By James T. Carney
Finally, the fourth part of the West is the Northwest, although most Americans do not think of it as “the West.” The Northwest is the smallest part of the West, including only northern California and most of Oregon and Washington.
Most people think of it as an area with constant rain, although that is true primarily only of the strips between the Coast Ranges of mountains on the West and the Cascades on the East. The eastern part of Washington consists of high desert, and the southern part of Oregon is part of the Great Basin region of the Southwest. Ninety percent of the inhabitants of Oregon live in the coastal strip of Oregon along I-5 and the Willamette River. This area has very moderate temperatures and almost constant rain in the winter, which makes it particularly good farming country. I have made three trips to Oregon, driving the length of the Willamette Valley and saw the sun there only once. If I were a young psychiatrist, I would consider settling there, because the lack of sun would certainly create a number of customers suffering from depression. I can’t say, from a climate standpoint, that I ever regretted leaving Oregon. People who complain about the Burgh [Pittsburgh]’s being overcast ought to visit Oregon.
| Copyright © 2017 by James T. Carney |
No comments:
Post a Comment