| Oregon Facts for School Reports - Geography and Climate |
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| Oregon's Geography |
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Oregon is one of the most beautiful and diversified states in the United States. It has mountains with snow-capped peaks—many over 10,00 feet high; valleys of rich soil; vast forest lands; rivers; waterfalls; desert lands; sand dunes; Hells Canyon, North America's deepest canyon; the Columbia River Gorge; and the Pacific Ocean with 295 miles of spectacular coastline. Major geological differences divide the state into three distinct bands running north and south.
The coastal region consists of a narrow band of headlands, rainforests and bird-flocked estuaries. Bordered on the west by the sea and on the east by the Coast Range mountains, it is an area of high, surf-battered cliffs fragrant with the smell of cedar, rain-drenched firs and sea salt.
The Willamette Valley hosts the eastern wall of the Coast Range and the western wall of the Cascade Mountains. Snow-fed streams flow down from theses ranges to form the river for which the valley is named. It is a place of rolling prairies containing some of the richest soil on earth.
The High Desert is rich with lava lands, fossil beds and at our eastern border, Hells Canyon. Much of the land in this area is used for crops such as apples, wheat and potatoes.
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