Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley (English Willamette Valley) is a region in northwest Oregon that surrounds the Willamette River. To the north it extends from the mountains near Eugene to the Columbia River.
Location
The Willamette Valley is bounded on the west by the Oregon Coast Range and on the east by the Cascade Range. In the south it is bounded by the Calapooya Mountains.
In the valley of the following four counties are complete:
- Benton, Polk, Yamhill and Washington
In addition, the valley makes parts of the following counties of:
- Clackamas, Lane, Linn, Marion and Multnomah.
History
The valley is one of the most fertile agricultural landscapes in the world, which is attributed to the Missoula Floods of the last ice age. Here many Europeans settled in the 1840s, who had immigrated over the Oregon Trail in the area. Almost 70 % of the population of Oregon lives here.
During the 19th century the valley was densely populated by the Kalapuya Indians. The Hudson 's Bay Company controlled the fur trade here in the 1820s and 1830s. The first settlements by Europeans took place in Oregon City and Champoeg.
Management
The crops of the valley are mainly berries and vegetables. In the 20th century, the valley to a large wine -growing region, where the grape varieties Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris was very good.
Others
In the Willamette Valley is also the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, in the winter, such as the Canada goose especially swans, ducks and geese is.
The Interstate 5 freeway runs north -south axis through the valley.