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Facts about Oregon

History | Symbols | Interesting Facts | Famous People

Demographics
Statehood:  February 14, 1859, the 33rd State.

Capital:  Salem

Total Area:  10th among States, 255,026 sq km (98,466 sq mi).

Water Area:  2,924 sq km ( 1,129 sq mi).

Highest Point:  Mount Hood 3,426 m (11,239 ft)

Total Population:  27th among States.
2010 Census - 3,831,074

Population Density in 2010:  39.9 people per sq mi  

Distribution in 2000:  74.9% Urban, 25.1% Rural.

Economy:  
Gross State Product - $168.9 billion (2010)
Personal income per Capita - $35,667 (2009)

Largest cities in 2010:
Portland:  583,776
Salem:  156,185
Eugene:  154,637

  • In 1905, the largest log cabin in the world was built in honor of the Lewis and Clark expedition. 
     

  • In 1971 Oregon became the first state to ban the use of non-returnable bottles and cans. 
     

  • Formed more than 6,500 years ago, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States.  It is the only lake to be formed in the remains of a volcano and its crystal-blue waters are known around the world. 
     

  • The Tillamook Cheese Factory is the largest cheese factory in the world. 
     

  • Oregon’s state flag is the only state flag to carry two separate designs, with a beaver on its reverse side. 
     

  • Mill Ends Park in Portland, the world’s smallest official park, measures two feet across.  It was created in 1948 for the leprechauns, and a place to hold snail races on St. Patrick’s Day. 
     

  • Eugene was the first city to have one-way streets, and is quoted by “Bicycling Magazine” as one of the top ten cycling communities in the United States. 
     

  • The Carousel Museum contains the world’s largest collection of carousel horses. 
     

  • At 8,000 feet deep, Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America.
     

  • Oregon residents own one-fourth of the country's total llama population.
     

  • During the 1820s Englishman John McLoughlin presided over a vast beaver trapping network centered at Fort Vancouver near the Columbia River.
     

  • The Klamath Mountains in southwestern Oregon are composed of volcanic rocks, which originally erupted under the ocean.