The Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley

A field of Dahlias near Canby

The Willamette River in the northern section of the valley

Farmscape of The Willamette Valley in northern Polk County

Description

The valley may be loosely defined as the broad plain of the Willamette, bounded on the west by the Oregon Coast Range and on the east by the Cascade Range. It is bounded on the south by the Calapooya Mountains, which separate the headwaters of the Willamette from the Umpqua River valley about south of Hidden Valley. Interstate 5 runs the length of the valley, linking its major communities.

Because of the differing cultural and political interests, the Portland metropolitan area, as well as the Tualatin River valley, are often not included in the local use of the term. Additionally, the east slopes of the Coast Ranges and the west slopes of the Cascade Range from Oakridge to Detroit Lake can be considered part of the Willamette Valley in a cultural sense, despite being mountainous areas.

Cities always considered part of the Willamette Valley are Eugene, Corvallis/Albany, and Salem. In its most expansive definition, the valley includes areas of Benton, Polk, Yamhill, Washington, Clackamas, Lane, Linn, Marion, and Multnomah counties. Sometimes the area around Albany and Corvallis, and surrounding Benton and Linn counties is referred to locally as the Mid-Valley.^[2] Marion, Polk, and other counties are sometimes included in the definition of the Mid-Valley.

The agricultural richness of the valley is in part a result of the Missoula Floods, which inundated the valley approximately forty times between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. The floods were caused by the periodic rupturing of the ice dam of Glacial Lake Missoula, the waters of which swept down the Columbia River and flooded the Willamette Valley as far south as Eugene. The floodwaters carried rich volcanic and glacial soil from Eastern Washington, which was deposited across the valley floor when the waters subsided. The soil in the Willamette Valley is about deep in some areas.^[3]

During the 19th century, the valley was largely inhabited by bands of the Kalapuya tribe of Native Americans. The Hudson's Bay Company controlled the fur trade in the valley in the 1820s and 1830s. The Willamette Valley was connected to California's Central Valley by the Siskiyou Trail. The first European settlements in the valley were at Oregon City and Champoeg. The first institution of higher learning on the West Coast, today's Willamette University, was founded in the valley at Salem by Jason Lee, one of the many Oregon missionaries that settled in the valley.

The major agricultural products of the valley include many varieties of berries and vegetables. The valley also produces most of the grass seed, Christmas trees, and hazelnuts^[4] sold in North America. It is also noted for its hops, which are widely used in craft beer and microbreweries throughout the U.S. But it is greenhouse and nursery stock that have become the biggest agricultural commodity in the valley.

In recent decades, the valley has also become a major wine producer, with multiple American Viticultural Areas of its own. With a cooler climate than California, the gently rolling hills surrounding the Willamette are home to some of the best (and most-expensive) pinot noir in the world, as well as a high-quality pinot gris. It is home to Eyrie Vineyards, winner of the pinot noir competition at the Wine Olympics held in Paris in 1979.

The Willamette Valley is prone to periodic floods. Notable floods include events in 1899, 1964, and the Willamette Valley Flood of 1996. Part of its floodplain is a National Natural Landmark called the Willamette Floodplain.

Popular culture

David Brin's book The Postman (which was adapted into a film of the same name) is largely set in the Willamette Valley, aka Hidden Valley, mostly around the town of Corvallis.

The Willamette Valley appears, quite fittingly, at the end of The Oregon Trail computer game as the blanket destination.

S. M. Stirling?s The Emberverse series takes place mainly in the Willamette Valley when technology suddenly fails. Portland and Corvallis both figure heavily in the series.

In the movie A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall, Geena Davis's and Lori Petty's characters are discovered playing softball and living on a dairy farm in the fertile Willamette Valley. The Davis character eventually returns to her life there.

In the Terry Brooks novel series The Genesis of Shannara, the elf land of Cintra is located in Willamette.

See also

• Willamette Valley AVA

References

Further reading

• Elma MacGibbons reminiscences of her travels in the United States starting in 1898, which were mainly in Oregon and Washington. Includes chapter "Willamette Valley."
• O'Connor, J.E., et al. (2001). Origin, extent, and thickness of Quaternary geologic units in the Willamette Valley, Oregon [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1620]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

External links

• The Willamette Basin Explorer from Oregon State University
• OPB: Missoula Floods in the Willamette Valley
• Willamette Valley Daily Photo
• Museum of the Siskiyou Trail

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