Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859.
The Oregon state Capital is Salem.
In the early 1800s, thousands took the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon. Today you can still see ruts in the roads from the wagons that were heavy with their belongings.
The famous Explorers, Lewis and Clark, stayed at Fort Clatsop, named for the local Indian tribe Clatsop.
You can visit there today.
Portland is the largest city in Oregon. It is called the " City of Roses" because the international rose test garden is there.
The whole city has lots of beautiful roses.
Portland lies near the joining of the Williamette and the Columbia rivers. It is a leading international port, with lots of big ships that dock there.
It has lots of bridges for cars and trucks too.
Fishing is a big industry in Oregon. They catch lots of seafood. Some crab, shrimp, clams,salmon, halibut and other kinds of fish
Oregon gets thousands of migrating birds.
In the spring you can see geese, mallards, pelicans and others.
The largest collection of wintering Bald Eagles in the lower forty eight states are found in Oregon.
The Bald Eagle is the American symbol of freedom.
The Oregon state bird is the Western Meadowlark.
They have a yellow breast with dark brown and white stripes on their head, wings and back.
The Oregon state tree is the Douglas Fir.
They make beautiful Christmas trees.
The state flower is the Oregon grape.
The plant gets dainty yellow flowere in the summer, and a dark blue berry that ripens in the fall. the fruit can be used for cooking.
The Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly is the Oregon state insect.
It is a beautiful bright yellow with black stripes and a black edge on their wings.
The North American Beaver is the Oregon state animal.
It has very sharp teeth to cut down trees to build its home.
Their fur is dark brown with a lighter brown belly.
There was once so many beaver in Oregon that thousands of their pelts were used to make men's hats.
There were lots of different styles of hats.
Near Florence, Oregon you can see hundreds of Sea Lions. They sun themselves and play in the water.
Every summer in June, Cannon Beach has a Sand Castle building championship contest.
The world's largest collection of Carousel Horses is in Hood River International Museum of Carousel Art.
Eugene is the second largest city in Oregon.
It is known for its good walking paths and bike trails.
The Yaquina Lighthouse near Newport is one of many lighthouses along Oregon's rocky coast.
The windsurfing capital of the world is the Columbia Gorge in Oregon.
Mt. Hood in Oregon, is one of several volcanos in the northwestern United States.
It erupted in 1907 and again in 1980.
It is the second most climbed mountain in the world.
Can you color a hole in the top where it erupted ?
Crater Lake is the opening of a volcano that collasped over 6,500 years ago. It is the deepest lake in the U.S. and the seventh deepest in the world.
Hell's Canyon in Oregon, on the Snake river, is the deepest canyon in the U.S.A.
Great forests cover more than half the state.
It harvests more timber than any other state.
There are 77 waterfalls on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge.
Multnomah Falls is called the " grandaddy" of them all because of it's height and beauty.
The John Day Fossil Beds are well known for it's well preserved and remarkably complete record of plants and animal fossils from millions of years ago.
Oregon has fifty historic covered bridges.
It has some of the largest number in the U.S.A.
Most of the covered bridges in Oregon were built between 1905 and 1925.
Pendleton Woolen Mills began making Native American Blankets for local tribes. They made un-fringed "robes" for the men and shawls for the women.
Today they make beautiful woolen fabrics, blankets and more, all made in Oregon.
Oregon wineries are generally small and family owned.
Weather conditions in the wine country is good for growing grapes for wine.
Oregon grows 99 % of all the Hazelnuts (or Filberts) grown in the United States.
They grow on trees and when they are ready to be harvested they drop to the ground. The farmer uses a sweeper to move them to a center row, and a lifter seperates them from debris. A forklift puts them in carts and stacks them to be shipped later.
Grandma Joy and Grandpappy Happy always stand and place their hand over their heart when the American flag passes to show respect and love for what the flag represents. We should all do that too.
Visiting other places is always fun.
But there is no place like home.
If you enjoyed this and would like to purchase this or any other state coloring book, go to books and order. They are all the same price $ 4.95.
I hope you learned some things about the geography of Oregon and will share it with a little one.
Hugs, Grandma Joy
