east past the flatlands through small valleys, past rounded and often cut-over hills, where alder and salmon berries and upstart Douglas firs bask in weeks and years of drizzle, and over the Coast Range. In Oregon the Coast Range mountains rise to an average of 3,000 feet, from just south of Bandon, where the Coquille River Valley is separated from the Umpqua River watershed by the beginnings of the Klamath/Siskiyou mountains, north to the Columbia River. The Olympics North of the Columbia River the Coast Range continues, almost merging with the Cascade Range, separated only near Longview/Kelso by the Cowlitz River which flows south into the Columbia. Further north begin the Olympics, separated from the mainland by Puget Sound, rising over 3,000 feet above the normal elevation of the Coast Range and containing the only glaciers in a coastal mountain range in the continental United States. Siskiyou/Klamath Region To the south of the Coast Range in Oregon, the mountains of the Coast and the Cascade ranges merge to form what the locals sometimes refer to as the country of Jefferson, a higher plateau, where mountains come down to the sea's edge and where the Eastern Oregon and Maritime blend of climate and environment create a mixed, almost New England-like forest with both hard- and softwood trees. Valleys and Lowlands Running mostly north and south, between the Coast Range and the Cascades, there appear many valleys and lowlands. In two of these areas, the Puget Sound lowlands and the Willamette Valley, two-thirds of the people of the entire northwest region (Oregon, Washington and Idaho) live and work. The Puget Sound lowland is the remains of a valley which flooded as the glaciers retreated. The San Juan and Gulf islands, and the large Vancouver Island, are remnant highlands, tossed about in the water like ill-fitting picture puzzle pieces. Sew the land back together and the Puget Sound lowlands would be a river valley similar to the Willamette Valley. 22 South of Puget Sound lie several smaller river valleys. The largest is created by the Chehalis River, which flows west to meet the Pacific; while others, the Cowlitz, Toutle, Kalama and Lewis rivers flow to meet the Columbia. Mt. St. Helens is sentinel for the area; engineers operate, using bulldozers as surgical tools, on the damaged watersheds from the mountain's recent eruption. Fifty miles south of Mt. St. Helens, the Columbia and Willamette Rivers come together, creating a lowland that is separated from the Tualatin Plains on the west by the Tualatin Mountains and on the east by the foothills of the Cascades. On the south the area is separated from the broader expanse of the Willamette Valley by the near convergence of the Cascade foothills and the Tualatin Mountains. This is the greater Portland area and the beginning of the Willamette Valley. The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley separates the Coast Range from the Cascade Range, between the Columbia River on the north and the Siskiyou/Klamath mountains on the south. It is approximately 100 miles long and 40-50 miles wide. The drainage area of the Willamette River is 11,000 square miles, which represents 11.7 percent of the land area of the state, while containing two-thirds of the state's residents. It seems likely that before native Indian habitation the valley was more completely forested, filled with alders, cottonwoods and maples along streams, and lodgepole pine covering the rest. By the time the early white explorers and settlers came to the valley, the vegetation was altered. The settlers found open prairie land. The native Indians conducted annual burnings of vast stretches of the valley, and earth records reveal that these intentional burnings dated back at least as far as 1647. It is thought the burning was a form of game management. Deer and other animals were forced to graze on the remaining unburned areas where they could be easily hunted. Honey and grasshoppers became easier to harvest, as well as the seed of the sunflower plant and the tarweed, which was referred to by the white settlers as "wild wheat." Early white settlers were surprised by the burning just as today's newcomers to the region are surprised by late summer air pollution from grass field and forest slash burnings; It is probable we did not yet know that the Indians were wont to baptise the whole country with fire at the close of every summer; but very soon we were to learn our first lesson. This season the fire was started somewhere on the south Yamhill, and came sweeping through the Salt Creek Gap. All our skill and perseverance were required to save our camp. y4s the shades of night deepened, long lines of flames and smoke could be seen retreating before the breeze across the hills and valleys. (Jessie Applegate, 1844) The Willamette Valley is actually a broad flatland with several distinct sections. From the beginnings of the Siskiyou/Klamath Mountains, south of Eugene, and north of the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers, the valley floor is narrow and flat, only occasionally interrupted by a few volcanic buttes. Further north, near the junction of the Santiam River and the Willamette, several hills intrude on the valley floor: the Waldo Hills on the east and Eola Hills on the west. Just north of Salem the valley opens up, reaching its maximum width and flattest terrain. Here the Pudding and Molalla rivers flow into the Willamette, while from behind the Eola Hills, on the west, the Yamhill River, for a short period an important transportation river, flows east also to meet the Willamette. Past the junction of the Yamhill River, near Newberg, the Willamette curves toward the east to skirt the southern edge of the Chehalem Mountains, a short spur of the Coast Range (1,000 feet elevation at Bald Peak)', which separates the Yamhill River from the Tualatin River. Greater Portland Area Here, on the west, we pass into the Tualatin Plains, and into the Greater Portland area through its western gate. The Tualatin Plains The valley created by the Tualatin River is about 200 miles square. Today it is home to some 200,000 people. It is a microcosm of the Willamette Valley surrounded on all sides by hills and
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