OREGON, one of the United States of America, in let. 42° to 46° 116° 40' to 124° 25' w. ; bounded n. and e. territory, from which it is chiefly separated by Columbia river; e. by Idaho, the Lewis or Snake river intervening; ,s. by Nevada and California; and w. by the Pacific ocean; 350 m. from e. to w., by 275 from n, to s., with an urea of 95,274 sq. miles. The principal rivers arc the Columbia and its branches—the Willamette, Fall river, Snake river, and the Owyhee. The Columbia is a large river, navigable 93 in. to the Cascade mountains, through which it passes; but the entrance is difficult. The Willamette drains a large and fertile valley between the moun tains and the ocean. The Cascade mountains, which have extinct volcanic peaks of 4,000 to 10,000 ft. high, run n. and s., dividing the state into two unequal regions. The western third of the state, bordering the Pacific, has a mild, equable, and moist climate, with valleys of great fertility, where pines grow from 250 to 300 ft. high, and firs from 4 to 10 ft. in diameter. The rainfall at Astoria, mouth of the Columbia river, is 86 inches. East of the mountains the climate is dry and variable, and the soil less fertile. Gold and silver are found in the Cascade mountains, with copper, platinum, iridium, and osmium. Coal has been discovered on Coos bay. The chief agricultural productions arc wheat, oats, potatoes, and apples. The great forests abound with the grizzly and black bear, panther, wild-cat, elk, deer, and antelope; among the birds are the California vulture, golden eagle, American swan, Canadian goose, etc. ; while the rivers swarm with salmon. There were, in 1870, twenty-two organized counties. Most of the settlements arc on the Columbia river and in the Willatnette valley. The chief towns are Salem, the capital,
on the Willamette river; pop. 4,000; Portland, 10,000; and Oregon City, about 2,000. Within the state are about 10,000 Indians and 2,000 Chinese. Four colleges have been founded, one medical school, numerous academies, common schools, daily and weekly papers, and churches of several denominations. Oregon was the name formerly given to the whole territory w. of the Rocky mountains claimed by the United States as far n. as let. 50' 40' north. This claim was resisted by the British government, which asserted a right to the entire territory, and in 1818 a treaty was made. and renewed in 1S27, giving joint occupation, which was terminated in 1846 by notice from the United States govern ment, and the question seemed likely to involve the two countries in war, when a com promise was offered by lord Aberdeen, on the part of the British government, and accepted by that of the United States, by which the boundary was settled on the forty ninth parallel. The northern portion is now Washington, and the eastern Idaho terri tory. The coast was discovered, and Colombia river entered, in 1792 by capt. Gray of Boston. It was explored in 1804 and 1803 by capts. Lewis and Clarke, U. S. army. In 1811 John Jacob Astor founded Astoria as a trading-depot of the American fui com pany, but sold out afterward to the Northwest fur uompany.• In 1845 the gift of 320 acres of land to each married couple of settlers caused a huge immigration. The territo rial government was organized in 1848, and in 1859 it was admitted as a state. Pop. in 1860, 59,464; in 1870, 90,776.