The Columbia River flows along most of the border with Washington. The Snake River flows along much of the border with Idaho. The highest mountain is Mount Hood ( high), part of the Cascade Range of mountains. Another famous Cascade Mountain in Oregon is Mount Mazama, better known as Crater Lake.
Oregon was a long way from the United States of America, which was east of the Mississippi river in the 1830s and 1840s. To get to Oregon, settlers had to cross the Great Plains, which were empty except for a few forts and groups of Native Americans. Most people thought that it was impossible to farm there. They called it the "Great American Desert", because crossing it was long and dangerous; however, thousands did anyway.
Mountain men (people who knew a lot about living in mountainous places) had found a passway over the Rocky Mountains, and they named it the South Pass. This path helped many wagons to reach the west coast. In 1836 a missionary named Marcus Whitman crossed through the pass with his wife to Oregon. This proved that it was possible for others with women and families to go too, and because of this, Oregon suddenly became the place pioneers wanted to make a trip to.
Most of the settlers that came by the Oregon Trail had a very difficult trip. The Trail began in Missouri, and they went in covered wagons pulled by animals like bulls. They could only travel 100 miles in one week, and so the whole trip would take half a year. But still, lots of pioneers traveled so much that it is still possible to see the wagon ruts in some places today.
Life on the trail was very hard for the pioneers. Every day, they would break up and camp, travel all day, and set up camp again. Food was usually beans and coffee, for every single day of the trip. The travelers always searched for water, wood for fires, and something to catch and eat fresh. But these were hard to find, and so sometimes they got mad at each other and fought with fists and guns.
The Trail was also dangerous. Rivers could flood, washing away people and other things. Native Americans could attack, oxen or horses could die, and diseases and injuries could strike.
By 1840, due to all the hard work of the pioneers, there were thousands of Americans in Oregon. Towns and farms had been set up. The area was part of British North America at the time. But the British, however, only had a few hundred settlers in Oregon. Because of this, the Americans began to plan to take over the whole land.
Many Americans wanted this as well. They made up the slogan, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" and wanted all of Oregon up to latitude 54 or they would go to war with Britain to get it. They were so eager to have Oregon all for themselves, they supported James Polk as president because he claimed to have similar thoughts with them as well.
However, after President Polk was elected, he began to be more sensible. He did not want to wage war with Britain, if it could be avoided. The British also realized that the Americans would soon have enough settlers in Oregon to easily drive out the British defenders. In 1846 the British offered to divide Oregon by giving most of the border land between the USA and what is now Canada. President Polk accepted this, and so now the Americans had power over Oregon as well as the other states.
There are a number of colleges and universities in Oregon. The four-year universities with the most students are Portland State University, Oregon State University, and the University of Oregon.
Arkansas
Arkansas, nicknamed the "Land of Opportunity" or "The Natural State", is a state in the United States of America. Its capital and largest city is Little Rock. It has been estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015 that around 2,978,204 people live in Arkansas.
Arkansas became the 25th state to enter the Union in 1836. During the American Civil War, Arkansas was one of the Confederate states, however, it was the second state to be put back in to the U.S. in the Reconstruction. Native Americans first settled in the state before the arrival of Europeans. African American slaves were imported to Arkansas for slavery.
Arkansas borders Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, Oklahoma to the west, Missouri to the north, and Tennessee and Mississippi on the east. The United States Census Bureau classifies Arkansas as a southern state. The Mississippi River forms most of Arkansas's eastern border, except in Clay and Greene counties. There the St. Francis River forms the western boundary of the Missouri Bootheel.
Arkansas has many rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Arkansas has few natural lakes but many reservoirs such as Bull Shoals Lake, Lake Ouachita, Greers Ferry Lake, Millwood Lake, Beaver Lake, Norfork Lake, DeGray Lake, and Lake Conway.
Arkansas is home to many caves, such as Blanchard Springs Caverns. More than 43,000 Native American living, hunting and tool making sites have been catalogued by the State Archeologist. Arkansas is currently the only U.S. state in which diamonds are mined. This is done by members of the public with primitive digging tools for a small daily fee, not by commercial interests.
Arkansas is home to a bunch of Wilderness Areas totaling around . These areas are set aside for outdoor recreation and are open to hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. No vehicles are allowed in these areas.
Arkansas, like most other Southern states, is part of the Bible Belt. It is mostly Protestant. The largest denominations by number of followers in 2000 were the Southern Baptist Convention with 665,307; the United Methodist Church with 179,383; the Roman Catholic Church with 115,967; and the American Baptist Association with 115,916.
Education in Arkansas has been an issue. Part of the problem has been low teacher salaries and small budgets for spending on students. Other problems have been not wanting to integrate, and poor school facilities.
Arkansas has two university systems: Arkansas State University System and University of Arkansas System. Some other public institutions are Arkansas Tech University, Henderson State University, Southern Arkansas University, and University of Central Arkansas. It is also home to 11 private colleges and universities. One of them being Hendrix College, one of the nation's top 100 liberal arts colleges, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Arkansas is notable for its bauxite mines. Arkansas was also the first U.S. state where diamonds were found. Notable Arkansans include Bill Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas before he became the President of the United States, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, Johnny Cash, a famous guitarist known as "The Man In Black", and Rodger Bumpass, Who voices Squidward Tentacles on the Nickelodeon show SpongeBob SquarePants.
Arkansas is home to many areas protected by the National Park System. These include:
Robert Englund
Robert Englund (born June 6, 1949 in Glendale, California) is an American actor. He is most famous for playing Freddy Krueger in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movies.
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), "Henri-Quatre", was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was part of the Capetian dynasty and the first king of the Bourbon family in France.
Henry IV was born in Pau. He was the son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne of Navarre. He was baptised in a Catholic ceremony, but as he grew up, his mother led him to become a Protestant. On 18 August 1572, Henry married Margaret of Valois. She was the sister of Charles IX. He became the King of Navarre in the same year.