Oregon is one of the 50 states of the United States of North America. The state is located in the Western region of the US and has 3,871,859 inhabitants (2011). The capital is Salem and the standard abbreviation for the state is OR.
Oregon is bordered by Washington to the north, Idaho to the east, Nevada to the southeast, and California to the south. To the west, the state is located on the Pacific Ocean.
The state is located in the area of the large mountain ranges in the western United States.
The Pacific Coast Range and Cascade Range run from north to south. The highest point of the Cascade Range, and the state, at 3,426 meters is the summit of the volcano Mount Hood.
To the northeast are the Blue Mountains. The southeast of the state belongs to the Great Basin.
Lakes and Rivers
The Columbia River and Snake River make up much of Oregon’s state borders to the north and east.
The main tributaries are the Willamette, with dams at Oregon City and in its tributary North Santiam at Detroit, the Deschutes and the John Day.
In southern Oregon, small rivers flow into salt lakes, such as Albert Lake, Summer Lake, Harney Lake, and Malheur Lake.
Numerous lakes in the southern part of the Cascaden Range are often crater lakes.
Climate and vacation
Oregon has two climates due to the relief. Its separation is formed by the Cascade Range.
The western part, which covers about one third of the state, has a temperate maritime climate. The eastern part has a continental steppe climate.
A tourist attraction for a holiday are the national forests in the Cascade Range. Crater Lake National Park is also located here, with a deep blue crater lake surrounded by high lava cliffs.
On the border with Idaho is the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Here is a very deep gorge formed by the Snake River.
Another attractive vacation destination is Oregon’s beautiful coastal strip, which is home to many state parks.
The area along the John Day River is a famous fossil site.
Cities Oregon
In addition to the capital Salem, there are a number of cities in the state of Oregon: Portland, Eugene, Gresham, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Bend, Medford, Springfield, Corvallis, Albany, Tigard.
Counties Oregon
According to countryaah.com, Oregon is divided into 36 counties.
Nez Perce National Historical Park
The Nez Perce was a Native American tribe whose typical distinguishing feature was pierced noses in which they wore a type of sea shell. This custom was traditional among them for many centuries, but later it became rather exceptional and around 1830 it stopped appearing completely.
These Indians inhabited the area around the Grande Ronde, Salmon and Clearwater rivers. Their territory was bounded on the west by the Blue and Bitterroot Mountains. Today, the territory on the borders of the states of Washington, Idaho and Oregon could thus be marked. Not much information has been preserved about this tribe, but according to historians, they were one of the oldest settlers of this area. Evidence of their ancestral settlement dates back more than 8,000 years.
Until the Indians managed to get horses (sometime around 1700), they lived as hunters and gatherers. They hunted bison, deer, sheep, elk, antelope and other animals. Later, salmon began to appear in their diet, which was full of the waters of the Columbia River. The Nez Perce Indians did not have a tribal chief, so when they needed to, they chose personalities with the greatest authority and experience for individual actions.
Between the years 1740 and 1840, the tribe goes through a great flowering and its so-called golden age begins. They began to associate with other tribes in the area, held large annual bison hunts, built better and better teepees, and learned to breed horses. They even managed to breed one of the most valuable breeds to date called the Appaloosa. The Indians thus traded not only horse meat, but also dried salmon and bows.
The first whites to encounter the Nez Perce people were members of an expedition led by Lewis and Clark in 1805 who were trying to reach the Pacific coast. People from the expedition were amazed by the huge herds of horses, they looked at the individual huts and teepees. The Indians gave them beautiful feather headdresses, jewelry, and beaded clothing made of fine leather to commemorate them. At the time, there were about 70 villages in which around 7,000 Nez Perce lived. Perhaps all the reports of the whites who met these people were positive and spoke of the intelligence, pride, courage and art of this Indian nation.
In 1836, the first Christian mission was established in tribal territory. At that time, the tribe split into two branches: the upper one, led by Chief Aleiya, adopted Christianity and an agricultural way of life, while the lower one remained faithful to traditional religion and hunting. In 1860, gold was discovered in Indian Territory, which started a great tidal wave of white settlers. A large part of the original territory of the Indians passed into the possession of the American government. At that time, the chief took the Bible in protest and demonstratively tore it in front of the Americans.
In 1877, members of the Nez Perces tribe were forced to move to a reservation under threat of military intervention. Although the Indians themselves did not want it, they were drawn into the war. Between June 17, 1877 and October 5, 1877, 6 Indian groups embarked on a 1,600-mile retreat with unprecedented tactical brilliance. For more than three months, they eluded the multiple superiority of the American army, grouped into four armies. Eventually, however, they were overtaken and surrounded by General Miles’ army. The Indians surrendered the siege after five days on condition that they be allowed to return to the Lapwai Reservation. General Miles promised them this, but in the end he did not keep his promise. The Indians were actually deported to the swamp region of the lower Missouri, where nearly a third of them perished.
It was not until several years later that the Indians were moved from the swamps back to Idaho. However, their heroic journey won admiration even among the whites, and their tactical retreat was later lectured at the famous military academy at West Point. Today, around 2,500 members of this tribe live in the Lapwai Colvivve reserve and their numbers are slowly increasing.
