Portland, Oregon

USA / Oregon / Portland /
 city, county seat
Portland is a city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. With a population of 556,000 it is Oregon's largest city, and the third largest in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Approximately 2 million live in the surrounding metropolitan area (MSA), the 24th-largest in the U.S.

Portland was incorporated in 1851 and is the seat of Multnomah County. The city and region are notable for strong land-use planning and investment in public transit, supported by Metro, a distinctive regional-government scheme. Portland lies in the Marine West Coast climate region marked by warm summers and rainy but temperate winters, ideal for roses. Indeed, for more than a century Portland has been known as "The City of Roses", and has many rose gardens, most famously the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. Portland is also known for its large number of microbreweries, as the home of the Trail Blazers NBA basketball team, and is one of only two U.S. cities containing an extinct volcano.

The city is composed of five "quadrants": Northwest, Southwest, North, Northeast, and Southeast. The city annexed most of its current area after its incorporation in 1851. The urban service area is the territory that the City of Portland serves today and plans to serve in the future via annexation. Portland's annexation plans are limited as Portland and Gresham have already annexed most unincorporated areas of Multnomah County in between them. However, residents of unincorporated areas near Portland can apply for annexation for free.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   45°32'23"N   122°39'17"W

Comments

  • i like the radio channels in portland
  • I am from Salt Lake City and I have family that lives in Portland. I love this city, it is very nice, minus all the nude beaches and stuff. I have noticed Portland is a very open city.
  • I LOVE THIS CITY! I moved here 2 years ago from Upstate New York, and can't image living anywhere else! It has a little of everything, laid back and reasonably priced urban living, full of lush greenery and beautiful flowers, with amazing accommodations for those with an active lifestyles (bike routes throughout the city, running trails, oodles of beautiful parks etc). There is always something to do. The public transportation system is fabulous, FYI Greg, bottlenecked freeways are the exception, not the rule as it is in most cities. Portland is a vibrant and young city that makes you feel cozy, like you're really a part of it, no matter how long you've been here. 2 hours from the mountains, 2 hours from the Pacific, 3 hours from Seattle. Breathtaking state and national parks are just a day trip away. Don't knock this city until you REALLY try it out. It is unique, which might make it jarring for some at first, but that's precisely why I love it! :o)
  • And they have Bright Neighbor!
  • Has a similar feel to Minneapolis from my experience, this is a good thing. Portland is one of the only cities in the Northwest to have its s*** together as far as transportation goes
  • I don't know the exact details, but the map outline is wrong on the west side. Very wrong. Portland actually crosses county lines, and what's highlighted is not Portlamd, OR, but Portland, Multnomah County, OR. The portions of Portland, OR that lie within Washington County have been ignored. I mostly know this because I live in Portland (Washington County) OR. Same city, different side of a county line.
  • Also in Clackamas County on the SE side
  • @Bobby in Utah - Portland isn't a very open city per se. It's just Salt Lake City is just, how to say this in a non offensive way...a bit more conservative? Salt Lake City is a Morman town, with arcane alcohol rules to boot.
  • I'll share some tidbits many might not know. Portland gets almost as much rain as Seattle does. Seattle gets a bad rap for cloudy weather, but Portland gets that stream of low cloud cover that starts from Alaska and moves down the coast. Their weather isn't much different from Seattle. Also, if you like food trucks, Portland is pure food truck heaven. i've never seen so many food trucks in my life. They are in small circles scattered throughout downtown area with the largest being around 10th and Alder. It's 4 square blocks of food trucks with a couple of additional blocks extending in different directions. The Japanese Garden is for real. I've been to gardens in Kyoto, Tokyo, Seattle and San Francisco. I would say their Japanese garden would measure up to any of the ones in Japan. Voodoo Donuts is the best donut I've ever had, even though the lines are horrifically long sometimes. Buying donut from Voodoo is an event and the lines prove it. People don't wait an hour for a donut for nothing. Huge foodie town.
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