieved on 2007-03-07. Even the shift in recent years towards finished goods such as paper and building materials has not slowed the decline of the timber industry in the state. The effects of this decline have included Weyerhaeuser\'s acquisition of Portland-based Willamette Industries in January 2002, the relocation of Louisiana Pacific\'s corporate headquarters from Portland to Nashville, and the decline of former lumber company towns such as Gilchrist. Despite these changes, Oregon still leads the United States in softwood lumber production; in 2001, 6,056 million board feet (14,000,000 m³) was produced in Oregon, compared to 4,257 million board feet (10,050,000 m³). in Washington, 2,731 million board feet (6,444,000 m³) in California, 2,413 million board feet (5,694,000 m³) in Georgia, and 2,327 million board feet (5,491,000 m³) in Mississippi.Forest Economics and Employment. Oregon Forest Resources Institute. Retrieved on 2007-03-08. The effect of the forest industry crunch is still extensive unemployment in rural Oregon and is a bone of contention between rural and urban Oregon.[citation needed]
Oregon occasionally hosts film shoots. Movies wholly or partially filmed in Oregon include Rooster Cogburn,The Goonies, National Lampoon\'s Animal House, Stand By Me, Kindergarten Cop, One Flew Over the Cuckoo\'s Nest, Paint Your Wagon, The Hunted, Sometimes a Great Notion, Elephant, Bandits, The Ring, The Ring 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, Short Circuit, Come See The Paradise, The Shining, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, The Postman, Homeward Bound, Free Willy, Free Willy 2, 1941, and Swordfish. Oregon native Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, has incorporated many references from his hometown of Portland into the TV series.Don Hamilton (2002-07-19). Matt Groening’s Portland. The Portland Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-03-07. Oregon\'s scenic coastal and mountain highways are frequently seen in automobile commercials.[citation needed]
| Largest Public Corporations Headquartered in Oregon"Bright Spots amid the Turmoil", The Oregonian, January 1, 2008, p. D3. Retrieved on 2007-01-01. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporation | Headquarters | Market cap | |
| 1. Nike, Inc. | near Beaverton | $32,039 million | |
| 2. Precision Castparts Corp. | Portland | $16,158 | |
| 3. FLIR Systems | Wilsonville | $4,250 | |
| 4. StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. | Portland | $2,495 | |
| 5. Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. | Portland | $1,974 | |
| 6. Portland General Electric | Portland | $1,737 | |
| 7. Columbia Sportswear | near Beaverton | $1,593 | |
| 8. Northwest Natural Gas | Portland | $1,287 | |
| 9. Mentor Graphics | Wilsonville | $976 | |
| 10. TriQuint Semiconductor | Hillsboro | $938 | |
High technology industries and services have been a major employer since the 1970s. Tektronix was the largest private employer in Oregon until the late 1980s. Intel\'s creation and expansion of several facilities in eastern Washington County continued the growth that Tektronix had started. Intel, the state\'s largest private employer, operates four large facilities, with Ronler Acres, Jones Farm and Hawthorn Farm all located in Hillsboro. The spinoffs and startups that were produced by these two companies led to the establishment in that area of the so-called Silicon Forest. The recession and dot-com bust of 2001 hit the region hard; many high technology employers reduced the number of their employees or went out of business. OSDL made news in 2004 when they hired Linus Torvalds, developer of the Linux kernel. Recently, biotechnology giant Genentech purchased several acres of land in Hillsboro in an effort to expand its production capabilities.Genentech Selects Hillsboro. Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
Oregon is also the home of large corporations in other industries. The world headquarters of Nike, Inc. are located near Beaverton. Medford is home to two of the largest mail order companies in the country: Harry and David Operations Corp. which sells gift items under several brands, and Musician\'s Friend, an international catalog and Internet retailer of musical instruments and related products.Medford is also home to the national headquarters of the Fortune 1000 company, Lithia Motors. Portland is home to one of the West\'s largest trade book publishing houses, Graphic Arts Center Publishing.
Oregon has one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years. Tourism is also strong in the state; Oregon\'s evergreen mountain forests, waterfalls, pristine lakes (including Crater Lake National Park), and scenic beaches draw visitors year round. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, held in Ashland, is a tourist draw which complements the southern region of the state\'s scenic beauty and opportunity for outdoor activities.
Oregon is home to a number of smaller breweries and Portland has the largest number of breweries of any city in the world.Oregon\'s Beer Week gets under way.. Knight-Ridder Tribune News Service (2005-07-05). Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
Portland reportedly has more strip clubs per capita than both Las Vegas and San Francisco.Moore, Adam S.; Beck, Byron (November 8, 2004). Bump and Grind. Willamette Week. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.
Oregon\'s gross state product is $132.66 billion as of 2006, making it the 27th largest GSP in the nation.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State, 2006. Bureau of Economic Analysis - U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
Oregon\'s biennial state budget, $42.4 billion as of 2007, comprises General Funds, Federal Funds, Lottery Funds, and Other Funds. Personal income taxes account for 88% of the General Fund\'s projected funds.Government Finance: State Government. Oregon Blue Book. Retrieved on 2007-06-20. The Lottery Fund, which has grown steadily since the lottery was approved in 1984, exceeded expectations in the 2007 fiscal years, at $604 million.Har, Janie. "Your loss is state\'s record game", The Oregonian, 2007-06-20. Retrieved on 2007-06-20.
Oregon is one of only five states that have no sales tax.Hammond, Betsy; Hogan, Dave (March 9, 2007). House gets behind rainy day fund. Sales Tax Institute. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. Oregon voters have been resolute in their opposition to a sales tax, voting proposals down each of the nine times they have been presented.25th Anniversary Issue: 1993. Willamette Week. Retrieved on 2007-06-11. The last vote, for 1993\'s Measure 1, was defeated by a 72–24% margin.Initiative, Referendum and Recall: 1988–1995. Oregon Blue Book. State of Oregon. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
The state also has a minimum corporate tax of only $10 per year, amounting to 5.6% of the General Fund in the 2005–2007 biennium; data about what businesses pay the minimum is not available to the public."As Maryland Goes, So Should Oregon", Salem News, March 27 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. As a result, the state relies almost entirely on property and income taxes for its revenue. Oregon has the fifth highest personal income tax per person in the nation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon ranked 41st out of the 50 states in taxes per person in 2005.Oregon ranks 41st in taxes per capita (html). Portland Business Journal (March 31 2006). Retrieved on
