The Oregon Trail

Between 1840 and 1950, over fifty-three thousand people travelled the Oregon Trail. Native American exposure to diseases such as smallpox and diphtheria decimated the tribes, and that along with the encroachment of settlers on tribal lands, was the cause of much strife between Native Americans and the incoming Europeans. The Land Donation Law, a government land giveaway allotting three-hindred twenty acres to white males and six-hundred forty to married white couples, gave impetus to the western expansion and the American idea of "Manifest destiny." This promotion of migration and families also allowed America to strentghen its hold on Oregon, in the interests of displacing British claims.

Following the exploration of the Spanish and French, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Oregon was mapped by the Lewis and Clark expedition in their search for the Nortwest Passage. Starting in the 1830s, manygroups of pioneers travelled in their search to the state on the famous Oregon Trail, and the United States began joint settlement of the area with the United Kingdom. In 1846, the border between the United States and British territory that was formally established at the forty-ninth parallel-the part ofthe territory that was given to Britain would ultimately become part of Canada. Oregon was officially admitted to the Union as a state on February 14,1859.

The mountain was named in 1792 by British Lieutenant William Broughto after a famous naval officer, Alexander Arthur Hood. Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to document their view of Mount Hood as they travlede through Oregon.

The Mount Hood National Forest land was first officially designated in 1892 as the Bull Run Timberland Reserve, founded by former President Benj...

... middle of paper ...

... on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The waste was found in a new place between the walls of Tank AY-102. It is dry waste covering an area of 7 feet by 21 inches.

The Tri-City Herald reported Thursday that no waste is believed to have escaped into the soil beneath the tank. Hanford authorities have known the tank was leaking for about a year.

State officials have urged the U.S. Department of Energy to empty the tank and have criticized federal officials for not taking action.

Oregon's pioneer spirit has continued on through the years in many ways that have influenced the rest of the country. Citizens are supportive of the environment, cultural affairs and a life style that combines urban conveniences with the wonders of our wilderness. Oregon has a beloved place in the lives of its residents and they enjoy sharing their history, products and beauty with others.