John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints
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Oregon - Introduction
Area
98,386 square miles. 9th largest state of the USA.
Furthest North to Furthest South
295 miles.
Furthest East to Furthest West
376 miles.
Population Density
29 per square mile.
Licence Plate
Background: An image of mountains in the background and a tree in the foreground.
Text: "Oregon".
State Highway Marker Shield Design
A rounded downward pointing white triangle on a square black background.
Derivation of Name
Possibly from the French word "ouragan", meaning hurricane, a name formerly applied to the Columbia River.
Nickname
The Beaver State.
Climate
Pendleton: January high 39F, July high 88F.
Portland: January high 44F, July high 79F.
In summer, rainfall in Oregon is high along the coast and in the coastal mountains, a little less in the Willamette valley (which runs south from Portland), very heavy in the Cascades, and low in the desert eastern half of the state. Summer temperatures vary according to the amount of cloud cover, those regions with the highest rainfall normally having the lowest temperatures.
Official State Tourism Office
Tel (US): 1-800-547-7842
Checked Jan-99.
Highway Conditions
Tel (US): 1-800-977-6368 (from within Oregon only) or 1-916-445-ROAD (1-916-7623) (from outside Oregon only) or 1-541-889-3999.
Checked May-00.
Departments of Transportation etc for each US state and Canadian province
State Parks
Official site. Checked Mar-99.
Sales Tax
There is no sales tax in Oregon but local sales taxes may apply in some areas.
Other Comments
Whereas petrol stations (gas stations) in almost all other states offer a choice of full-serve or self-serve, in Oregon they offer full-serve and mini-serve. Mini-serve means that the assistant operates the pump but will not clean the windscreen or offer to check the oil. Self-service gas stations are illegal in Oregon. Apparently a law banning self-serve was passed in 1951, ostensibly for safety reasons, and since then oil companies and gas station owners have unsuccessfully tried to have the law repealed on several occasions. The law is, according to reports, supported by consumer and motoring groups, and presumably by gas station attendants. I'm informed that self-serve gas stations are also illegal in New Jersey.
Oregon
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Most recently modified 29-Dec-05