What makes Oregon geographically unique compared to California/Washington?

6 comments

1. Why do you ask?

2. The real answer is why do you think it is or should be geographically unique?

   It isn’t. Geologic and geographic forces don’t follow state political boundaries. Northern California, Oregon, and Washington all have been shaped by similar forces. The geography is generally pretty similar. So while you may find some differences just based on the north/south spread of climate it is mostly going to be the same or at least similar.

3. Well, it’s a different state, so there’s that. Oregon has one major port-city – Portland is at the mouth of the Columbia river, the seperating river between Oregon and Washington. The rest of the state is pretty rural, other than a couple college-towns.

   Oregon shares the same mountain range as Washington and California. It doesn’t get a lot of earthquakes like Washington and California though. The San Adreas fault runs N-S through California and then out into the Pacific Ocean. It goes into the Pacific before reaching Oregon. Washington has a very small tectonic plate submerging beneath it, so our earthquakes can be quite intense (Seattle is overdue for a 9.0).

   Demographically, Oregon is mostly white, and there are a lot of white supremacists in the rural parts of the state. Also, Eugene Oregon is home to the Oregon Ducks, with the most vile and disgusting fanbase in all of college sports.

4. It isn’t, other than political boundaries. Look at a map, it’s extremely similar to northern CA and Washington. A brief coastal rise, a coastal range, valley in the middle, the Cascades, high desert.

   What unique features do you have in mind to compare?

5. I would say it looks geographically a bit like it’s neighbors on all sides. The south and southwest resembles a lot of north California. The area around Portland and the Willamette valley obviously resemble western Washington. The mountains resemble the same mountains that run through those two states. And eastern Oregon looks like Idaho.

6. Compared to Washington, Oregon was not covered by continental glaciers during the Ice Age, unlike much of Washington, and therefore lacks glacial landforms like Puget Sound.