OREGON, one of the Pacific States of the American Union, is bounded N. by Washington Territory, E. by Idaho Territory, S. by Nevada and California, and W. by the Pacific, and lies between 42º and 46º 15' N. lat. and 116º 45' and 124º 30' W. long. It has an area of 94,560 square miles, besides 1470 square miles of water-surface; its average width from east to west is 345 miles, and from north to south 276 miles.
The State is divided by the Coast, Cascade, and Blue Mountains into well-marked sections. The Cascade range extends in an almost due north and south direction, parallel with the Pacific coast, and a little over 100 miles from it, entirely across the State, and thence northerly through Washington Territory into British Columbia; still farther north it forms the undefined boundary between the latter province and Alaska. In Oregon the range is heavily timbered, chiefly with coniferous evergreens, the principal trees being yellow, sugar, and scrub pine, yellow and white fir, several varieties of spruce, red and white cedar, yew, juniper, tamarack, and cypress; there is also a considerable quantity of maple, ash, and alder, and some oak in the western foot-hills to the south. Its most striking feature is the number of beautiful cone-shaped peaks, rising above the line of perpetual snow. Several quite low passes exist, which, however, are very little used. Commencing at the southern boundary of Oregon, the first of these peaks is Mount Pitt (9818 feet), flanked on all sides by outlying spurs and foot-hill ranges. Forty miles to the north stands Mount Scott (9016 feet), the eastern slope of which, covered with ashes and light debris, is comparatively easy of ascent; on the west the bluffs are almost perpendicular walls of igneous rock, sheltering great masses of snow. Mount Scott overlooks Mystic or Crater Lake, an elliptically-shaped basin of water about 5 miles long by 3 miles broad, entirely surrounded by unbroken cliff-walls ranging from 500 to 2000 feet; this occupies the crater of a gigantic old volcano of which Mount Scott is a portion of the eastern rim, all the rest having been carried away by erosion and other causes. Forty miles farther north is Diamond Peak (8807 feet high), which also gives evidence of being the south-eastern portion of an old crater rim. The portion of the mountain-chain from Mount Scott to Diamond Peak was a region of numerous volcanoes and of very extensive local lava-flows. It has a very high average elevation, and in it all the principal rivers of western Oregon have their sources: the Willamette, running to the north-west; the Des Chutes, running to the north-east; the head-water streams of Klamath river, flowing to the south, and breaking through the range to the west; the Rogue river, flowing to the south-west; and the Umpqua to the west and north. The Three Sisters (in reality five) are the next marked peaks (about 9000 feet); they seem to be portions of an old crater rim, 12 miles in diameter, now broken and worn away Mount Jefferson (about 10,200 feet) comes next, and then Mount Hood, the highest of all (11,225 feet). To the north of this the Columbia breaks through the range, having cut for itself a cañon, 4000 feet in depth, through the overlying lava and far into the previously-formed conglomerate on which it rests.
Eastern Oregon is in its southern part a vast volcanic plateau, rocky and sterile, lacking water, and possessing few natural attractions. The great interior basin, with out outlet to the ocean, extends far up into the State. In this region are a few lakes, generally alkaline and marshy sinks, fed by little streams which have their origin in the small neighbouring mountain masses. The principal vegetation consists of several varieties of sage brush, dwarf pine, and juniper, the last furnishing the winter food of immense numbers of deer, which, during the summer, range through the highlands and glens of the Cascades. Many small peaks and ranges rise from the plateau, all probably of volcanic origin, and some of them made up almost exclusively of blocks and masses of obsidian. From near its junction with the Boisée to the northern line of the State the Snake river forms the eastern boundary of Oregon, and nowhere in the world is there to be found a more perfect and impassable barrier than is formed by this river and its tremendous cañon, of which the walls (consisting of basaltic and kindred rocks) are from 2000 to 5000 feet in height, and so steep and precipitous that the most skilful mountaineer can scarcely find a place to ascend or descend them. In several cases the columnar black basalt takes wonderful shapes and produces most fantastic effects. The Snake in this part of its course is not navigable, and can never be made so. The northern portion of eastern Oregon is far superior in all its physical characteristics to the southern. Confused masses, known as the Blue and Powder River Mountains, lie in the north-east, modifying the climate for the better, and giving many rich valleys and table-lands to the agriculturist. The Grande Ronde, Umatilla, John Day, Burnt, and Powder rivers are the principal streams, and their main and tributary valleys are very lovely. The mountains are covered with pine of a very fair quality, with fir, cedar, and some maple, all of which is being rapidly cleared away. In the valleys cottonwood, willow, birch, aspen, and poplar grow freely. The hills are well stocked with the larger game, as bear, deer, mountain sheep, grey wolves, panthers, foxes, etc., the valleys and lakes with feathered game in considerable variety, and the streams with trout and salmon. Many mines of gold and silver have been found in the Blue and Powder River Mount ains, but none of remarkable richness. Nearly all the untimbered plains and valleys of north-eastern Oregon are covered with a rich growth of the hardy and nutritious “bunch grass.” The soil is very deep, and, coming, as it does, from the disintegration of volcanic rocks, is very fertile. The Des Chutes river drains most of the eastern slope of the Cascades, flowing in a wild turbulent stream through a deeply-cut cañon. The river is so swift, crooked, and with such rugged banks and so many jagged rocks that it is deemed impracticable even for the lumberman's use in floating logs to the Columbia.
The warm oceanic current from Japan, flowing south along the coast, is the cause of the mild climate of western Oregon, and of the heavy and incessant rains with which it is visited. These rains, continued through the centuries, have chiselled away the mountains, and, with other geological agencies, produced the three principal valleys into which this portion of the State may be considered as divided, — the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue river valleys. The Willamette valley has an area of about 8000 square miles, and contains more than half the population and wealth of the entire State. Its lower portions are level loamy plains, covered with rank grass, and here and there great areas of lowland timber, such as alder, maple, ash, cottonwood, poplar, &c., and a vast profusion of
