Tracking Changes in Photoperiod Around the Globe

Introducing Mystery Class #7

Portland, Oregon (longitude W122.7, latitude N45.5) is located in the Northwestern United States. Oregon is commonly referred to as the Rainy State because if you couldn't tell, it rains a lot! You can buy T-shirts here that say "Oregonians don't tan they rust." Oregon is always green because of the conifers. The wet warm climate means that the trees are always growing. You can count the years on the rings of the trees here, but they show a fast growth period and a slow growth period, not a no-growth period each year. One side of Portland is flat, the confluence of the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers. The other side of Portland is hilly. We have the largest urban forest park in the US, Forest Park.

We are in the process of cleaning up our river from years of neglect. In the past 20 years we have taken down a raised highway that went along the water front and made a river front park, River Front Park. Many new buildings have put their face to the river. Our new Oregon Museum Of Science and Industry building has recycled an old power plant on the east shore. We are busy planting native species to hold the banks from erosion and to clean up oil debris from street and parking lot runoff. We have more than 7 bridges crossing from the east side to the west side.

There are many different cultures in our city from all over the world. In our school you often hear Spanish, Mien, Vietnamese, Somali and Russian. Portland is the largest city in Oregon, but Salem, a much smaller city, is the capitol.

Many movies have been filmed in Oregon, including Free Willy, Mr. Holland's Opus and Stand by Me. The star of Free Willy, Keiko, a huge killer whale recently moved into the Oregon Coast Aquarium and has attracted millions of fans to Newport, the coastal town. Mr. Holland's Opus was filmed at nearby Grant High School, which holds many plays. The current production, OLIVER! from Charles Dicken's popular book Oliver Twist, has over 700 students in the cast.

Oregon is known for it's beautiful coast, but it has examples of every climate and geological formation on Earth. There are glaciers, deserts, volcanoes, fertile valleys, rain forests, wild rivers, mountains and an ocean. We like being outside anytime of year. Our teacher calls us "Marsh Wiggles", from Prince Caspian, in C.S. Lewis's Narnia series. A little rain doesn't stop us, we expect it. When the sun shines, we are surprised and happy.

We are looking forward to Rose Festival, a city celebration the first weekend in June. There is a Rose Parade, a Starlight Parade, Carnival, a night time parade of lit up boats. Ships from all over come up the Columbia and Willamette rivers to dock and open their hatches to visitors.

Portland is a major west coast port for goods to and from the Pacific Rim. Wheat from Montana comes by barge and rail to ships in our terminals. Cars arrive in giant transport vessels to be ferried by rail and truck to half of the US. Shipping is our single largest employer.

The computer chip industry is our fastest growing industry. Intel Pentium chips are made near Portland. Many other computer plants have come here. Although, we are the end of the Oregon Trail, we are a modern city. We hope that you may visit our city and see how safe, clean and beautiful it is for yourself.

Mrs. Fitterman's
7th and 8th grade classes.
Portland, Oregon