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 U.S. 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...)
The gray-tailed vole, Microtus canicaudus, also known as the gray-tailed meadow vole and the gray-tailed meadow mouse, is a rodent in the genus Microtus, which are small eared "meadow voles" of the family Cricetidae. First collected in 1895, it is endemic to the Willamette Valley, Oregon and Clark County, Washington in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Voles are small mammals and the gray-tailed vole is considered medium sized among voles. Historically, they were found among the prairies of the valley. They remain common, while much of these areas have been converted for agricultural purposes. For unclear reasons, populations densities of voles in an area may widely fluctuate from season to season and year to year. They are preyed upon by owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals. Parasites include fleas and ticks. They build underground burrows and complex tunnel networks, sometimes shared with other burrowing animals in their area. Relatively little is known about their behavior in the wild, because they are elusive and unlikely to enter traps.
...that Oregon judge William G. East ordered Robert F. Kennedy to explain why the U.S. government should not pay a private attorney his fees who was ordered to defend a criminal defendant?
... that Silver Creek flows through a canyon near Riley, Oregon, with over 200-foot (60 m) tall walls?
The former Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River upstream of Gold Hill with a fish ladder on the far bank. The dam, which made fish passage difficult, was removed in 2010. The concrete structure was about 35 feet (11 m) high.
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