Oregon has been home to many indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon's Pacific coast in the early to mid-16th century. As early as 1564, the Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as the strait now bearing his name. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traversed Oregon in the early 1800s, and the first permanent European settlements in Oregon were established by fur trappers and traders. In 1843, an autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country, and the Oregon Territory was created in 1848. Oregon became the 33rd state of the U.S. on February 14, 1859.
Today, with 4.2 million people over 98,000 square miles (250,000 km2), Oregon is the ninth largest and 27th most populous U.S. state. The capital, Salem, is the third-most populous city in Oregon, with 175,535 residents. Portland, with 652,503, ranks as the 26th among U.S. cities. The Portland metropolitan area, which includes neighboring counties in Washington, is the 25th largest metro area in the nation, with a population of 2,512,859. Oregon is also one of the most geographically diverse states in the U.S., marked by volcanoes, abundant bodies of water, dense evergreen and mixed forests, as well as high deserts and semi-arid shrublands. At 11,249 feet (3,429 m), Mount Hood is the state's highest point. Oregon's only national park, Crater Lake National Park, comprises the caldera surrounding Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. The state is also home to the single largest organism in the world, Armillaria ostoyae, a fungus that runs beneath 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of the Malheur National Forest. (Full article...)
Wildwood: The Wildwood Chronicles, Book 1 is a 2011 children'sfantasy novel by American singer-songwriter Colin Meloy, illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. Meloy is better known for his role with the group The Decemberists, while Ellis has produced artwork for the band amongst other projects. The novel tells the story of seventh-grader Prue McKeel whose baby brother is kidnapped by crows. With the help of her friend and schoolmate Curtis, they journey together into a magical forest to find Prue's brother. Inspired by classic fantasy novels and folk tales, Meloy's story features supernatural elements set against the scenic backdrop and culture of Portland, Oregon, specifically the St. Johns neighborhood. Ellis collaborated closely with Meloy throughout the writing phase to produce 85 illustrations. The novel received mostly positive reviews and was praised for its illustrations and vintage book design. Wildwood was on the New York Times Best Seller list of Children's Chapter Books for two weeks and tied for the 2012 E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Hillsboro, Oregon-based animation studio Laika has optioned the novel for a future film adaptation, and the author-illustrator team plan to produce at least two more books in the series.
... that Gus C. Moser served five 4-year terms in the Oregon State Senate, including two non-consecutive 2-year periods as senate president, to which post he was elected unanimously in 1917?
... that while George C. Brownell played no part in the Oregon land fraud scandal, a published cartoon showed him as the "Pretty Moth" that flew too close to the land fraud limelight?
... that future state senator William T. Vinton was sent to jail for contempt of court when he refused to sign a city paving contract, but was later vindicated by an Oregon Supreme Court decision?
... that it has been a goal of Oregon state senator Bill Hansell to get the potato officially designated as the state vegetable?
When the history of Oregon comes to be written the mind of the historian will be impressed by the earnestness and sincerity of character—the unobtrusive, unostentatious conduct of those who formed its population from the first reclaiming of the wilderness—the pioneer epoch—to the more refined advancement into social and political existence.
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