The Changing South - Correlations with The PNW?

The only thing I fount that the state of Oregon and any state in the south have in common is: Timber. There's timber production in Virginia & North Carolina, and Oregon state happens to be active in timber production as well.

While Oregon is amongst one of the number-one producers of timber in the nation, the southern states Virginia and North Carolina's production of pulp, paper, and furniture is very important in the south. The 1880's-1890's provided the beginning of a new transportation system (railroad) and its expansion, which also meant the beginning in exploitation of timber resources. After 1936 it was when pulp and paper manufacturing really broke through. Timber for furniture was important too.

A more recent map on timber production in the states. Notice that concentration on both the PNW and the south. TIMBERRRRRR!!!

In Oregon, timber is manufactured for plywood and furniture as well. The state's timber industry is actually global, whereas the timber industry in the south is more regional. This is in due to the type of wood and pulp other parts of the nation and world demand: Oregon seems to have a larger variety.

(source by textbook and OSU. Map found in

Appalachian & Ozarks - Did Some Migrate to the PNW?

As mentioned in the entry on The Dalles & Oregon's migration, many did migrate west, away from the East, in order to establish. Let's see what this PNW town and Appalachia & Ozarks have in common...

The Appalachia & Ozarks region are surrounded by mountains. Although not very high, they "promote" isolation, and more challenges in terms of transportation. This region of the states offers plenty of land, and extraction of resources (which will be explained later), and not a whole lot of "megalopolitan" activity. Looks like The Dalles and such region have that in common: large space and land.

There's a chance that those who lived in Appalachia & the Ozarks took a chance and headed west, hence the Westward Expansion. The PNW definitely had more to offer, land-wise. Opportunity is greater for agricultural abundance, therefore there was opportunity for profit.

As I did my own Google search for curiosity (and blogging) sake, here's a slight explanation on The Westward Expansion from Appalachia to the PNW:



During the 1830s and '40s, the flood of pioneers poured unceasingly westward. Michigan, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Iowa received most of them. A number of families even went as far as the Pacific coast, taking the Oregon Trail to areas in the Pacific Northwest. In 1849 fortune seekers rushed into California in search of gold. Meanwhile, the Mormons ended their long pilgrimage in Utah.

- History Channel.com on The Western Expansion  

The "Other" Port Land in the Bypass East.

(Since my emphasis is on a PNW town, I thought I might throw in the coincidence of The Two Portlands on behalf of my Bypass East entry.)

The Dalles neighbor Portland definitely has plenty going on. Portland, Oregon has a sort of "sister" or "cousin" city located in The Bypassed East: Portland, Maine!

Aside from the name, both cities have plenty in common: both port cities, both provide fish agriculture, and both have needle-leaf forest trees.

Their differences:
Portland, Oregon has:

• a higher population growth (about 6% since 2000, according to the Census).
• provides salmon from the Columbia River, and other fish from the Pacific Ocean.
• Not located ON a port directly, but has a river and ocean about 70 miles away on the PNW.

Portland, Maine has:

• delicious lobster and crustaceans as their fish agriculture
• a lower population growth (less than 2%)
• Directly located on a port in the East Coast

The cultural difference are great between both cities as well. Portland, Maine really does serve as a port city on behalf of the Bypass East, whereas Portland, Oregon has many more attractions and becoming more urbanized. This is especially lucky for a The Dalles: if one wants to get away from the scenery and quitesome, Portland offers more or less day/night life.

BBC Travel gives a slight insight on the two here. I guess we will really know when we check it out.

Manufacturing near The Dalles

The map on the left shows that Portland is actually a center of manufacturing, as well as a major manufacturing region. The text nor the legend indicate what type of manufacturing activity there is. One other thing that the map tells us that its the ONLY area in the state of Oregon in which there is any manufacturing activity. This could be due to the goods it provides nearby: game from the port, the agricultural goods from The Dalles, et cetera.
Under-lapping the manufacturing activity also lies livestock and specialty crop, which explains the delicious cherries and peaches that I remember seeing in the fields. There seems to be wide activity of dairy productions throughout The Dalles, and next to The Dalles seems to continue on with livestock ranching. The dairy production with livestock activity is pretty self explanatory (livestock = cows, dairy production = milksheds).

 There is definitely a lot of "open space" surrounding Portland and The Dalles. The lack of population density has allowed for more room to produce (manufacturing, livestock, dairy and crop production). Their proximity to each other makes for convenience of transporting goods in that region of the Pacific Northwest.

This map also demonstrates more on manufacturing region activity. The pattern is evident: manufacturing activity tends to cluster within or around urban cities. North of Portland is Seattle with its manufacturing region, and north of Seattle is Vancouver. There seems to be a "linear" regional pattern in the Pacific Northwest. This could be in due to the "city port" activities that are attributed. Manufacturing is necessary for export of goods. If goods are available near the port, it is in its best interest to establish manufacturing in order to generate revenue and so forth. The Eastern US does seem to have a denser amount of manufacturing activity, and is probably more complex in terms of import/export, transportation, and goods itself. The PNW does not seem as complex, but definitely important. Having manufacturing activity near a town like The Dalles (as well as other PNW locations) is most definitely a win-win deal.

Megalopolis - No Such in the Beaver State

While Megalopolis is located in the Eastern United States, The Dalles is far from a megalopolis, both distance and theme-wise. In the Beaver state, Portland, Oregon would have to be the most urbanized area. This is the beginning of the introducing the term PORT CITY.

84 Miles west of The Dalles, running adjacent to the Oregon-Washing border, you'll find Portland, the closest main city (Google map).

Within the last ten years, Portland has indeed grown. The 2010 Census tells us that its the 29th most populous city in the United States (pdf source - Census Profile). As for Wasco County, the population in 2000 was at 23K and has gone up to about 25K.

Although the harbor is another approximate 70 miles more west, Portland benefits its goods for the rest of Oregon to enjoy. It's got the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Columbia River to the north.

The "megalopolis" stage in a city such as Portland is way at its beginning.  Efforts to maintain the city sustainable, is taking steps forward into becoming a busy, urbanized city without the environmental hazards of pollution, traffic, et cetera; something that Eastern US's Megalopolis has endured through since it grew.

People - From Natives to Settlers To Now (with maps).

 Before the European settlers made their way to the Pacific Northwest, the Wasco people occupied the stomping grounds of The Dalles. According to a geneology source , they were a strong "Upper Chinook" tribe, which is how the county preserved its name after. This map above is of the early 1800's, where great parts of the US were considered non-US territories. The circle and arrow on the upper left demonstrates the area where the Chinook occupied the land. Next to the state, the word "port cities" is in text.

Since European settlers started off in Eastern United States in the late 1700's, it took awhile for them to make their settlement (1850-1890). It was in 1890 when the US Census Bureau stated that there was "no more frontier" for the settlers, since at this point they reached the west coast. Oregon state was one of those states.






A more present map and explanation of population: in 2006, the Census Bureau calculated people per square mile. It seems like Portland, The Dalles neighboring city, is occupying the largest density of people. Looks like The Dalles occupies 7-80 people per square mile throughout.


Oregon's region where there the densest population today is due to its location...location, location, location. The Dalles and Portland are close to the Pacific Ocean, and Portland is considered a "port city" as the second map show.. Its advantage to its situation towards the coast will be explained in later blog entries. Stay tuned :)