What Is Oregon's Largest City?

For those interested in Oregon's largest city, here is a list of the ten largest cities in Oregon as of 2010 according to their populations. The figures are from Portland State University and have been rounded off:

Portland: 550,000
Eugene: 155,000
Salem: 155,000
Gresham: 101,000
Hillsboro: 89,000
Beaverton: 86,000
Bend: 81,000
Medford: 77,000
Springfield: 58,000
Corvallis: 55,000

More About Oregon's Largest City

Nickname

Portland is number 30 on the list of largest cities in the United States. Its official nickname is the "City of Roses." This comes from a man named Leo Samuel, who owned the Oregon Life Insurance Company in 1906, which is now the Standard Insurance Company. He grew roses outside of his home and placed shears there so people could take one with them. This caught on, and people and business started planting roses. So when visitors came to the city, they saw lots of roses. Soon there was a Portland Rose Festival, which is still a major event every year.

Geography and Climate

Portland sits on an extinct volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field. Mount Tabor is in southeast Portland and Mount Hood, a potentially active volcano, is to the east of Portland. Mount St. Helens is to the north in Washington, and sent ash over the city in 1980. Mount Adams in Washington, is also visible from some parts of the city. The Willamette River goes through Portland and joins the Columbia River north of the city.

The climate is said to be Marine west coast, which means it is temperate, with the temperature rarely dipping below freezing. Summers are dry and warm, with the occasional heat wave, with highs normally being in the 90s.

More About Diamond Oregon

Diamond is the largest city in Oregon according to land area with 6901.2 square miles. It is located in the southeast area of Oregon in Harney County. It has a population of around 600 people, which puts the population density at 0.1 people per square mile (very low). Parks in Diamond include:

Pete French Round Barn State Park
Frenchglen Hotel State Park
Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area
Pueblo Mountains Wilderness Study Area

State of Oregon

There's also more to know about Oregon than what its largest city is:

The capital of Oregon is Salem and it became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859.
Its nickname is the Beaver State.
The state motto is “She flies with her own wings.”
The deepest gorge in Oregon is in Hells Canyon which is 7900 feet deep.
The highest point is Mt. Hood, at 11,249 feet.
There is one national park in Oregon, Crater Lake National Park.

Oregon state symbols are:

Song - Oregon, My Oregon
Color - Navy blue and gold
Dance - Square Dance
Animal - American Beaver
Bird - Western Meadowlark
Fish - Chinook salmon
Tree - Douglas fir
Insect - Oregon Swallowtail
Seashell - Oregon hairy triton
Flower - Oregon grape
Mushroom - Pacific golden chanterelle
Gemstone - Oregon sunstone
Rock - Thunderegg
Beverage - Milk
Nut - Hazelnut

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is also an important part of understanding Oregon. It was a pathway to the west that began in Independence, Missouri, and ended in Oregon City, Oregon. It was the longest overland trail in the United States. It was 2000 miles long and it took a covered wagon six months to travel the whole route.

The first people to make the trip were Marcus and Narcissa Whitman in 1836. The Great Migration started in earnest in 1843, and for the next 25 years, over half a million people went west on the Trail. Some went all the way to Oregon and others split off and headed for California. You can still see the wagon ruts on some parts of the Oregon Trail today.