Oregon Facts, part VI
Have any of you readers started sharing these facts with those around you? We’re almost to the end of my list!
Oregon farmers raise about 1.5 million head of cattle. Livestock is particularly important in the Willamette Valley and the southeast.
Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge was established in 1936 to protect the summer range of Oregon’s pronghorn antelopes. The region is also home to bighorn sheep, deer, coyotes, and a wide array of bird species.
North America’s only surviving antelope species, the pronghorn antelope has steadily lost its range to farmers and ranchers. Though their numbers were severely threatened in the early 1900s, they have now rebounded.
The high desert region of southeast Oregon suffers frequent drought. Only a few hardly plants can survive in the dry, wind-swept earth.
At 1,932 feet, Crater Lake is America’s deepest lake. It is also one of the country’s oldest national parks, established in 1902.
The 56,000-acre Newberry Volcanic National Monument was created in 1990, encompassing lava beds and mountain lakes left in the wake of eruptions about 1,300 years ago.
When visitors think of Oregon’s climate, they often picture the rain- and storm-swept coast. But the state’s mountains and inland plains receive their fair share of snow in the winter. In fact, Oregon has the longest lift-serviced ski season on the continent.
Malheur National Wildlife Reserve protects 184,000 acres and hosts more than 300 bird species, including trumpeter swans and sandhill cranes, during the spring and fall migrations.
The road that winds along the bottom of five-mile-long Leslie Gulch is a favorite access road for hikers. The surrounding cliffs are also a great place to watch for bighorn sheep.
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