Oregon

Oregon's coast, valleys, and high desert were home to dozens of Indigenous nations, including the Chinook, Klamath, and Nez Perce, whose fishing and trade networks along the Columbia River predate written history by thousands of years. The Oregon Trail brought waves of American settlers in the mid-1800s, and Oregon became the 33rd state in 1859, notable for a constitution that initially excluded Black settlers, a discriminatory legacy the state has worked to confront.

Timber, fishing, and agriculture built Oregon's early economy, with Portland growing as a shipping hub on the Willamette River. The 20th century brought hydroelectric dams, wartime shipbuilding, and later a countercultural and environmental movement that shaped the state's progressive reputation, including some of the country's earliest land-use and bottle-recycling laws.

Modern Oregon pairs a thriving tech and craft-beverage economy, centred on Portland's Silicon Forest and the Willamette Valley's acclaimed Pinot Noir wineries, with extraordinary natural landscapes. Crater Lake, formed by the collapse of Mount Mazama roughly 7,700 years ago, and a rugged, entirely public coastline remain the state's signature natural landmarks, drawing visitors who come for both cities and wilderness.