OREGON, a State in the Pacific Divi sion of the North American Union; bounded by Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, and the Pacific Ocean; ad mitted to the Union, Feb. 14, 1859; cap ital, Salem; counties, 86; area, 96,699 square miles; pop. (1890) 313,767; (1900) 413,536; (1910) 672,765; (1920) 783,389.
Topography.—The surf ace of the State is mountainous, three ranges di viding it from N. to S.; the Coast Range from 10 to 30 miles from the ocean; the Cascade Mountains, from 110 to 150 miles inland; and the Blue Mountains in the E. The Coast Range has an extreme altitude of 4,000 feet, and is covered with dense forests. The Cascade Mountains, a continuation of the Sierra Nevadas, have an extreme height of 7,000 feet, with several peaks rising 2,000 to 5,000 feet higher. Mount Hood reaches an altitude of 11,500 feet, McLoughlin, 11, 000 feet; and Jefferson, 10,500 feet. The Cascades are heavily timbered to the snow line. Four transverse ranges con nect the Coast Range with the Cascades; the Calpooia, Umpqua, Rouge River and Siskiyou Mountains. The Willamette river valley, lying between the Coast Range and Cascade Mountains, and the Columbia river and California spur, is 150 miles long, from 30 to 70 miles wide, and is extremely fertile. Eastern Ore gon, embracing two-thirds of the State, is a high table-land, with little rain fall, and sparsely populated. There are fertile valleys along the rivers and lakes in the S., and in the Blue Mountains. The rivers flowing into the ocean are the Roque, Coquille, Umpqua, Sinslaw, Al sace, Yaquina, Nestuca, and Nehalem; those emptying into the Columbia, Lewis and Clark, Clatskaine, Youngs, Sandy, Willamette, Des Chutes, Hood, Umatilla, and John Day; and those feeding the Snake river, the Owybee, Malbeur, Burnt, Powder, and Grande Ronde. The principal lakes are, Klamath, Goose, Warner, Salt, Christmas, Albery, Sum mer, Silver, Henry, and Malheur. Crater Lake in the Cascades, 8,000 feet above sea-level, is the crater of an extinct volcano, 10 miles in circumference, and surrounded by bluffs 2,000 feet high. It is the deepest body of fresh water in America. The coast line of Oregon is very abrupt and rocky and but little indented, the mouth of the Columbia river being the best harbor. There are other harbors at Port Orchard, Roque river, Coos Bay, Tillamook Bay, and Yaquina Bay.
Geology.—The geological structure of the State is quite varied. The Coast Range and Blue Mountains are of Eozoic formation; the Cascade ranges and the E. part of the State, of volcanic, with its ridges and hills of obsidian; and the Pacific Coast, Willamette valley, and part of the Umpqua valley, are of Ter tiary formation. The Cretaceous fossil deposits are found in the upper valleys of Des Chutes, Crooked and John Day rivers, and the Grande Ronde valley. The Glacial, Champlain, and Terrace periods are well represented. In 1919 the principal mineral productions in cluded gold, silver and coal. The gold production was valued at $1,071,000. The building stones are granite, sand stone, and limestone.
Soil and Agriculture.—The soil is of volcanic origin, with alluvial deposits in the valleys, and is extremely fertile. In the central and S. E. portions of the State the rainfall is very light and the farming depends largely upon irrigation. Grapes, prunes and other fruits thrive abundantly, and the wool growing in dustry is very large. The acreage, pro duction and value of the principal crops in 1919 were as follows: corn, 71,000 acres, production 1,860,000 bushels, value $2,883,000; oats, 347,000 acres, produc tion 11,104,000 bushels, value $10,216, 000; barley, 82,000 acres, production 1,886,000 bushels, value $2,829,000; wheat, 1,126,000 acres, production 20, 495,000 bushels, value $43,449,000; hay, 854,000 acres, production 1,452,000 tons, value $27,733,000; potatoes, 45,000 acres, production 4,230,000 bushels, value $6, 345,000.
Manufactures.—There were in 1914 2,320 manufacturing establishments, em ploying 28,829 wage earners. The cap ital invested amounted to $139,500,000, and the wages paid to $20,921,000. The value of the materials used was $63, 258,000, and the value of the finished production was $109,762,000. The nat ural advantages of the State are exten sive, furnishing material for its various manufacturing enterprises, and its streams furnish abundant power at the Dalles, the Cascades, and Oregon City. The principal industries include railroad cars and shop construction, fish canning, flouring mills, lumber and timber, print ing and publishing, shipbuilding, slaugh tering, meat packing, and the manufac ture of woolen goods.