Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell

Map of Oregon Country

Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40'N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The area now forms part of the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, all of the US states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. The region is roughly equivalent to a broad definition of the Pacific Northwest. The phrase describes the period from the early penetration of European trappers and traders until the Oregon Treaty of 1846. Painting by Charles Russell This work is copyrighted. ... Painting by Charles Russell This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links Oregoncountry2. ... Image File history File links Oregoncountry2. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada Longs Peak of the Rocky Mountains as depicted on the Colorado state quarter The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages none stated in law; English is de facto Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 36 6 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 5th 944,735... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 9th 255,026 km² 420 km 580 km 2. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 18th 184,824 km² 385 km 580 km 6. ... Official language(s) None Capital Boise Largest city Boise Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 14th 216,632 km² 491 km 771 km 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 4th 381,156 km² 410 km 1,015 km 1 44°26 N to 49° N 104°2 W to 116°2 W Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 44th 1,087,340 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 10th 253,554 km² 450 km 580 km 0. ... Darker red states are always considered part of the Pacific Northwest. ... The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains (known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington) was a bilateral treaty signed between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States in 1846, and brought an end to the longstanding... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Early exploration

Alexander Mackenzie was the first European to cross North America by land north of Mexico, arriving at Bella Coola on the Pacific coast in 1793. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark scouted the territory for the United States on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, from 1804 to 1806. Alexander MacKenzie painted by Thomas Lawrence (c. ... Bella Coola may refer to several things, all closely related to a geographic area within British Columbias Central Coast. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Meriwether Lewis, portrait by Charles Willson Peale Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Corps of Discovery. ... William Clark (August 1, 1770 - September 1, 1838) was a Scottish-American explorer who accompanied Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. ... Lewis and Clark The Lewis and Clark expedition (1804–1806) was the first United States overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark, of the US Army. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Name Origin

French explorers called the Columbia River "the river of storms," ouragan, which is a possible origin of the name "Oregon." Other possibilities have been suggested based on words from French and Spanish (since the region was explored by their nationals), but an official origin of the name is not known. Columbia River Gorge, Washington or North side The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river situated in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ...

Territorial evolution

The Oregon Country was originally claimed by the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, and Spain. France and Spain had divided their western, 18th-century territorial claims along the 42nd parallel. France's loss at the end of the Seven Years' War effectively ended its claim to the area. Spain gave up its claims piecemeal, at the convention in 1790 that followed the seizure of Nootka Sound and relinquishing any remaining claims to territory north of the 42nd parallel to the United States as part of the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. Russia gave up its weaker claims in separate treaties with the United states in 1824 and with Britain in 1825. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... The 42nd parallel forms the northern border of the U.S. states of California and Nevada and part of Utah, and the southern border of Oregon and Idaho. ... For the 1592–1598 war, see Seven-Year War. ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Nootka Sound is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean and a natural harbour on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. ... The Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 (formally titled the Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits Between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty, and also known as the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, and sometimes the Florida Purchase Treaty) was a historic agreement between the United States and... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Meanwhile, the United States and Britain negotiated the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 that extended the boundary between their territories west along the 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains. The two countries agreed to "joint occupancy" of the land west of the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean—Oregon Country. The Convention of 1818 between the United States and Great Britian, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in United States and the United Kingdom. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ...

Early settlement

After the Lewis and Clark Expedition, fur traders, such as Jedediah Smith and Jim Beckwourth, now known as mountain men, were searching the Rocky Mountains for beaver pelts. These trappers adopted Native American ways and many of them married native women. They used Native American trails in the Rockies which went to California and Oregon. Jedediah Strong Smith (born January 6, 1799 - presumed date of death May 27, 1831) was a hunter, trapper, fur trader and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century. ... James Pierson Beckwourth (a. ... Liver-Eating Johnson Mountain men were trappers and explorers that roamed the Rocky Mountains from about 1810 to the early 1840s. ... Binomial name Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820 A taxidermied American Beaver The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Canada, most of the United States and parts of northern Mexico. ... An Atsina named Assiniboin Boy Photo by Edward S. Curtis. ...

John Jacob Astor founded a fur-trading post at Astoria, Oregon in 1811, beginning the organized trade in furs that had already been initiated by a few hardy trappers and traders. After the War of 1812, the Hudson's Bay Company took ownership of the post. John McLoughlin, appointed head or Chief Factor of the region in 1824, moved its regional headquarters to Fort Vancouver, which became the de facto political center of the Pacific Northwest until the Oregon Treaty in 1846. In the 1820s Americans began to migrate to this land beyond the Rocky Mountains, with large migrations beginning in the 1840s over the Oregon Trail. John Jacob (originally Johann Jakob) Astor (July 17, 1763 - March 29, 1848) made a fortune in fur trading and real estate. ... The Astoria Column Astoria. ... Joyce Rollins is a lesbian. ... The War of 1812 (in Britain, the American War of 1812), was fought between the United States and British Empire from 1812 to 1815, on land in North America and at sea around the world. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC. TSX: HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... John McLoughlin (NSHC statue) Dr. John McLoughlin (pronounced mc-lock-lin, October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857), the Father of Oregon, was a fur trader and early settler in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudsons Bay Company in the Oregon Country. ... Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ...

As Eastern United States churches started to hear news of the Oregon Country, some of them decided to send missionaries to convert the Indians. Jason Lee, a methodist minister from New York, was the first of these Oregon missionaries. He built a mission school for Indians in the Willamette Valley. Jason Lee (NSHC statue) Jason Lee (June 28, 1803 – March 12, 1845) an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... Jason Lee The Oregon missionaries were collectively the religious-minded pioneers who settled in the Oregon Country of North America starting in the 1830s with the intent of coverting local Native Americans to Christianity. ... The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River. ...

The Oregon Treaty

In 1843, settlers in the Willamette Valley established a provisional government at Champoeg, which was recognized by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1845. 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Champoeg, Oregon Champoeg, pronounced sham_POO_ee (SAMPA /ʃæm. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Political pressure in the United States urged the occupation of all the Oregon Country. Expansionists in the American South wanted to annex Texas, while their counterparts in the Northeast wanted to annex the Oregon Country whole. It was seen as significant that the expansions be parallel, as the relative proximity to other states and territories made it appear likely that Texas would be pro-slavery and Oregon against slavery.

In the 1844 U.S. Presidential election, the Democrats called for expansion into both areas. After being elected, however, President James K. Polk supported the 49th parallel as a northern limit for U.S. annexation in Oregon Country. It was Polk's uncompromising support for the expansion into Texas and relative silence on the Oregon boundary dispute that led to the phrase "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", referring to the northern border of the region and often erroneously attributed to Polk's campaign. The goal of the slogan was to rally Southern expansionists (some of whom wanted to annex only Texas in an effort to tip the balance of slave/free states and territories in favor of slavery) to support the effort to annex Oregon Country, appealing to the popular belief in Manifest Destiny. The British government, meanwhile, sought control of all territory north of the Columbia River. Presidential electoral votes by state. ... James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) the eleventh President of the United States, served from March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1849. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ... The Oregon boundary dispute arose as a result of rival British and American claims to the Oregon Country, a region of western North America, in the first half of the 19th century. ... This painting (circa 1872) by John Gast called American Progress is an allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny. ...

The two countries eventually came to a peaceful agreement in the 1846 Oregon Treaty that divided the territory along the 49th parallel to Georgia Strait, with all of Vancouver Island remaining under British control. This border still divides British Columbia from neighboring Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The Strait of Georgia (also known as Georgia Strait and the Gulf of Georgia) is a 240 km (150 mi)-long strait between Vancouver Island (as well as its nearby Gulf Islands) and the mainland Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. ... Vancouver Island is separated from mainland British Columbia by the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte Strait, and from Washington by the Juan De Fuca Strait. ...

In 1848, the U.S. portion of the Oregon Country was formally organized as the Oregon Territory. In 1849, Vancouver Island became a British Crown colony, with the mainland being organized into the colony of British Columbia in 1858. 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain, as well as to the organized U.S. territory formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Descriptions of the land

Alexander Ross, an early fur trader, describes part of the Oregon Country:

The banks of the river throughout are low and skirted in the distance by a chain of moderately high lands on each side, interspersed here and there with clumps of widespreading oaks, groves of pine, and a variety of other kinds of woods. Between these high lands lie what is called the valley of the Wallamitte [sic], the frequented haunts of innumerable herds of elk and deer.... . In ascending the river the surrounding country is most delightful, and the first barrier to be meet with is about forty miles up from its mouth. Here the navigation is interrupted by a ledge of rocks, running across the river from side to side in the form of an irregular horseshoe, over which the whole body of water falls at one leap down a precipice of about forty feet, called the Falls."

The Willamette Falls The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon. ...

See also

• New Albion
• Oregon Trail
• Trans-Appalachia
• Cascadia
• Manifest Destiny

This article is about the area claimed by Francis Drake. ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... The area west of the Appalachian Mountains is a region known as trans-Appalachia. ... One of the many proposed flags of Cascadia, a blue-white-green tricolor with a Douglas fir in the center Cascadia is a geological, ecological and climatic region of North America. ... This painting (circa 1872) by John Gast called American Progress is an allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny. ...

External links

• Chronology of Oregon Events