Spirit of the Cascades

City Information & Weather

Portland is a city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. With a population of 562,690 it is Oregon's most populous city, and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Approximately two million people live in Portland metropolitan area (MSA), the 24th most populous in the United States as of July, 2005.

Portland was incorporated in 1851 and is the seat of Multnomah County; it extends slightly into Washington and Clackamas Counties as well.

The city and region are noted for strong land-use planning and investment in public transit, supported by Metro, a distinctive regional-government scheme. Portland lies in the Marine West Coast climate region, which is marked by warm summers and rainy but temperate winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and for more than a century Portland has been known as "The City of Roses," and has many rose gardens – most prominently the International Rose Test Garden. Portland is also known for its large number of microbreweries, and as the home of the Trail Blazers NBA basketball team.

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city in Washington, USA. The city is situated on a peninsula on the southern end of Washington's Puget Sound, in an area 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Seattle, 31 miles (50 km) northeast of the State capital, Olympia, and 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. According to 2007 Washington State OFM estimates, Tacoma has an estimated population of 201,700. Tacoma stands as the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area, the third-largest in the state, and the seat of government of Pierce County.

Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, which was originally called Mount Tacoma or Mount Tahoma. It is known as the "City of Destiny" because the area was chosen to be the site of the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the late 1800s. The decision of the railroad was influenced in part because of Tacoma's neighboring Commencement Bay. By connecting the bay with the railroad Tacoma’s motto became “When rails meet sails.” Today Commencement Bay serves the Port of Tacoma, a major player in international trade on the Pacific Coast.

Yakima is a city in central Washington and the county seat of Yakima County, USA. As of the 2000, the city had a total population of 71,845 and a metropolitan population of 229,094.Yakima is situated in the Yakima Valley, which is noted for being one of the best apple-producing areas in the world, as well as a prime location for the production of hops. The name originates from the Yakama Nation. The Yakama Indian Reservation is located to the south and southeast of the city of Yakima.

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