Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, Washington on the north, Idaho on the east, and California and Nevada on the south. The Columbia and Snake Rivers form, respectively, much of its northern and eastern borders. Between two north-south mountain ranges in western Oregon—the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Mountain Range—lies the Willamette Valley, the most densely populated and agriculturally productive region of the state.
Oregon has one of the most diverse landscapes of any state in the U.S. It is well known for its tall, dense forests; its accessible and scenic Pacific coastline; and its rugged, glaciated Cascade volcanoes. Other areas include semiarid scrublands, prairies, and deserts that cover approximately half the state in eastern and north-central Oregon.
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 population is largely concentrated in the Willamette Valley, which stretches from Eugene through Salem and Corvallis to Portland, Oregon's largest city.
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".
Elliott Smith (1969–2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. His primary instrument was the guitar, but he was also proficient at piano, clarinet, bass, harmonica and drums. Smith had a distinctive vocal style characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery", and use of multi-tracking to create vocal harmonies. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska and raised primarily in Texas, but spent the majority of his life in Portland, Oregon. After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began a solo career in 1994 with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars. He eventually signed a major label contract with DreamWorks Records in 1997, for which he recorded two albums. Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery", written for the film Good Will Hunting, was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1998. Smith battled with depression, alcohol and drug addiction for years, and these topics would often appear in his lyrics. In 2003, at age 34, he died from two apparently self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest; the autopsy evidence was, however, inconclusive.
The Portland Aerial Tram is an aerial tramway in Portland, Oregon carrying commuters between the city's South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) campus, located in the Marquam Hill neighborhood. It is the second commuter aerial tramway in the United States (after New York City's Roosevelt Island Tramway). The tram travels a horizontal distance of 3,300 feet (5/8 mi, 1 km) and a vertical distance of 500 feet (150 m) in a ride that lasts three minutes. The tram was jointly funded by OHSU, the City of Portland, and by South Waterfront property owners, with the bulk of the funding coming from OHSU. It is owned by the city and operated by OHSU. While the majority of passengers are affiliated with OHSU, it is open to the public and operated as part of Portland's public transportation network that includes the Portland Streetcar, MAX Light Rail, and Tri-Met buses. After opening in December 2006, the tram carried its one millionth passenger on October 17, 2007. The tram cost $57 million to build—a nearly fourfold increase over initial cost estimates, which was one of several sources of controversy concerning the project. A round-trip tram ticket costs $4; the tram is free for OHSU employees, patients, students, and visitors.
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This is destined to be a very wealthy portion of the United States, and, if to this we can add the most temperate, nothing will prevent our rising, and becoming a valuable acquisition to the union. Much power now lies in your hands, and, I sincerely hope, we may commence our new career with a law in our statute books, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of ardent spirits in Oregon territory.
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- Current Featured Article (or other Featured content) candidates:
- Undergoing Peer review: Columbia River
- To Improve to Featured Standard: Oregon, Portland, Oregon State University, List of Oregon State University alumni, List of Oregon State University faculty and staff, Governor of Oregon
- Current Good Article Nominees:
- To Improve and Nominate at WP:GOOD: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel), Reed College, Mount Mazama
- To Expand: History of Oregon, Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, Samuel Hill, Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Victor G. Atiyeh, Oregon Ballot Measure 37 (2004) (add info about Measure 49 of 2007), A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Oregon State Fair, History of Portland, Government of Oregon,
- To Clean Up: WikiProject Oregon Cleanup listing, List of Portlanders, Eugene, University of Oregon, List of counties in Oregon, Oregon Health & Science University, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Oregon Bottle Bill, Hells Canyon, Transportation in Portland, Oregon, Oregon State Hospital, Oregon term limits legislation, Maywood Park, Oregon – interesting article, needs sources, Gary Snyder (needs inline sources), Tom Potter
- Review Recent Changes: See: WikiProject Oregon recent changes list
- To Merge: See: Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Oregon#Merge proposals
- To Split: Oregon Health & Science University (split off hospital from school)
- To Destub: Oregon Republican Party, Oregon Centennial, Scotts Mills earthquake, Politics of Oregon, Mount Hood Jazz Festival, Oregon Health Plan, Siuslaw National Forest, OGA Golf Course, Hatfield Marine Science Center
- To Deorphan:
- To Create: Land use planning in Oregon (draft), Geography of Oregon, Economy of Oregon, Climate of Oregon, Loren Parks, Dan Gardner, Wascopam Mission, High priority list, Oregon Sesquicentennial, Groners Corner, Oregon
- To Create from Redirects: See: Category:Redirect-Class Oregon articles
- To De-Redlink: Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
- Lists to De-Redlink: List of Registered Historic Places in Oregon, List of high schools in Oregon, List of highway route numbers in Oregon, List of named state highways in Oregon
- Lists to Complete: List of cities and unincorporated communities in Oregon
- Wanted Pics/Graphics: Mount Hood Meadows, Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum (interior), Fort Rock Cave (the Fort Rock sandals), regional image requests, other requests
- Wanted New Pics: Mt. Tabor (statue, view from top), Siskiyou Mountains, Pilot Butte, Oregon hairy triton, Gill Coliseum, Portland Rose Festival (Grand Floral Parade, CHAMP car race), Portland Saturday Market, Portland International Raceway
Coordinates: 44°00′N 120°30′W / 44, -120.5
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