Visitors are drawn to the scenic beauty of Oregon, which combines historic towns, sleepy fishing villages, ski resorts and wineries. The landscape is rich with diversity from its nearly 644km (400 miles) of spectacular coastline and mountains, to lakes, rivers, streams, deserts and forests.

The low Coast Range runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean and is forested with spruce, fir and hemlock; in fact nearly half the state is forested. Weather moves eastwards from the ocean across the Willamette Lowlands to the rugged Cascade Mountains, soaring to the highest peak of Mt Hood, at 3,353m (11,239ft), where cold, moist air dumps heavy snowfalls. East of the Cascades, the state's agriculture flourishes on the drier Columbia Plateau.