Portal:Oregon

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Oregon
State of Oregon
Map of the United States with Oregon highlighted
Map of the United States with Oregon highlighted

Oregon (/ˈɒrɪɡən, -ɡɒn/ ORR-ih-ghən, -⁠gon) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The 42° north parallel delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. The western boundary is formed by the Pacific Ocean.

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...)

Clyde Drexler
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the Memorial Coliseum, before moving to the Rose Garden Arena (now the Moda Center) in 1995. Based in Portland throughout its existence, the franchise entered the league in 1970. For more than 40 years, until 2011, it was the only major league franchise in Oregon, and remains one of only two (with the Portland Timbers). The franchise has also enjoyed a strong following; from 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American professional sports at the time. The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA Championship once, in 1977. The other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992. The team has qualified for the playoffs during 31 seasons of their 45-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003. Six Hall of Fame players have played for the Trail Blazers (Lenny Wilkens, Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, Drazen Petrovic, Arvydas Sabonis, and Scottie Pippen). Bill Walton is the franchise's most decorated player; he was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1977, and the regular season MVP the following year. Four Blazer rookies (Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, Brandon Roy, and Damian Lillard) have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Two Hall of Fame coaches, Lenny Wilkens and Jack Ramsay, have patrolled the sidelines for the Blazers, and two others—Mike Schuler and Mike Dunleavy—have won the NBA Coach of the Year award with the team.

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Walton in 2008
Bill Walton (born November 5, 1952) is a former American basketball player and current television sportscaster. Walton was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10, 1993. He was born in La Mesa, California and played college basketball for John Wooden at the UCLA from 1971 to 1974, where the team won the national title twice, including a perfect 30–0 record during the 1971–1972 season and an 88-game winning streak. In 1973, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States, while also winning both the USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year three consecutive years. The Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA drafted Walton as the number one overall player in 1974. In 1977, the team won the NBA title with Walton as the Finals MVP. The next year Bill Walton was selected as the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, though limited to 50 games due to injury. During the 1978 to 1979 season he sat out in protest after earlier demanding to be traded after allegations the team was unethical and incompetent in treating player injuries. In 1979 as a free agent he signed with the San Diego Clippers and then in 1985 was traded to the Boston Celtics where he won the NBA Sixth Man Award in 1986. In 1990, Bill Walton retired from the NBA as a player. After retirement, Walton began a career as a broadcaster. He has worked as a color commentator for the Clippers, NBC, ABC and ESPN. In 1996, he was named as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of all time. Previously he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, and his number 32 was retired by the Blazers.

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The following are images from various Oregon-related articles on Wikipedia.

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Broadway Bridge, Portland
Broadway Bridge, Portland

The Broadway Bridge, in Portland, Oregon, with its bascule draw span opened for a ship. Built in 1913, the Broadway Bridge is one of three Willamette River bridges in the downtown Portland area that are more than 100 years old and one of four that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also carries the Portland Streetcar's eastside line.

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Pillars of Rome
Pillars of Rome
Pillars of Rome, a unique feature in the southeast corner of Oregon.

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Lighthouse of Cape Meares, Oregon

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This month's Collaboration of the Month projects: Women's History Month: Create or improve articles for women listed at Oregon Women of Achievement (modern) or Women of the West, Oregon chapter (historical)
Portland, Oregon, in 1898 (Featured picture candidate)

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